The Holme of the
Holme Valley
Holme Valley is a large civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 25,049 (2001 census), increasing to 34,680 for the two wards in the 2011 Census. Its administrative centre is in H ...
,
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 is a tributary of the
River Colne, West Yorkshire
The River Colne in West Yorkshire is formed at the confluence of two brooks that originate in the Pennines close to Marsden. It flows in an easterly direction through the Colne Valley and Huddersfield towards Cooper Bridge where it flows in ...
. The source is via Digley Reservoir, fed firstly by the run-off from Brownhill Reservoir, then by Dobbs Dike. Banks along the upper valley are mostly urbanised and are in the Holme Valley
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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
.
Course
From Digley Reservoir, the river flows north-east through
Holmbridge
Holmbridge is a small village on the A6024 road, A6024 to the southwest of Holmfirth and south of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Holme Valley and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees.
In the 1950s, it was a site ...
and
Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...
. It flows
NNE
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
to
Thongsbridge
Thongsbridge is a small village in the Kirklees district of West Yorkshire, England. It is in the semi-rural Holme Valley and the village boundaries merge into the neighbouring communities of Holmfirth, New Mill and Wooldale. According to the ...
and
Brockholes then north to reach
Honley
__NOTOC__
Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. According to the 2011 ...
,
Berry Brow
Berry Brow is a semi-rural village in West Yorkshire, England, situated about south of Huddersfield. It lies on the eastern bank of the Holme Valley and partially straddles the A616 road to Honley and Penistone.
The village has a Victori ...
and
Lockwood. It wends northwards and joins the
Colne
Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds.
The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...
(one of five rivers of that name) just south 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 ...
town centre at Folly Hall.
The
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
has a gauging station at Queen's Mill in Huddersfield where the record average monthly levels are , versus . The record high is , in 2011.
Flooding
The river was prone to flooding, the earliest recorded in 1738. In 1840 the dam of Bilberry Reservoir was built over a stream, but the work had not been done properly and the stream not correctly redirected. Thus in February 1852, the reservoir broke its confines and flooded the valley as far as Holmfirth. It caused 81 deaths and the destruction of many homes and businesses.
Geography
;Natural upper catchment
The top of the valley is surrounded by the high, wooded hills on their lower slopes only, of
Holme Moss
Holme Moss ( a.s.l.) is high moorland on the border between the Holme Valley district of Kirklees in West Yorkshire and the High Peak district of Derbyshire in England. Historically on the boundary between the West Riding of Yorkshire and Che ...
, Harden Moss and Cartworth Moor.
;Geology
The underlying bedrock was laid down in the late
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
period and is primarily of
Millstone Grit with some
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
interspersed with thin
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
seams.
Lists
Tributaries
* Dobb Dike
* Black Sike Dike
*
River Ribble
The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
* Hebble Dike/Mark Bottoms Dike
* New Mills Dike
* Mag Brook
* Dean Clough
Settlements
*
Holmbridge
Holmbridge is a small village on the A6024 road, A6024 to the southwest of Holmfirth and south of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Holme Valley and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees.
In the 1950s, it was a site ...
*
Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...
*
Wooldale
Wooldale is a small village nestled on a hill, overlooking the Kirkroyds area of New Mill, Holmfirth in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 2,420.
Co-operative Society
The village was the base of the Wooldale Co-operative Society ...
*
Netherthong
Netherthong is a village in the civil parish of Holme Valley, and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. The village is near the town of Holmfirth, and on the B6107 road to Meltham from the main A6024 Woodhead Road thr ...
*
Thongsbridge
Thongsbridge is a small village in the Kirklees district of West Yorkshire, England. It is in the semi-rural Holme Valley and the village boundaries merge into the neighbouring communities of Holmfirth, New Mill and Wooldale. According to the ...
*
Brockholes
*
Honley
__NOTOC__
Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. According to the 2011 ...
*
Netherton
*
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 ...
Road crossings
*
A6024 Woodhead Road, Holmbridge
* Dobb Lane, Holmbridge
* Hollowgate, Holmfirth
*
A635, Victoria Road, Holmfirth
* Bridge Lane, Holmfirth
* Miry Lane, Thongsbridge
* Smithy Place Lane, Brockholes
* A6024, Honley
* Northgate, Honley
* Magdale road, Honley
* B6110, Armitage Road,
Armitage Bridge
Armitage Bridge is a village approximately south of Huddersfield, in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Berry Brow and South Crosland and straddles the River Holme. The village has a public house, a cricket club ...
, Huddersfield
*
A616, Bridge Street, Huddesfield
* Queens Mill Road, Huddersfield
Gallery
File:River Holme, Thongsbridge - geograph.org.uk - 102745.jpg, River Holme, Thongsbridge
File:River Holme, Thongsbridge - geograph.org.uk - 102743.jpg, River Holme, Thongsbridge
File:River Holme - Towngate - geograph.org.uk - 500187.jpg, River Holme - Towngate
File:River Holme at Holmfirth - geograph.org.uk - 95382.jpg, River Holme at Holmfirth
File:River Holme in Lockwood Huddersfield - geograph.org.uk - 489437.jpg, River Holme in Lockwood Huddersfield
File:The River Holme in Holmfirth - geograph.org.uk - 1252423.jpg, The River Holme in Holmfirth
File:Old bridge over the River Holme, off Woodhead Road, Holmfirth - geograph.org.uk - 1112640.jpg, Old bridge over the River Holme, off Woodhead Road, Holmfirth
See also
*
Holmfirth Floods
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holme, River
Rivers of Kirklees
Rivers of Huddersfield
Rivers and valleys of the Peak District
Holme Valley
Rivers of West Yorkshire
Aire catchment