The Roebuck Memorial Homes, a set of eight almshouses cottages located on Wakefield Road, were originally built in 1932 by a local businessman named Harry Roebuck as a memorial to his son Leonard, who tragically died during WW1 at the young age of 24 on 4th March 1918 in a flying accident after achieving his ambition of joining the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot in 1917. The cottages of the charity
are set in Italianate gardens, both of which are grade 2 listed heritage sites, and remained unmodernised until 2002 when works were undertaken to improve four of the properties kitchens and central heating facilities, which put a strain on the resources that were available to the Trust. Further assistance from Kirklees council in June 2015, along with the limited remaining resources of the Trust, allowed for the modernisation of the remaining four cottages to be brought up to code. However work on the properties and grounds are far from over. The once magnificent gardens have fallen into a state of disrepair, unusable by the current tenants of the cottages, and extensive works are required to fully restore them to their original state which the Trustees hope will be of benefit to the people of Dalton and the wider Huddersfield area. In the coming months we are set to launch a campaign to raise the funds that are required to regenerate the site and need the help of the local community in the guise of volunteers that may be able to help with the physical work of the project, as well as anyone with fundraising experience to help with the task of applying to other charitable organisations to secure funding. For more information please visit: www.roebuckhomestrust.co.uk or email [email protected]
