Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

Not to be confused with West Yorkshire County Council.

West Riding County Council (WRCC) was the county council of the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall in Wakefield.

The county council had jurisdiction over the administrative county of the West Riding and therefore did not include county boroughs which were independent of the county council but associated with the county for other purposes. At the time of its formation in 1889 there were six county boroughs; Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield and York. The administrative county was reduced when the county boroughs of Rotherham (1902), Barnsley (1913), Dewsbury (1913), Wakefield (1915) and Doncaster (1927) were formed.

Responsibilities and service provision

The County Council was responsible for the provision of services that included; health services (mothers & infants, children and school health services), welfare services for the young, elderly and infirm, the provision of ambulance services, primary and secondary education, library services, the police and fire services, highways and bridges, weights & measures and planning. To support these activities the Council administered specialist services that included finance, the County Architects Department and the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages.[1]

Although not an elected politician, Sir Alec Clegg exerted substantial influence as Chief Education Officer from 1945 to 1974, directing innovative reforms in schooling and teacher training that defined much of the council’s legacy in public administration.[2][3]

Political control

The county council consisted of elected councillors and co-opted county aldermen. The entire body of county councillors was elected every three years. Aldermen were additional members, there being a ratio of one alderman to three councillors. Aldermen had a six-year term of office, and one half of their number were elected by the councillors immediately after the triennial elections. This was the same in all county councils at this time, as defined by the Local Government Act 1888.

From the establishment of the county council in 1889 onwards the Liberal party won overall control of the council at successive county council elections, dominating the council from 1889 to 1914. Liberal domination of the council however was peppered with several years of no overall control; in 1903 and after 1912. At no point did the Liberals lose their administrative control of the council, and in the years it lacked an overall majority it relied on support from Independent and Liberal Unionist councilors.

Election Party in control Council Type
1889 Liberal County Council
1892
1895
1898
1901
1904
1907
1910
1913 No overall control
1919
1922
1925
1928
1931 Socialist
1934
1937
1946 Labour
1949 No overall control
1952 Labour
1955 No overall control
1958
1961
1964
1967
1970

Chairmen

The Chairman was the formal head of the council, though significant power was exercised through committees. The Chairman was elected annually by the council from the members or aldermen and presided over meetings. Portraits of many chairmen are held at County Hall, Wakefield.[4]

Chairman From To
Marquess of Ripon[5][6] 1889 1893
Charles Milnes Gaskell[7] 1893 1910
John C Horsfall[8][9] 1910 1916
James Hinchcliffe[10][11] 1916 1933
G Bernard Lomas-Walker[12] 1933 1937
William Cartwright[13][14] 1937 1946
Thomas Tomlinson[15][16][17] 1946 1949
J H Armistead[18] 1949 1952
Thomas Tomlinson[15][16][17] 1952 1955
Joseph Hudson[19][20] 1955 1958
Walter Hyman[21] 1958 1964
Jessie Smith[22][23] 1964 1967
Joseph Hudson[19][20] 1967 1974

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Meet your County Council : West Riding County Council : Wakefield : The Bureau of Current Affairs : London : [c.1949/50]
  2. ^ “West Riding Education Authority”. Sir Alec Clegg Revisited. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  3. ^ Wood, Margaret; Pennington, Andrew; Su, Feng (13 August 2020). “The Impact and Legacy of Sir ALec Clegg’s Educational Ideas and Practices in the West Riding of Yorkshire (1945-1974)”. British Journal of Educational Studies. 69 (3). Taylor & Francis: 307–326. doi:10.1080/00071005.2020.1799935. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  4. ^ “Wakefield County Hall”. Art UK. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  5. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). “Ripon, George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of” . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^ “In Memoriam: The Marquess of Ripon, K.G., G.C.S.I., LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S.”. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 17: 1–3. 1909. doi:10.1144/pygs.17.1.1 – via Lyell Collection Geological Society Publications.
  7. ^ “Gaskell, Charles George Milnes (GSKL859CG)”. A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  8. ^ “Funeral of the Late Chief Whip”. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. No. 18150. 7 January 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  9. ^ “Sir John C. Horsfall, Bt, Chairman of the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire (1910–1916)”. Art UK. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  10. ^ “Penistone Candidate”. The Daily News. 16 February 1921. Penistone Coalitionists last night adopted Sir James P. Hinchcliffe, chairman of the West Riding County Council, as their candidate at the by-election.
  11. ^ “Parliament: Triangular Contest”. Gloucester Citizen . Vol. 29, no. 24. 28 May 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  12. ^ Who’s Who 1938. London: A & C Black. 1938. p. 2045. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  13. ^ “Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood” (PDF). Supplement to The London Gazette. 30 December 1941. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  14. ^ “Four Parliaments Urged”. Aberdeen Journal. No. 20634. 15 February 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  15. ^ a b Portrait of “Miners’ Knight” (newsreel). Pathé News. 1963. 509.21. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  16. ^ a b Who was who: a companion volume to Who’s who containing the biographies of those who died during the decade (2nd ed.). London: A & C Black. 1984. p. 1093. ISBN 0713620080. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  17. ^ a b Hoyle, R.W. (2020). “Opposition to the creation of national parks: the case of the Yorkshire Dales” (PDF). Agricultural History Review. 67 (2): 299–300. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  18. ^ “ARMISTEAD”. www.nickdelves.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  19. ^ a b “Hudson Family”. Wetherby Civic Society. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b “How Mexborough Got Its Relief Road”. Dearne Valley History. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  21. ^ “Bretton Hall: Celebrations of the Foundation of the College and the Formal Opening of the Extensions, March 1964” (PDF). County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire. March 1964. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2024.
  22. ^ Baldwin, Anne (19 March 2012). Progress and patterns in the election of women as councillors, 1918 – 1938 (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Huddersfield. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  23. ^ “Local Government Lecture Voted ‘Very Impressive’“. Firefighter. Vol. 6, no. 4. May 1966. p. 7. Retrieved 31 March 2026.