Damems is a village near

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

, within the

City of Bradford The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and vi ...

Metropolitan District,

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. It is in the BD22 postcode area and uses the 01535 dialling code. Until the mid-19th century it was also known as ''Dam Elms'' or ''Dam Ems''. Damems station - geograph

The village is served by

Damems railway station Damems railway station serves the village of Damems near Keighley, and within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. It is used for heritage trains on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway The Keighley & Worth ...

, opened in 1867, which claims to be Britain's smallest, although it is no longer part of the main rail network. It is used as a request stop for heritage trains. Damems is located on the Worth Way, a circular hiking path connecting Keighley with Oxenhope and the communities along the

River Worth A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

. Originally a farming community, by the mid-19th century the textile industry had become the major employer of the Damems population. In 1851 a school room was provided by a local resident. Rushey Hall (geograph 2687461)

The Roper family of Rushy Hall (also known as Rushy Fall and Rushey Hall), Keighley, had a cotton mill built near Damems around 1780. This was originally water-powered and straddled the River Worth. After 1824 turned into a

worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham ...

mill, and a larger

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

was installed in 1843. In 1852 it was the scene of a weavers' strike connected with the introduction of power looms. A steam engine was added before 1859. The course of the roads and the river had to be altered in connection with the construction of the railway lines in the vicinity. The warehouse burned down in 1874 and the mill in 1878, but were rebuilt. It changed hands several times and was sold in 1934 to Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. who had the mill chimney removed in the same year. The mill was during its last years powered by electricity. In 1977 the premises were sold to Oxenhope Engineering and Ogden's of Oakworth.

References

Villages in West Yorkshire {{westYorkshire-geo-stub