Golcar (pronounced 'Go Car' or 'Golker') is a village on a hillside crest above the

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 towards Huddersfield. ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, west of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, and just north of the River Colne and the

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 in Huddersfield, to the junction with the Ashton Canal at White ...

. The 2021 population census lists the village as having 18,725 pemanent residents. . The main transport access is from the A62 (Manchester Road), through

Milnsbridge Milnsbridge is a district of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, situated west of the town centre, and in the Colne Valley. The name is said to have derived from the water-powered mill and the bridge that stood alongside it in the 13th cent ...

in the valley bottom or via Scapegoat Hill from the A640 (New Hey Road) at the top of the hill. The

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Golcar consists of Bolster Moor, Golcar, Wellhouse,

Pole Moor Pole Moor is a hamlet between Outlane and Scammonden in Kirklees, England. It is situated on a high moorland plateau between Slaithwaite and Wholestone Moors in the South Pennines. History At the start of the Industrial Revolution the inhabitant ...

and Scapegoat Hill.

History

Named after

St Guthlac Saint Guthlac of Crowland ( ang, Gūðlāc; la, Guthlacus; 674 – 3 April 714 CE) was a Christian hermit and saint from Lincolnshire in England. He is particularly venerated in the Fens of eastern England. Life Guthlac was the son of Penwal ...

, who preached in the area during the 8th century, its name is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Goullakarres''. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

Golcar became an important centre for

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

. Pharmacologist James Burrows grew up in the area. The village has been a site of extensive dialect research. It was first a site in the English

Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loca ...

, and later a site in the ''

Atlas Linguarum Europae The ''Atlas Linguarum Europae'' (literally ''Atlas of the Languages of Europe'', ALE in acronym) is a linguistic atlas project launched in 1970 with the help of UNESCO, and published from 1975 to 2007. The ALE used its own phonetic transcription sy ...

''.

Colne Valley Museum

Three 1840s

weavers' cottage A weavers' cottage was (and to an extent still is) a type of house used by weavers for cloth production in the putting-out system sometimes known as the domestic system. Weavers' cottages were common in Great Britain, often with dwelling quarte ...

s were converted into the

Colne Valley Museum The Colne Valley Museum is located within the Colne Valley at Golcar, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The museum consists of four converted 19th century weavers' cottages. The museum provides an insight into what life was like for a weave ...

in 1970. The museum has several restored period rooms which are used to show temporary exhibitions. The museum was extended in 2008 following the purchase of the adjoining former fish and chip shop. Exhibits include a handloom and a

spinning jenny The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...

, invented by

James Hargreaves James Hargreaves ( 1720 – 22 April 1778) was an English weaver, carpenter and inventor who lived and worked in Lancashire, England. He was one of three men responsible for the mechanisation of spinning: Hargreaves is credited with inventing ...

. In the loom chamber, spinning room, weavers sitting room and 'gas-lit' cloggers shop, the volunteer helpers give demonstrations of the type of crafts that would have existed during the 19th century. The museum is run by volunteers and opens at weekends and bank holidays. Various craft and working weekends are held through the year.

Community facilities

Golcar supports two scout groups: the 4th Golcar Scout Group, which was founded in 1951 and the 39th Parkwood Scout Group, founded in 1908. The village has several sporting teams including football and cricket teams (Golcar who play in the

Huddersfield Cricket League The Huddersfield Cricket League is the premier cricket competition in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The league has been in existence since 1891 with teams representing suburbs of Huddersfield and villages in the Huddersfield district a ...

and Leymoor who play in the

Halifax Cricket League The Halifax Cricket League with cricket clubs in and around the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. In the league there are also clubs from the nearby Calder Valley, city of Bradford, town of Huddersfield and the Spen Valley. The leagues ...

). The village has three churches, the Anglican Parish Church of St John the Evangelist opened in 1829 ''The History of the Colne Valley'', D.F.E. Sykes,1906. p187 and is a good example of a

Waterloo church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...

, Golcar Baptist Church

, founded in 1835 and Golcar Providence Methodist Church founded in 1876. Each year in early May the village hosts the Golcar Lily Day. Golcar Brass Band

was reformed in 1977 and practises at the Baptist Church on a Monday night.

Schools

* Golcar Junior, Infant & Nursery School, Manor Road, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4QE * St. John's C of E Junior & Infant School, Leymoor Road, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4QQ * Beech Primary, Beech Avenue, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4BE * Wellhouse Junior & Infant School, Lower Wellhouse, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4ES * Clough Head Junior & Infant School, Bolster Moor Road, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4JU * Scapegoat Hill Junior & Infant School, School Road, Scapegoat Hill, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4NU

References

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