Huddersfield

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Huddersfield_Town :: Huddersfield :: Huddersfield_and_District :: Huddersfield_Works_League :: Huddersfield_and_District_Sunday :: Huddersfield_Giants

Huddersfield is a large town near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire and is located within the historic borders of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

History

It was a village during Anglo-Saxon times and 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.

Huddersfield was incorporated as a municipal borough in the ancient West Riding of Yorkshire in 1868. The borough comprised the parishes of Almondbury, Dalton, Huddersfield, Lindley cum Quarmby and Lockwood. When the West Riding County Council was formed in 1889, Huddersfield became a county borough, exempt from county council control. The county borough was abolished in 1974 and its former area was combined with that of other districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.

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 area of the county borough was 121,620. The wider South Kirklees area had a population of 216,011.

Institutions

Schools and colleges

Huddersfield is the home to three sixth form colleges Huddersfield New College located at Salendine Nook, Greenhead College and Shelley College. With two higher education establishments of Huddersfield Technical College and the University of Huddersfield. The current Chancellor of the University is the actor Patrick Stewart, who comes from Mirfield.

Hospitals

Huddersfield currently has one main hospital, the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary situated in Lindley, plus the smaller St Luke's Hospital at Crosland Moor which mostly provides geriatric and psychiatric care. Kirkwood Hospice provides care for the terminally ill, and is dependant on private donations and charitable gifts.

Recent changes to the services provided by the Huddersfield / Calderdale Trust will change these facilities in 2007 despite a campaign by the local population to retain them in house.

Historical landmarks

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.

Shopping and Entertainment

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.

Transport infrastructure

Road

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.

Rail

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.

Bus

Huddersfield Bus Station is the busiest bus station in West Yorkshire with a daily footfall of almost 35,000. The majority of bus services pass through the bus station. Many services are subsidised by Metro who are also responsible for co-ordination, planning and timetabling of services throughout West Yorkshire. Huddersfield's bus operators reflect the national situation; three dominant national operators provide most of the services in the area: First (in Huddersfield & Halifax), Arriva Yorkshire and Stagecoach Yorkshire through its recently-acquired subsidiary, Yorkshire Traction.

Canal

The Huddersfield Broad Canal, originally the Sir John Ramsden Canal, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which are both navigable with narrowboats, wind around the south side of the town. To the rear of the YMCA in the Turnbridge section there is an electrically operated road 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.

Sport

Rugby

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.

Football

Huddersfield Town A.F.C. is the town's senior association football team, and was founded in 1908. In the 1920s it became the first club to win the League Championship three times in a row, an achievement matched only by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. The club left its ground on Leeds Road in 1994 and currently shares the Galpharm Stadium with the Huddersfield Giants rugby league team and plays in shirts with blue-and-white vertical stripes. Its most famous ex-players are Scottish international Denis Law (later of Manchester United) and Ray Wilson, a World Cup winner with England in 1966. Bill Shankly and Herbert Chapman are former Huddersfield Town managers.

Arts

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.