William Henry Crossland, Architect, 1835-1908

The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available.

W H Crossland is perhaps one of the most illustrious of Huddersfield architects. The son of Henry Crossland a stone merchant and quarry master, William was born in 1834 and from the 1850s the family lived at Longwood House, Netheroyd Hill where his father had conducted extensive quarries since 1845.

By 1857 Crossland was a pupil in London with the celebrated architect George Gilbert Scott. Crossland is said to have practiced in Huddersfield though there is no evidence to confirm this. By c1860 he was in practice in Halifax, but in 1864 he was living and working in Leeds. Around 1870 he moved to London. Crossland became a F.R.I.B.A. in 1867, but he disappeared from the Institute's records after 1895 and the date and place of his death are not known. His designs were chiefly Gothic and he did submit a plan, though unsuccessfully for a concert hall in the town.

Crossland was responsible for the building and restoration of many buildings in Huddersfield, Elland, Halifax, Dewsbury and Leeds as well as many further afield. He also gained a reputation for going over budget and Sir John Ramsden became a little disenchanted with his overspending resulting in him being asked to submit a statement of his extra costs beyond his 'guaranteed' estimate for some of his works.

Listed below are some of the buildings of W H Crossland in Huddersfield and District:

1855-6 Cowcliffe and Netheroyd Hill Church of England Sunday School

1861 School, Hillhouse

1861 Almshouses, Almondbury

1862 Church, Moldgreen

1862 Parsonage House, Hopton

1863 Gate Lodge, Woodfield House, Lockwood

1863 St Thomas's Church, Bradley

1866 Church, Marsden

1868 Ramsden Estate Office, Huddersfield

1870 Byram Buildings, Huddersfield

1871 Church, Newsome

1873 Post Office & warehouse, Northumberland Street

1878 Kirkgate Buildings

1880 Byram Arcade, Westgate, Huddersfield

1883 Bulstrode Buildings, Kirkgate