HERITAGE Holmfirth and the Holme and Colne Valleys
Including hidden treasures in Marsden, Meltham, Honley, Golcar, Milnsbridge, Linthwaite and Slaithwaite
Welcome
Heritage In a landscape dotted with mills, canals and weaver’s cottages, our rich heritage is evident as soon as you arrive. Use this guide to inspire you; and the map to familiarise yourself with the area.
4
11
B6
40
A6
Marsden Library and Information Centre Marsden Mechanics Hall, Peel Street, Marsden, HD7 6BW T: 01484 222555 E: marsden.visitorinformation@kirklees.gov.uk
Accessibility
You may come across cobbled streets and quaint old buildings; contact attractions before you arrive to make sure you get the most out of your visit.
Enjoyed this guide?
Art, heritage, outdoors, food & drink, indulgence, family. Visit the website and download the series.
2
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
B6
10
8
7
10
Holmfirth Tourist Information Centre 49-51 Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, HD9 3JP T: 01484 222444 E: holmfirth.tic@kirklees.gov.uk
2
A6
B6
To find accommodation, souvenirs and postcards, visit:
B6109
Visitor information and accommodation
The textile industry North Light Gallery
Revolutionary times The footprint of the Industrial Revolution is everywhere through towering blackened textile mills, pretty weaver’s cottages and engineering masterpieces. Delve into Victorian family and industrial history at Colne Valley Museum. Enjoy the latest exhibition, try your hand at traditional crafts such as weaving and spinning, or watch the experts demonstrate bread-baking or clogmaking on event days. Visit Milnsbridge and walk in the footsteps of the machine-hating Luddites who were afraid early 19th century technology would destroy their way of life. Nearby, in Crosland Moor three Luddites ambushed and shot Marsden mill owner William Horsfall, before being rounded-up and imprisoned in Milnsbridge House and transported to York for trial and execution.
Immerse yourself in the grandeur of the Industrial Revolution with a stay at Crow Hill, an exceptional Victorian mill owner’s country estate where famous guests have included composer Vaughan Williams and Salvation Army founder General William Booth. Visit the permanent heritage exhibition at North Light Gallery, Armitage Bridge, which tells the story of this former textile mill, now beautifully restored into a business park with on-site art gallery and film. A range of heritage brochures produced by Holmfirth and Honley Civic Societies are available at Holmfirth Tourist Information Centre, along with circular heritage walks for Milnsbridge, Holmfirth, Golcar and Slaithwaite.
Colne Valley Museum
Find out more… Colne Valley Museum www.colnevalleymuseum.org.uk Crow Hill Cottages www.crowhillcottages.co.uk North Light Gallery www.northlightgallery.org.uk Crow Hill Estate
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
3
Modern villages, proud of their heritage Longley’s, Holmfirth
Village life Discover an area brimming with a rich heritage spanning hundreds of years. Immerse yourself in our heritage and learn as you walk - follow The Standedge Trail for an insight into the region’s industrial heritage, the Stanza Stones Trail to see how the landscape inspired poet Simon Armitage, the River Colne Sculpture Trail to discover contemporary artwork, or the Upper Colne Valley dry stone walling trail to discover more about this fascinating craft. Follow the Milnsbridge Heritage Trail for a 40 minute walk around the centre of Milnsbridge, or Holmfirth’s Blue Plaque trail around the town’s most historic buildings. On the way step into Penny Lane Café with its ground floor antique shop and upper floor serving delicious home cooked lunch, or enjoy a drink with a view of Holy Trinity Parish Church outside Beatties Deli & Coffee Shop. Fresh from fields farmed for generations, pick up delicious local produce at Holmfirth farmers market on the 3rd Sunday each month. See the remains of Honley’s village stocks at the Parish Church of St Mary’s built in 1873 on the site of a church known as Old Peg, thought to date back to 1503. Still in the village, browse independent shops on the cobbled streets including Holme Valley Warehouse with its eight showrooms of restored furniture and local art work. Eat at Mustard and Punch Bistro which has a great local reputation.
4
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
A short drive takes you to Hepworth, a picturesque village with a grim history. This was the most northerly point reached by the Great Plague of 1666. Lunch at The Butcher’s Arms, Hepworth’s award-winning gastro pub. Climb Pule Hill in National Trust’s Marsden Moor estate for dramatic 360degree views of the moor, or join a guided heritage walk to discover a roman road, turnpike trails and packhorse crossings. WWII enthusiasts can find the remains of a B17 bomber which crashed on the moor above Meltham in 1944.
Honley
Walk across Mellor Bridge, one of two distinctive packhorse bridges in Marsden village before a look around St Bartholomew’s Church, known as the cathedral of the Colne Valley. Stay to enjoy Marsden’s tea rooms, pubs and independent shops. The Riverhead Brewery Tap serves a range of real ale brewed onsite, and all with local connections. Or walk along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to the vibrant canal side village of Slaithwaite. Indulge in fine artisan bread from the Handmade Bakery, buy locally made crafts and food at Slaithwaite Emporium.
Beatties, Holmfirth
Main image: Marsden Moor
Find out more… Holy Trinity Parish Church www.holytrinityholmfirth.org.uk Beatties Deli & Coffee Shop Folly Dolly Falls www.beattiesdeli.co.uk Holmfirth Farmers Market www.kirklees.gov.uk/markets St Mary’s Church, Honley www.honleystmary.btck.co.uk The Butchers Arms Marden Moor www.thebutchersarmshepworth.co.uk Marsden Moor Estate www.nationaltrust.org.uk/marsdenmoor St Bartholomew’s Church www.marsdenparishchurch.co.uk Mustard & Punch Bistro www.mustardandpunch.co.uk Slaithwaite Emporium Find us on Facebook The Handmade Bakery www.thehandmadebakery.coop Riverhead Brewery Tap www.realaletrail.net/marsden
Mustard & Punch
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
5
Museums and waterways
Be Transported The waterways, and later the railway, brought industrial riches to the Colne and Holme Valleys. Take a boat trip into Britain’s highest, longest and deepest canal tunnel at Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre. For art and craft workshops with an eco or vintage twist visit The Loft Space onsite. Stop for a bite at the cafe and let the youngsters enjoy the playground and wildlife garden.
Find out more… Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre www.standedge.co.uk
David Brown Tractor Museum www.dbtc.co.uk
Huddersfield Narrow Canal www.huddersfieldcanal.com
The Carding Shed 01484 683297
Golcar Aquaduct www.huddersfieldcanal.com
Launds Inn Museum www.laundsinnmuseum.co.uk
Golcar Transport Collection 01484 654133
Bullecourt Museum 01484 461029
Explore Slaithwaite (locally pronounced Slawit), birthplace of composer Haydn Wood. Walk the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Milnsbridge to Tunnel End, Marsden and find interactive interpretation panels explaining the history of the canal and its communities. Marvel at Golar Aqueduct, a Victorian engineering masterpiece which allows the canal to pass 40ft above. Find historic railway stations at Slaithwaite and Marsden while the Longwood Viaduct carries the rail line through Milnsbridge. Golcar Transport Collection has a range of 1920s and 30s vehicles and buses built by Karrier’s of Huddersfield (open by arrangement). For more vintage vehicles, David Brown’s Tractor Museum in Meltham, is home to historic farm equipment built by entrepreneur Sir David Brown who also once owned the Aston Martin car company. There’s a classic car display, automobile memorabilia, vintage clothing and a great café at The Carding Shed in Hepworth. Soak up the atmosphere at Launds Inn Museum, a re-built 14th century building hosting a fascinating social history collection. For those with an interest in military history, Bullecourt Museum, Milnsbridge offers a collection dating from The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 to the modern era.
66
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
This image: Huddersfield Narrow Canal
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
Iconic drama and early filming
Find out more… Sid’s Café www.sidscafe.com Summer Wine Magic Bus Tour www.summerwine.tv
TV and Film
The Picturedrome
Summer Wine Exhibition www.summerwine-holmfirth.co.uk
Tip your hat to the world’s longest running sit-com Last of the Summer Wine, filmed in and around Holmfirth for 39 years. Enjoy a delicious cream tea at Sid’s Café before jumping on a charabanc for the Summer Wine Magic bus tour. Visit Compo’s house, home to the Last of the Summer Wine exhibition and the Wrinkled Stocking Tea Room and pop next door to stand on the famous stone steps of Nora Batty’s House, now a self-catering holiday cottage available all year round.
Nora Barry’s Cottage www.nora-batty.co.uk The White Horse Inn www.whitehorseholmfirth.co.uk St John’s Church, Upperthong www.holme-valley-anglican-church.org Picturedrome www.picturedrome.net
Have lunch or book an overnight stay in Clegg’s favourite pub The White Horse in nearby Jackson Bridge and see Compo actor Bill Owen’s final resting place at St John’s Church, Upperthong. While on the TV trail, visit Marsden, Slaithwaite and Meltham, all used as locations for BBC’s Where the Heart Is too. Long before the TV cameras, Holmfirth played an important part in the birth of cinema with some of the first moving pictures created by film pioneers The Bamforth’s in the early 1900. The remains of their film studio still stand on Station Road. Locals marvelled at these early films at Holmfirth’s Picturedrome cinema which opened in 1913; now rejuvenated as a top northern music venue with its lively Box Office bar. Summer Wine bus tour
Sid’s Cafe
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
7
Events and festivals
FEBRUARY
APRIL
JUNE
Marsden Imbolc Fire Festival & Well dressing Celebrates the end of winter: the Green Man triumphs over Jack Frost amid a spectacular light show.
Marsden Cuckoo Day A celebration of the start of spring, symbolised by the return of the cuckoo
Harden Moss Sheepdog Trails Famous Sheepdog Trails with displays, trade stalls and a parade. www.holmfirthevents.co.uk
MAY Slaithwaite Spa Rant A day of traditional family fun and games. www.slaithwaitespa.co.uk
JULY Meltham Memories 1940’s Weekend Meltham comes alive to the sound of the jitterbug and the lindy hop. www.melthammemories.ning.com
SEPTEMBER Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival (bi-annual event) This week of lantern-making and storytelling celebrates the legend that smugglers explained their night time activities as ‘raking the moon from the canal’ www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org
South Pennines Walk and Ride Festival Explore our landscape and heritage on foot, bike or horseback. www.walkandridefestival.co.uk
Golcar Lily Day A weekend of fun celebrating Golcar. www.golcarlilyday.co.uk Holmfirth Folk Festival A riot of music, dancing and colour. www.holmfirthfestivaloffolk.co.uk
Image courtesy of Janice Pond
Holmfirth Film Festival Celebrates the town’s historic links to cinema. www.holmfirthfilmfestival.com
88
www.visitholmfirth.co.uk
The information in this guide is believed to be correct at the time of going to press. Kirklees Council cannot be held responsible for any errors.