Standedge () is a

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

in the Pennine Hills of northern England between

Marsden, West Yorkshire Marsden is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the South Pennines close to the Peak District which lies to the south. The village is west of Huddersfield at the confluence of the River C ...

and

Diggle, Greater Manchester Diggle is a village in the civil parish of the Saddleworth in Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. The village is situated on the moorlands of the Pennine hills. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it ...

. Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

and possibly earlier. From east to west, Standedge is crossed by five generations of road crossing, the earliest a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and the latest the

A62 road A6, A 6 or A-6 can refer to: Arts and entertainment *A6, a mutated flu virus in the short story "Night Surf" by Stephen King *A-6, a renamed version of the US Security Group in the 1997 comic book movie ''Spawn'' Electronics and software * A6 rec ...

. 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 ...

and the railway line from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

pass underground in the

Standedge Tunnels The Standedge Tunnels () are four parallel tunnels through the Pennine hills at the Standedge crossing between Marsden in Kirklees, West Yorkshire and Diggle in Oldham, Greater Manchester in northern England. Three are railway tunnels (con ...

. The

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

long-distance footpath passes through Standedge in a north–south direction along the Pennines. Much of Standedge is in the National Trust's

Marsden Moor Estate The Marsden Moor Estate is a large expanse of moorland in the South Pennines, between the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester in the north of England. It is named after the adjacent town of Marsden, and is owned and admini ...

. Administratively, Standedge is split between

Kirklees Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also includes ...

and

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Surface crossings

The earliest known crossing of Standedge is the

connecting the

Roman forts In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

at Slack and

Castleshaw Castleshaw is a hamlet in the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines, north of Uppermill, west-southwest of Marsden, and east-northeast of Oldham. Historically a ...

, on the way from York to Chester. The road is believed to have been built in AD 80. Its course was identified in 1969 to the north-east of Castleshaw fort, climbing Standedge Ridge by means of a graded terraceway. It was originally more than 22 feet (6.7 m) wide but has been considerably eroded. After the Roman road fell into disuse, travel across the moors was restricted to tracks, used by

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

s. One crossed from Marsden to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. Narrow and

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridge ...

s can be found in several places on the moors, including the ''Close Gate Bridge'' near Marsden. The first

metalled road A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobble ...

between Huddersfield to Manchester was built in 1760. It was followed by another road, known locally as ''the coach road'', built by John Metcalf (Blind Jack of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

) in 1791. It crossed the Pennine ridge south of the present Standedge cutting. In 1839 the coach road was replaced by a new

turnpike road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

, the ''Wakefield and Austerlands Toll Road''. Trenches were cut in the coach road, to prevent it being used as a free alternative. This route is used today by the

, crossing the summit of Standedge in a cutting. The

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...

now carries most cross-Pennine road traffic on a different route to the north of Standedge.

Tunnel crossings

Four parallel tunnels run under Standedge between Diggle and Marsden. The single

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is the oldest, having been opened in 1811, and is still in use. Three railway tunnels were opened, the first in 1848, and in 1871 and 1894, but only the 1894 tunnel still carries rail traffic. The four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or

adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...

s at strategic intervals inside the tunnels, and the 1848 rail tunnel has been made accessible to road vehicles for use as an emergency access and evacuation route for the other tunnels.

Standedge

Standedge is a sparsely populated area, although it does have two former

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s - the Carriage House and the Great Western - within a few hundred metres of each other on the A62 road. There are two reservoirs and pathways for hikers. Standedge can be accessed by bus on the 184 service between Huddersfield and Manchester via

. The service is run by

First Greater Manchester First Greater ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 28186 ...

and there are bus stops on each side of the road near the summit of Standedge (at the crossing of the

and

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria. ...

). The buses are hourly Monday to Saturday daytime and run every two hours on Sunday daytimes.

References

{{coord, 53, 34, 59.51, N, 01, 58, 8.51, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Geography of Kirklees Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Mountains and hills of the Peak District Hills of West Yorkshire Mountains and hills of Greater Manchester Escarpments of England Mountains and hills of the Pennines