Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles (13 km) west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden (Hebden Water).
A 2004 profile of the Calder Valley ward, covering Hebden Bridge, Old Town, and part of Todmorden, estimated the population at 11,549.[1] The population of the town itself is approximately 4,500.
History
The original settlement was the hilltop village of Heptonstall. Hebden Bridge (originally Heptenbryge) started as a settlement where the Halifax to Burnley hilltop packhorse route dropped down into the valley. The route crossed the River Hebden at the spot where the old bridge (from where Hebden Bridge gets its name) stands. The word Hebden comes from the Anglo-Saxon Heopa Denu, 'Bramble(or possibly Wild Rose) Valley'
The steep wet hills and access to major wool markets meant that Hebden Bridge was ideal for water powered weaving mills and the town developed during the 19th and 20th centuries; at one time Hebden was so well-known for its clothing manufacture that it was known as "Trouser Town".[2] Drainage of the marshland which covered much of the Upper Calder Valley prior to the Industrial Revolution enabled construction of the road which runs through the valley. Prior to this, travel was only possible via the ancient packhorse route which ran along the hilltop, dropping into the valleys wherever necessary, as was the case with Hebden Bridge. The wool trade also brought the Rochdale Canal (running from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester) and the Manchester and Leeds Railway (later the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) (running from Leeds to Manchester and Burnley).
Hebden Bridge also grew to include a cinema and substantial offices for Hebden Bridge Urban District Council. There was some controversy about this as the land was originally intended to be the site of a swimming pool. Hebden Bridge still has no swimming pool, although for some years there was a small training pool for children in the adult education centre on Pitt Street. Hebden Bridge also had its own cooperative society. However, during the 1960s, it was defrauded and went bankrupt. The old Co-op building became a hotel and was later converted into flats. The Co-op returned in the 1980s with a supermarket on Market Street on the site of an old mill.
During the Second World War Hebden Bridge was designated a "reception area" and took in evacuees from industrial cities. Two bombs fell on Calderdale during the war, but they were not targeted, they were merely the emptying of the bomb load.
During the 1970s and 1980s the town saw an influx of artists, writers, photographers, musicians, alternative practitioners, teachers, green and New Age activists and more recently, wealthier 'yuppie' types. This in turn saw a boom in tourism to the area. During the 1990s Hebden Bridge became a dormitory town due to its proximity to major towns and cities in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
In 1995, the singer Haddaway filmed the music video for "Lover Be Thy Name" in the Hebden Bridge area.[3]
On 6 July 2003 Hebden Bridge was granted Fairtrade Zone status.
[edit] Governance
At a district level, Hebden Bridge Urban District was established in 1891. In 1937, it merged with Mytholmroyd Urban District to become Hebden Royd Urban District. At a county level, Hebden Bridge was administered as part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. These were abolished as part of the reforms introduced in the Local Government Act 1972. They were replaced with West Yorkshire Metropolitan county, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough, and Hebden Royd Town Civil Parish. From a legal point of view, the town council is a parish council. Recently, it has attracted praise for its commitment to eco-friendly policies,[4] following the example of Modbury in effectively banning all plastic shopping bags, thus becoming the largest community in Europe to do so. The ban is not legally enforceable, but rather a voluntary agreement between local shop owners and the community at large.
Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Hebden Bridge Town Hall and adjoining fire station is a Grade II listed building, built in 1897. Following local government reorganisation, it became underused. The building was transferred from Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council to Hebden Bridge Community Association on a 40-year lease (now extended to 125 years) on 1 April 2010, along with funds for basic maintenance work. Substantial volunteer time is now being put into renovation works and fundraising to secure the building’s future.[5] An ambitious 4m project is also under way to build a small enterprise centre and new community facilities on land adjacent to the Town Hall. The association is member-controlled. More than 450 local people have signed up as friends of the town hall.[6]
Geography
Hebden Bridge lies close to the Pennine Way and the well conserved region of Hardcastle Crags and is popular for outdoor pursuits such as walking, climbing and cycling. It lies on the Rochdale Canal - a through route across the Pennines.
Because Hebden Bridge is in a valley, it has always had problems with flooding. These tend to affect the area between Hebden Water and the cinema on New Road, Brearley Fields in Mytholmroyd, and further up the valley at Callis Bridge by the sewage works and the old Aquaspersions factory. Flooding at Callis Bridge is so frequent that the level of the River Calder has been lowered and special perforated kerbstones fitted so that water can drain back into the river. Brearley is a flood plain but it is also the playing fields for Calder High School and a number of local football, rugby league and cricket teams.
Although Hebden Bridge frequently gets flooded, it also has occasional water shortages. Particularly during the 1990s it had a number of hosepipe bans over summer designed to cut the amount of water used. In 1995 the shortage was particularly severe and the water supply to Hebden Bridge, Halifax and the rest of Calderdale failed completely.
Demography
Hebden Bridge is a popular place to live. However space is limited due to the steep valleys and lack of flat land. In the past this led to "upstairs-downstairs" houses known as over and under dwellings. These were houses built in terraces with 4-5 storeys. The upper storeys face uphill while the lower ones face downhill with their back wall against the hillside. The bottom 2 storeys would be one house while the upper 2-3 storeys would be another. This also led to unusual legal arrangements such as the "flying freehold", where the shared floor/ceiling is wholly owned by the underdwelling.
Population changes in the 1990s led to a demand for more houses. This has proved to be extremely controversial for a number of reasons. The limited availability of houses has meant that prices have risen sharply (for example, a house valued at £54,000 in 1998 was valued at nearly £150,000 in 2004).
Demand for new houses is also a contentious issue as many of the sites for proposed development are areas such as fields or woodland that some local residents feel should be left as they are. Hebden Bridge has attracted artists, and has developed a small New Age community. It became attractive in the 1980s and 1990s to lesbians as a place of mutual support to bring up children.[7] As of 2004 Hebden Bridge had the highest number of lesbians per head in the UK.[8]
In April 2005 Hebden Bridge was declared the 4th quirkiest place in the world by highlife (the British Airways flight magazine) and was described as "modern and stylish in an unconventional and stylish way".[9]
Economy
Walkley's Clog Mill is one of the country's leading clog manufacturers. It moved from its original home at Fallingroyd to a site on Midgley Road in Mytholmroyd.[10]
Acre Mill was an asbestos factory in the hilltop settlement of Old Town, owned by Cape Insulation Ltd.[11] It was opened in 1939 to meet the demand for gas mask filters made from blue asbestos during the Second World War, and diversified into the production of other asbestos products, including rope, pipe lagging and textile, after the war. In 1970, the company closed the mill and moved to Westmorland. The mill was the subject of a 1971 World in Action investigation entitled "The Dust At Acre Mill" which revealed how the factory broke the law regarding asbestos-dust control between 1940-1970.[12] By 1979, 12% of a total of 2,200 former employees had asbestos-related disease.[13] The mill has since been demolished. Cape Insulation also operated a second factory at Hangingroyd Mill.
Hebden Bridge has built a reputation for “great little shops” and has an unusually high density of independent shops for a UK town of its size. In a national survey by The New Economics Foundation in 2010 Hebden Bridge was ranked sixth on a diversity scale and was praised for its independent shops and unique shopping experience.[14]
Culture
The Arts Festival and Fringe Arts Festival take place every year in the late spring, the traditional Pace Egg plays are an annual Easter event, and the midsummer Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is a vivid, non-commercial variation on the small town parade.
Hebden Bridge is home to North Of Watford. Established in the town in 1984, it is one of the countries longest running, professional actors, co-operative agencies and a non-profit making organisation. Its name was chosen to prove that there is life, art and culture 'North Of Watford!'.
Hebden Bridge also has one of the few moorland golf courses left in the area.
Hebden Bridge Little Theatre is an amateur company aiming for professional standards, producing five plays a year and catering for the local community and visitors to the area alike.
Hebden Bridge is also the base of the Calder Valley Youth Theatre, an under-18s society which produces one main musical production per year in the Halifax Playhouse and often several smaller, less formal productions. The group has often been praised by critics as performing to an adult, professional standard.
The Stubbing Wharf is an 18th century inn located alongside the Rochdale Canal, in which the poet Ted Hughes set his poem "Stubbing Wharfe".[15][16]
Sylvia Plath is buried here in Heptonstall.
Hebden Bridge Junior Band
Hebden Bridge Junior Band [17] has been providing musical tuition and an opportunity for young people aged 7–19 to play a brass instrument in a non-competitive band since 1972. Originally formed by Brian Haydn Robinson it now boasts over 40 members. The band accompanies the community carols in St George's Square every Christmas Eve which attracts over 1,500 singers and assorted revellers. The band featured in the Guardian in 2008 [18] as a result of Ben McMahon's atmospheric portraits of the band. This article generated much other media coverage including an appearance on BBC's the ONE Show, Radio 2's Brass Britain and BBC Look North. The band has recently commissioned a series of arrangements of ska music from local musician Dave Nelson. They can be seen playing regularly in the town, especially at community events in late spring and throughout the Christmas period.
Music
Hebden Bridge is home to a diverse and very local feeling music scene, with genres ranging from Rock, Country and Acoustic to Drum and Bass, Dubstep and Hip Hop. The Trades Club and various other bars often put on gigs. Notable local bands and artists include, Dirty Diggers, Widgykeff, Northern Property, Cool Piano Roll, Fishing For Bishops, The Reprise, Recorded Filth and Dirty Fakirs. As of late 2010, early 2011 a free-party scene has been on the rise with events happening upto once a month and showcasing local dj's/mcs.
Transport
Hebden Bridge railway station lies on the Caldervale Line between Manchester Victoria and Leeds City. It is served by frequent rail services to towns and cities in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, as well as West and North Yorkshire including Leeds, Blackpool North, York, Manchester Victoria and Todmorden. There are also some infrequent services to Dewsbury via Brighouse. The railway station in Hebden Bridge is still in the original Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway colours, decorated with hanging baskets, original signage and luggage trolleys.
Bus services in the town are primarily operated by First Group plc, and operate to many local towns and villages, most frequently to Halifax (several services at 10-minute intervals), Burnley (592) and Rochdale (590). However, Keighley District Buses connect Hebden Bridge with Haworth, Oxenhope and Keighley. The "Hebden Bridger" is a local bus operated by WYPTE that serves as a town centre service, also operating to local villages including Heptonstall.
Hebden Bridge railway station features the original Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway colours, rather than the red and cream colours of Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The station roof was replaced a few years ago during a major overhaul and a cafe was opened in the old Red Star parcel office.
Notable people
- Lindsay Jo Rimer went missing in 1994, and her body was later found in the Rochdale Canal the following year.
- Edward Cronshaw - sculptor.
- Ted Hughes - Poet Laureate 1984-1998 (his death).
- Bernard Ingham - Chief Press Secretary to Margaret Thatcher
- Ed Sheeran - Hebden Bridge born