is a large town in the
Metropolitan Borough of
Kirklees within the
County of
West Yorkshire in
England . It is located near the confluence of the
River Colne and the
River Holme .
A village during Anglo-Saxon times, Huddersfield appeared in the
Domesday Book as ''Oderesfelt''. However, there had been a settlement in the vicinity since Roman times, as evidenced by discovery of the remains of a Roman fort at Slack, just west of the town.
Castle Hill , a major landmark of the town, was originally an
Iron Age Hillfort .
In
1952 , in recognition of historic ties and links with The
Duke Of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) , Huddersfield conferred on the regiment the Freedom of the Town. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'Flags Flying, Bands playing and Bayonets fixed'. Many of the town and district's male residents have served in the regiment during its 304 year history.
Huddersfield was always known as a
Market Town, since Saxon times, but since the local
Polytechnic gained
University status, certain 'Up-market' elements of the town have insisted on calling it a University Town.
Attempts by the local council to gain support for
City Status were rejected by the town's population in an unofficial referendum, held by the local media.
According to the 2001 census the population of the Huddersfield urban sub-area of the
West Yorkshire Urban Area was 146,234, and the population of the former
County Borough of Huddersfield was 121,620. The wider South Kirklees area had a population of 216,011.
Huddersfield is the home to two
Sixth Form College s (
Huddersfield New College located at
Salendine Nook and
Greenhead College ),
Huddersfield Technical College and the
University Of Huddersfield . The current Chancellor of the University is the actor
Patrick Stewart , who comes from
Mirfield .
The colonnaded Huddersfield railway station in St George's Square was once described as 'a stately home with trains in it', and by
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as 'one of the best early railway stations in England'.
A clock tower in the village of
Lindley (a suburb to the west of the town) was constructed in 1902 by a local mill-owner, so that his workers would not have any excuse for being late for work! St Peters' Church, or 'Huddersfield Parish Church' was constructed in 1838 and is located in the town centre.
The picture on the
New Zealand wine "Castle Hill" is of Victoria Tower atop
Castle Hill overlooking Huddersfield.
Huddersfield has a large and diverse shopping area, compared to most towns of its size, one of the central shopping areas is the Kingsgate Centre, completed in
2001 . There is a covered Market Hall, which has listed building status, adjacent to the Town Hall and public library, with an open market on the opposite side of the town centre. The town has a varied array of popular bars, clubs, fast food outlets and restaurants and a small casino, all within the central ringroad and an easy walking distance from the Rail and Bus stations.
Huddersfield is well connected to the national
Motorway network via the
M1 and
M62 motorways. The M1 passes near the eastern fringes of the town about ten miles away. The M62 comes much nearer (about 2½ miles away) and Huddersfield is served by three junctions at Mount (A640, J23 - limited access), Ainley Top (A629, J24) and between
Brighouse and Cooper Bridge (A644, J25).
The Huddersfield Corporation built an inner ring road (part of the
A62 ) in the
1970s . The area within this ring road has come to define the
Central Business District of the town. The ring road is effective in relieving traffic congestion in the town centre where many roads are now
Pedestrianised .
Huddersfield Railway Station enjoys a comprehensive local and regional rail service. However, there are no
Intercity services or a direct service to
London . Many services are subsidised by the local-government public transport co-ordinator,
Metro . A frequent service operates to the nearby principal cities of
Leeds and
Manchester and a regular service to
Newcastle-upon-Tyne ,
Sunderland ,
Darlington ,
Middlesbrough ,
Scarborough ,
York ,
Hull ,
Bradford ,
Halifax ,
Wakefield ,
Barnsley ,
Sheffield ,
Manchester International Airport and
Liverpool .
Huddersfield Bus Station is the busiest bus station in West Yorkshire with a daily footfall of almost 35,000,
(source) . The majority of bus services pass through the bus station. Many services are subsidised by ,
Arriva Yorkshire and
Stagecoach Yorkshire through its recently-acquired subsidiary, Yorkshire Traction.
The
Huddersfield Broad Canal , originally the Sir John Ramsden Canal, and the
Huddersfield Narrow Canal , which are both navigable with
Narrowboat s, wind around the south side of the town. To the Rear of the
YMCA in the
Turnbridge section there is an electrically driven locomotive bridge, which is still in use, to raise the road and allow boat traffic to pass. This bridge was originally opened by use of a
Windlass system.
On
August 29 ,
1895 , 22 rugby clubs from across the north of England held a meeting in the George Hotel, next to the railway station. They voted to secede from the
Rugby Football Union and set up their own
Northern Rugby Football Union . In
1922 this became the
Rugby Football League . Huddersfield is still a focus for
Rugby League , being represented by the
Huddersfield Giants in the Superleague, and the Huddersfield Underbank Rangers in
National League 3 , as well as many amateur teams. The Huddersfield Giants play in claret and gold coloured hooped shirts with white shorts.
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. are the town's senior
Association Football team, and were founded in 1908. In the
1920s they became the first club to win the
League Championship three times in a row, an achievement matched only by
Arsenal ,
Liverpool and
Manchester United . They left their ground on
Leeds Road in
1994 and currently share the
Galpharm Stadium with the Giants rugby league team and play in shirts with blue-and-white vertical stripes. Their most famous ex-players are
Scottish international
Denis Law (later of Manchester United) and
Ray Wilson , a
World Cup winner with
England in
1966 . They have been managed by
Bill Shankly and
Herbert Chapman .
Huddersfield Choral Society , founded in 1836, claims to
be the UK's leading choral society. Its history was chronicled in the book 'And The Glory' to commemorate the Society's 150th anniversary in 2001. The author was a choir member for over 35 years.
Huddersfield is also home to the
Lawrence Batley Theatre , the
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival , the
Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Huddersfield Singers .
Huddersfield had a strong Liberal tradition up to the 1950s and this is still reflected in the large number of Liberal Social Clubs in the town.
- Simon Armitage , Poet and Author
- Andy Booth , Football Player See Profile:- {Link without Title}
- David Borrow , Member of Parliament for South Ribble See Parliamentary voting record {Link without Title}
- Roy Castle , Presenter , Dancer and Entertainer
- Peter Falconio , Murdered in Australia .
- Lord James Hanson , British and international Businessman
- Harold Percival Himsworth , Scientist
- George Hirst , English Test Cricketer
- Derek Ibbotson , Olympic Athlete
- Cameron Jerome , Football Player
- Gorden Kaye , Actor
- Anita Lonsborough MBE , Olympic Swimmer and Commentator
- Wilf Lunn , Inventor
- James Mason , Actor
- Wilfred Rhodes , English Test cricketer
- Harold Wagstaff , Rugby League player
- Sir Harold Wilson , Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1960's - 1970's
- Ainley Top , Almondbury , Armitage Bridge , Aspley
- Beaumont Park , Berry Brow , Birchencliffe , Birkby , Blackmoorfoot , Brackenhall , Bolster Moor , Bradley , Brockholes , Butternab
- Cartworth Moor , Cliff End , Clough , Colne Bridge , Cowcliffe , Cowlersley , Cowmes , Crosland Moor
- Dalton , Dean Wood , Deighton , Dodlee
- Edgerton , Emley
- Farnley Tyas , Fartown , Fenay Bridge , Fixby , Flockton
- Golcar , Grange Moor , Greenside , Grimescar
- Hall Bower , Hepworth , Highburton , Highfields , Hillhouse , Hill Top , Holmfirth , Honley
- Kirkburton , Kirkheaton
- Lascelles Hall , Lepton , Lindley , Linthwaite , Lockwood , Longley , Longroyd Bridge , Lowerhouses , Longwood , Lower Fell Greave ,
- Magdale , Marsden , Marsh , Meltham , Milnsbridge , Moldgreen
- Netheroyd Hill , Netherton , Nettleton Hill , New Mill , Newsome
- Oakes , Outlane
- Paddock , Pole Moor , Primrose Hill, Huddersfield
- Quarmby
- Rashcliffe , Rawthorpe
- Salendine Nook , Scammonden , Scapegoat Hill , Scholes , Sheepridge , Shelley , Shepley , Skelmanthorpe , Slaithwaite , South Crosland , Springwood , Steps
- Taylor Hill , Thornton Lodge , Turnbridge
- Upper Clough , Upper Fell Greave , Upper Heaton
- Waterloo
