Bill o'th' Hoylus End

Born William Wright in 1836 near Keighley in Yorkshire, he became widely known by the pen name Bill o'th' Hoylus End, a name taken from the place where he was born. He wrote in Yorkshire dialect and built a reputation as a local poet and pamphleteer whose work mixed comedy, storytelling, and affection for ordinary people and places.

His life seems to have been as colorful as his writing. Contemporary and library-style sources describe him at different times as a sailor, soldier, showman, warp-dresser, and writer. That breadth of experience helped give his poems and recollections their lively, down-to-earth voice.

He is remembered for works including Adventures and Recollections, Revised Edition of Poems, and Th' History o' Haworth Railway. Across them, he offers a vivid glimpse of nineteenth-century Yorkshire, especially its speech, humor, and everyday character.