Marsden, West Yorkshire
Encyclopedia
Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees
, in West Yorkshire
, England, 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Huddersfield
and located at the confluence of the River Colne
and the Wessenden Brook
. The village has a population of 4,440 (Kirklees Council mid-year estimate 2008)http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/statistics/census-by-town/settlements/Marsden.pdf.
crossing of the Pennines
into Greater Manchester
. The village is surrounded on three sides by the high moors which are called Marsden Moor and Meltham Moor although Saddleworth Moor is very close. Saddleworth Moor is known for the place of burial for the moors murders
. Marsden has low level access only from the east up the Colne Valley
.
Several generations of tracks and roads have crossed the moors at this point. There are two distinctive packhorse bridge
s in the town (Mellor Bridge by the church, and Close Gate Bridge at the edge of the moor to the east of the village), whilst the current A62
main road crosses through the Standedge cutting some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west. Both the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
and the Huddersfield to Manchester
railway also pass through Marsden, entering the parallel rail and canal Standedge Tunnels
about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of the town. Marsden station
is located in the village on the railway line.
Marsden Moor Estate
, which surrounds Marsden to the west and south, is in the care of the National Trust
(NT). The estate, and several reservoirs also to be found on the moors, form an area of beautiful scenery ideal for walking and cycling. Moor management is not an established science/craft, so the NT are breaking new ground in developing new techniques to rehabilitate the moor.
The present Church of St Bartholomews was completed in 1899, although the nave
and aisle
had been in use from 1895, when the previous chapel was demolished. The tower was built in 1911, and the Parochial Hall in 1924 (with an extension in 1978). The church has a peel of ten bells.
The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team
has its headquarters in Marsden. Operating from two bays of Marsden Fire Station, the volunteer team provides rescue cover for surrounding moorland areas, and also assists West Yorkshire Police with searches for missing people. The team was founded in 1965 and was originally based in Meltham
before relocating to Marsden in 2005.
Marsden also homes a successful football club, Marsden AFC, who play their home matches at their Fall Lane ground. The football club celebrated their centenary year this year and in a double celebration, their 1st team were promoted from the West Riding County Amateur League Division 1 and will now play in the West Riding County Amateur Premier Division at the start of the 2008/2009 season.
Above the village at Hemplow, on Mount Road (at the terminus of the Hard End bus service) is a sports ground which hosts Marsdens cricket http://marsden.play-cricket.com, golf and tennis clubs as well as Hemplow Bowling Club.
The cricket club, formed in 1865, runs two teams in the Drakes Huddersfield Cricket League http://www.drakes-huddersfieldcricketleague.co.uk/ and teams in four age groups in the Huddersfield Junior Cricket League.
. The village is host to several festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Perhaps the most notable of these is Marsden Cuckoo Day, which is a day-long festival held annually in Spring (April), with clog dancing, a duck race, music, a procession and a famous "cuckoo walk". There is also the annual Marsden Jazz Festival each October and the Imbolc
festival each winter, in which the triumph of the Green Man
(who represents the coming spring), over Jack Frost (the winter) is celebrated with fire juggling and giant puppets. Marsden is the home of Mikron Theatre Company, the worlds only professional theatre company to tour by Narrowboat.
Marsden is also the home, or perhaps the butt, of the famous local legend of the Marsden Cuckoo, after which the Cuckoo Day festival is named:
In 2010 Marsden gained Walkers are Welcome status in recognition of its well maintained footpaths, facilities and information for walkers and ramblers.
and film
productions. Recent productions which have used the village include:
Marsden can accessed via the A62 between Oldham
and Huddersfield
, although drivers may need to take care when travelling along the A62, as the road between Oldham and Huddersfield, in particular the stretch of road between Marsden and Diggle
was once voted the 4th dangerous road in Britain.
There are good bus links between Marsden and Huddersfield. Services run by First West Yorkshire
operates the main services between Huddersfield and Marsden. There is also a local service run by JRT, which runs around the Marsden area, before continuing to Slaithwaite. A Trans-pennine service, which is operated by First Manchester
and First West Yorkshire, runs through Marsden between Huddersfield and Manchester
..
Marsden has its own train station
, which is based to the north of the village, near Dirker where the 185 terminates. Marsden is served by Northern Rail
services along the Huddersfield Line
between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria with some Sunday journeys running to Leeds
.
who took Quebec
from the French
in 1759.
Marsden is also where Enoch Taylor was buried. Enoch Taylor was the blacksmith who built the first automatic croppers. The name Enoch was used for the hammers that the Luddites used to smash them. The Luddites used the slogan "Enoch made them, and Enoch shall break them."
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
, in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England, 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
and located at the confluence of the River Colne
River Colne, West Yorkshire
The River Colne is a river in West Yorkshire formed by a confluence at the foot of the Pennines close to the village of Marsden.-Course:Numerous brooks formed by rainwater high in the Pennines of West Yorkshire, flow down the hillsides through the small valleys to feed two Yorkshire Water...
and the Wessenden Brook
Wessenden Valley
The Wessenden Valley is a moorland valley nestled amidst the Dark Peak, immediately south of the large village of Marsden in the English county of West Yorkshire...
. The village has a population of 4,440 (Kirklees Council mid-year estimate 2008)http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/statistics/census-by-town/settlements/Marsden.pdf.
Geography
Marsden is the last significant settlement on the West Yorkshire side of StandedgeStandedge
Standedge is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England. Located between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the metropolitan counties of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since Roman times and possibly...
crossing of the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
into Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. The village is surrounded on three sides by the high moors which are called Marsden Moor and Meltham Moor although Saddleworth Moor is very close. Saddleworth Moor is known for the place of burial for the moors murders
Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
. Marsden has low level access only from the east up the Colne Valley
Colne Valley
The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward along the floor of the valley....
.
Several generations of tracks and roads have crossed the moors at this point. There are two distinctive packhorse bridge
Packhorse bridge
A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow masonry arches, and has low parapets so as not to interfere with the horse's panniers.Packhorse bridges were often built on the trade routes that...
s in the town (Mellor Bridge by the church, and Close Gate Bridge at the edge of the moor to the east of the village), whilst the current A62
A62 road
The A62 is a major road in Northern England that runs between the two major cities of Manchester and Leeds.The road is approximately 40 miles long. It runs north east from Manchester through Failsworth and Oldham then Saddleworth before crossing the Pennines at Standedge into West Yorkshire...
main road crosses through the Standedge cutting some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west. Both the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
and the Huddersfield to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
railway also pass through Marsden, entering the parallel rail and canal Standedge Tunnels
Standedge Tunnels
The Standedge Tunnels are four parallel tunnels that run beneath the Pennines at the traditional Standedge crossing point between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, in northern England.There are three railway tunnels and a...
about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of the town. Marsden station
Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line, operated by Northern Rail and is about west of Huddersfield station...
is located in the village on the railway line.
Marsden Moor Estate
Marsden Moor Estate
The Marsden Moor Estate is a large expanse of moorland situated in the Pennines, between the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester in the north of England...
, which surrounds Marsden to the west and south, is in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
(NT). The estate, and several reservoirs also to be found on the moors, form an area of beautiful scenery ideal for walking and cycling. Moor management is not an established science/craft, so the NT are breaking new ground in developing new techniques to rehabilitate the moor.
Institutions
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
had been in use from 1895, when the previous chapel was demolished. The tower was built in 1911, and the Parochial Hall in 1924 (with an extension in 1978). The church has a peel of ten bells.
The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team
Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team
The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team is a voluntary organisation based in Marsden, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The Team functions as a search and rescue service covering the southern half of West Yorkshire, and is a registered charity entirely funded by public contributions.- About the...
has its headquarters in Marsden. Operating from two bays of Marsden Fire Station, the volunteer team provides rescue cover for surrounding moorland areas, and also assists West Yorkshire Police with searches for missing people. The team was founded in 1965 and was originally based in Meltham
Meltham
Meltham is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Holme Valley, below Wessenden Moor, four and a half miles south-west of Huddersfield on the edge of the Peak District National Park...
before relocating to Marsden in 2005.
Marsden also homes a successful football club, Marsden AFC, who play their home matches at their Fall Lane ground. The football club celebrated their centenary year this year and in a double celebration, their 1st team were promoted from the West Riding County Amateur League Division 1 and will now play in the West Riding County Amateur Premier Division at the start of the 2008/2009 season.
Above the village at Hemplow, on Mount Road (at the terminus of the Hard End bus service) is a sports ground which hosts Marsdens cricket http://marsden.play-cricket.com, golf and tennis clubs as well as Hemplow Bowling Club.
The cricket club, formed in 1865, runs two teams in the Drakes Huddersfield Cricket League http://www.drakes-huddersfieldcricketleague.co.uk/ and teams in four age groups in the Huddersfield Junior Cricket League.
Culture
Marsden is the home of the Marsden Silver Prize Band, a top level brass bandBrass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
. The village is host to several festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Perhaps the most notable of these is Marsden Cuckoo Day, which is a day-long festival held annually in Spring (April), with clog dancing, a duck race, music, a procession and a famous "cuckoo walk". There is also the annual Marsden Jazz Festival each October and the Imbolc
Imbolc
Imbolc , or St Brigid’s Day , is an Irish festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is celebrated on 1 or 2 February in the northern hemisphere and 1 August in the southern hemisphere...
festival each winter, in which the triumph of the Green Man
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
(who represents the coming spring), over Jack Frost (the winter) is celebrated with fire juggling and giant puppets. Marsden is the home of Mikron Theatre Company, the worlds only professional theatre company to tour by Narrowboat.
Marsden is also the home, or perhaps the butt, of the famous local legend of the Marsden Cuckoo, after which the Cuckoo Day festival is named:
- "Many years ago the people of Marsden were aware that when the cuckoo arrived, so did the Spring and sunshine. They tried to keep Spring forever, by building a tower around the Cuckoo. Unfortunately, as the last stones were about to be laid, away flew the cuckoo. If only they'd built the tower one layer higher. As the legend says, it "were nobbut just wun course too low."
Activities
WalkingIn 2010 Marsden gained Walkers are Welcome status in recognition of its well maintained footpaths, facilities and information for walkers and ramblers.
Use as a media location
Marsden is popular as a location for televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
productions. Recent productions which have used the village include:
- Where the Heart IsWhere the Heart Is (1997 TV series)Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
(ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
) - Last of the Summer WineLast of the Summer WineLast of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
(BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
) - Eleventh Hour (ITV)
- Housewife, 49Housewife, 49Housewife, 49 was a 2006 television drama based on the wartime diaries of Nella Last. Written by and starring English actress and comedian Victoria Wood, it follows the experiences of an ordinary housewife and mother in the Northern English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria during the Second World...
(ITV) - WokenwellWokenwellWokenwell was a British drama series that aired in 1997. Produced by LWT for the ITV network, it centered on three policemen and their wives living in the fictional northern England town of Wokenwell...
(ITV) - The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
(BBC) - Between Two WomenBetween Two WomenBetween Two Women is a 1950s set feature film by British writer-director Steven Woodcock. It tells the story of Ellen, a factory worker’s wife trapped in an unhappy marriage amidst the grime and industrial noise of north England.-Plot:...
(film)
Transport
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, although drivers may need to take care when travelling along the A62, as the road between Oldham and Huddersfield, in particular the stretch of road between Marsden and Diggle
Diggle, Greater Manchester
Diggle is a village within the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. The village is situated on the moorlands of the Pennine hills....
was once voted the 4th dangerous road in Britain.
There are good bus links between Marsden and Huddersfield. Services run by First West Yorkshire
First West Yorkshire
First West Yorkshire is the trading name of the four First bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
operates the main services between Huddersfield and Marsden. There is also a local service run by JRT, which runs around the Marsden area, before continuing to Slaithwaite. A Trans-pennine service, which is operated by First Manchester
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
and First West Yorkshire, runs through Marsden between Huddersfield and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
..
Marsden has its own train station
Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line, operated by Northern Rail and is about west of Huddersfield station...
, which is based to the north of the village, near Dirker where the 185 terminates. Marsden is served by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
services along the Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria with some Sunday journeys running to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
Notable people
Marsden was the birthplace of Henrietta Thompson, the mother of General James WolfeJames Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
who took Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1759.
Marsden is also where Enoch Taylor was buried. Enoch Taylor was the blacksmith who built the first automatic croppers. The name Enoch was used for the hammers that the Luddites used to smash them. The Luddites used the slogan "Enoch made them, and Enoch shall break them."
- Simon ArmitageSimon ArmitageSimon Armitage CBE is a British poet, playwright, and novelist.-Life and career:Simon Armitage was born in Marsden, West Yorkshire. Armitage first studied at Colne Valley High School, Linthwaite, Huddersfield and went on to study geography at Portsmouth Polytechnic...
, born 1963, renowned poet & playwright. - Samuel LaycockSamuel LaycockSamuel Laycock was a dialect poet who recorded in verse the vernacular of the Lancashire cotton workers. He was born on 17 January 1826 at Intake Head, Pule Hill, Marsden, West Yorkshire, the son of John Laycock, a hand-loom weaver. He had no formal education apart from Sunday school and a few...
, 1826–1893, a dialect poet.
External links
- Description of Marsden from the Marsden Jazz Festival's web site.
- Marsden Local History Group web site.
- A walk between Marsden and Standedge Tunnel from TripsByTrain.com
- Virtual Huddersfield shows all the shops in Marsden
- The website of Mikron Theatre Company