Norland is a dispersed village south of

Sowerby Bridge Sowerby Bridge ( ) is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703. History The town was originally a fording point over the once mu ...

, in the metropolitan borough of

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

History

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, the settlement dates back to the 13th century when it consisted of

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

farmhouses on the hillsides above the valleys of the Calder and Ryburn rivers. They were replaced by stone houses in the 17th and 18th centuries and housed workers in the

woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

industry that developed at this time. As the industry thrived, some houses built by

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

farmers were substantial such as Lower Old Hall (dated 1634) and Fallingworth Hall (dated 1642). Norland Hall, lower down on the hillside near Milner Royd, was typical of an older timber-framed building encased in stone in the late 17th century. In 1911 it was struck by lightning and dismantled in 1914. The American newspaper magnate

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

bought the stones in 1922 with the intention of re-building the hall in the USA. However, his plan came to nothing and eventually material was incorporated into a chapel in

San Simeon San Simeon ( Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is an unincorporated community on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles and San ...

, California, in 1968. The village church, St Luke's, opened in 1866. Three other former places of worship, Mount Pleasant

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Chapel (1819–1962), Mount Zion Chapel and Bethel

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Chapel (1865–?), are now private residences. The primary school was built as a

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

in 1871 and opened as a Church of England day school in January 1872. It has since been extended in 1894 and 2003. The

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

was erected in 1920 and the park around it created four years later on the site of the village

pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...

. In 2000 a millennium sundial was added and a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

buried by the children of Norland School. Norland was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of Halifax, in 1866 Norland became a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, on 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and merged with Sowerby Bridge. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1128.

Norland Moor

Norland Moor (approx. 250 acres) above the village is an example of heather moorland rising to at the trig point at the southern end. There is evidence of ancient use with a small number of standing stones, ditches and banks having been identified. The Ladstone, a large outcrop near the trig point, has been linked with Druids as a possible place of ritual sacrifice (Celtic ''llad'' = kill or cut). The moor bears the scars of

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their s ...

carried out chiefly in the 18th and 19th centuries on its north-western edge. The moor has been a place of recreation for generations but it has attracted illegal gambling dens and prize fights. Previously owned by Lord Savile, a large section of the moor was auctioned in 1932 to pay death duties. It was purchased by Mr Francis Longbottom for £250. Subsequently, the Parish Council launched an appeal (which raised £373 in eleven days) and Norland Moor passed into its care for the benefit of the local population. In 1937 control passed to Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council and in 1974 to Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. In 2002 Norland Moor was designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR). In 2011 moves were in place to create a Friends of Norland Moor group so that local interests are respected in the moor's management.

Norland today

Norland has an estimated population of about 600 compared to about 1,500 in the mid–19th century. Most people commute out of the village to work. It no longer has any shops but has a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, "The Moorcock", and the Norland

Working Men's Club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education ...

, reputedly one of the smallest working men's clubs in the country. The "Blue Ball", dating back to at least the 1820s, closed in December 2009, and the "Hobbit" (previously the "West Bottom Tavern") closed in 2011. The Hobbit has reopened. File:St Luke's Church, Norland - geograph.org.uk - 35490.jpg, St Luke's Church, Norland File:St Luke's Parish Church, Norland, Interior - geograph.org.uk - 1117738.jpg, St Luke's Church, Norland (internal view) File:New Clough Road, Norland - geograph.org.uk - 987015.jpg, New Clough Road, Norland File:Harper Royd Lane - geograph.org.uk - 1058611.jpg, Harper Royd Lane

Scarecrow festival

The annual

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

festival was started by a

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

committee for the village in 1999. It takes place around the first weekend in September. The theme for 2016 was Books. The theme for 2019 was “Space and all things Sci-fi” and for 2022 the theme was "Children's Favourites": all the scarecrows were built with this theme in mind.

References

;See also * *

External links

Sowerby Bridge Chronicle newspaper website
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire Geography of Calderdale