Huddersfield Chronicle (25/Apr/1868) – The Meltham Branch Railway, Forced Removal of Bentley Shaw, Esq., from Woodfield House

The Meltham Branch Railway.

Forced Removal of Bentley Shaw, Esq., from Woodfield House.

The formation of the railway between Huddersfield and Meltham seems to be beset with innumerable difficulties of one kind or another. No sooner is one obstacle to its completion removed than another springs up in some quarter. A few weeks since the contractors and engineers were congratulating themselves upon the near completion of the works, when suddenly their anticipations were baffled by an immense fall of rock and debris from the upper portion of Dungeon Wood, immediately in the rear of Woodfield House, blocking up the line and impeding for a time all further progress. Men were, however, set to work to remove the obstruction, which proved no easy task, as immense blocks of stone had to be broken up and got away, some of which contained as much as twelve cubic yards of rock, and were computed to weigh 25 tons. The more easily to effect their removal, blasting was resorted to. This mode of overcoming the difficulty, however, had to be dispensed with, as Mr. Bentley Shaw, from the proximity of his house, became alarmed for the safety of his family at the danger attending this process, and about a fortnight ago he obtained an injunction to restrain the company from persisting in this dangerous mode of operations. The company were thus once more in a fix, and the works were stopped so far as regarded the objectionable portion of them. Negotiations were entered into with Mr. Shaw, by which arrangements were made for his family to remove temporarily from Woodfield House until the danger is at an end. Woodfield House is now closed, and the family of Mr. Shaw is located for some time to come at Harrogate. The arrangements having been completed, the process of blasting was resumed on Tuesday last, since which a large quantity of debris has been removed and the work is again progressing satisfactorily.