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Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the
Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 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 u ...
borough of West Yorkshire, England,
historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack Top, is 1,448, increasing to 1,470 at the 2011 Census. The town of Hebden Bridge lies directly to the south-east. Although Heptonstall is part of Hebden Bridge as a post town, it is not within the Hebden Royd town boundaries. The village is on the route of the Calderdale Way, a circular walk around the hills and valleys of Calderdale.


History

Heptonstall is mentioned in the Domesday book in 1087. The place-name 'Heptonstall' is first recorded as ''Heptonstall'' in the 1274 Wakefield Court Rolls, and in 1316 in the ''Feudal Aids''. The name means "the stall or stable in Hebden". The name 'Hebden' means "
rose-hip The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollinat ...
dene or valley". Heptonstall initially formed part of the
manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
of Halifax-cum-Heptonstall, itself subinfeudatory to the manor of Wakefield, and so does not explicitly appear in early taxation records, such as those for the 1379 Poll Tax. In 1626 the manor was spun-off and sold and was extinguished in the late 19th century. Heptonstall was the site of a battle during the early part of the English Civil War in 1643. Historically a centre for hand-loom weaving, Heptonstall's cottages and terraced houses are characterised by large first-floor windows to maximise the light for weaving.Lucy Caffyn (October 1983) ''World Archaeology'', Vol. 15, No. 2, p 174 "Housing in an Industrial Landscape: A Study of Workers' Housing in West Yorkshire" The older churchyard claims
"King" David Hartley The Cragg Vale Coiners, sometimes the Yorkshire Coiners, were a band of counterfeiters in England, based in Cragg Vale, near Hebden Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. They produced fake gold coins in the late 18th century to supplement small i ...
amongst notable graves there. Hartley was founder of the
Cragg Coiners The Cragg Vale Coiners, sometimes the Yorkshire Coiners, were a band of counterfeiting, counterfeiters in England, based in Cragg Vale, near Hebden Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. They produced fake gold coins in the late 18th century to sup ...
and lived as a rogue in the Calderdale area until he was hanged at
Knavesmire The Knavesmire is one of a number of large, marshy undeveloped areas within the city of York in North Yorkshire, England, which are collectively known as '' Strays''. Knavesmire, together with Hob Moor, comprises Micklegate Stray. It has bee ...
(Tyburn) near York in 1770. The foundation stone of its octagonal Methodist chapel, the oldest still in continued use, was laid following the visit of
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
in 1764.Reader's Digest (1998) ''Land of Moors and Dales'' Reader's Digest Association Ltd In the mid-1980s the paving on a road through Heptonstall was removed, revealing the original stone setts. Although there was a plan to remove the setts, local protests convinced the council to restore them. At the same time the existing concrete street lights were replaced with late 19th-century cast-iron gas lamps. Both developments acted as a traffic calming measure.


Community

A small local-history museum is based in what was once the village grammar school. (Currently closed, though subject to a proposed, community asset transfer) A local park is used for sport and includes a playground for children. Adjacent to Heptonstall lie the National Trust woodlands of
Hardcastle Crags Hardcastle Crags is a wooded Pennine valley in West Yorkshire, England, owned by the National Trust. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies approximately north of the town of Hebden Bridge and west of the town of Halifax. ...
with walking paths and a restored 19th-century mill. Half a mile out of the village is Lumb Bank, the second of the Arvon Foundation's residential centres for writers. Each year on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
there are performances of the Heptonstall version of the traditional Pace Egg play. These are held in Weavers' Square next to the old graveyard. Heptonstall Festival, a free, day-long music festival, is usually held in early July also in Weaver's Square. It usually begins with a
fell race Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport o ...
. The village is a day-trip destination for tourists and walkers, especially in the summer months. The two public houses are the Cross and the White Lion. There is a small post office – the original post office, on Smithwell Lane, is now a residential property. A cafe/delicatessen is situated in Towngate. The village's oldest house is Stag Cottage (c.1580), which is within a small courtyard called Stag Fold. At the back of the cottage, on the level of a public car park, is a doorway to a dungeon, once used as a lock-up. Nearby there is a pinfold, built to hold livestock, but now a picnic area.


Parish church

Heptonstall's original church was dedicated to
St Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
. It was founded c.1260, and was altered and added to over several centuries. The church was damaged by a gale in 1847, and is now only a shell. A new church, St Thomas the Apostle, was built in the same churchyard. This suffered a lightning strike in 1875. The church is used for the annual Pennine Spring Music Festival, held every Spring Bank Holiday week. This includes workshops, masterclasses and performances. The old church ruin is occasionally used for open-air services. The tower of the new church contains eight bells, cast in 1912 by John Taylor & Co. These were removed to a bell foundry for refurbishment on 31 August 2012 and were returned, with new bearings, in October 2012. The American poet Sylvia Plath, who was married to Poet Laureate Ted Hughes from nearby Mytholmroyd, is buried in the graveyard extension, to the south-west of St Thomas Becket's churchyard. Plath's headstone has been several times vandalised by removing Hughes's surname from the memorial. Another poet buried here is the American expatriate
Asa Benveniste Asa Benveniste (August 25, 1925–April 13, 1990) was an American-born poet, typographer and publisher. Early years Benveniste was born in New York and settled in England in the 1950s. Career After World War II Benveniste, at this time kn ...
, a co-founder in London of the publisher Trigram Press. In the 1980s Benveniste and his partner Agnetha Falk ran a second-hand bookshop in Hebden Bridge. His gravestone reads: "Foolish Enough to Have Been a Poet".


Methodist chapel

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
laid the foundation stone of the octagonal chapel situated off Northgate, which was completed in 1764 – he recommended the shape to avoid conflict with the established church. Local people attended the parish church and Methodist preaching. The chapel also provided teaching in reading and writing for the poor. The chapel was originally built as a symmetrical octagon but by 1802, with the Society including 337 members and 1,002 scholars, one end of the chapel was pulled down and the side walls were extended to provide extra space.


Media

Heptonstall Methodist Chapel featured in the
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
2010 series ''Churches: How to Read Them'', in which Richard Taylor named it as one of his ten favourite churches, saying: "If buildings have an aura, this one radiated friendship." The ruin of St Thomas a Becket church featured as a location in the 1993
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
drama series Mr. Wroe's Virgins directed by Danny Boyle. The village was the main location used in the BBC Three
situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
The Gemma Factor ''The Gemma Factor'' is a BBC Three sitcom starring Anna Gilthorpe, Claire King and Gwyneth Powell. The series premiered on Tuesday 9 March 2010, and has six episodes. Overview The series is set in a town called Lumb in West Yorkshire, some ...
'', with the local tearoom being used for a major part of the show. It was aired in spring 2010. Heptonstall was a major location in ''
The Rochdale Pioneers ''The Rochdale Pioneers'' is a British biographical feature film, released in 2012, that tells the story of the foundation of the first successful cooperative retail store by working class members of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, i ...
'', a film produced by the Co-operative British Youth Film Academy, telling the story of the birth of the Co-operative movement, and screened in November 2012. Heptonstall is also featured in the 2010 short film ''Trailing Dirt'', directed by Richard Cousins and written by Alison Flack. The 2014 BBC drama '' Happy Valley'' was partly filmed in Heptonstall, and featured Sylvia Plath's grave.


See also

*
Eastwood, West Yorkshire Eastwood is a place within the civil parish of Todmorden and Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies west from Halifax, roughly equidistant from Todmorden's town centre, which is to the southwest, and Hebden Br ...


References


External links


www.heptonstall.org Parish web site
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of Calderdale Civil parishes in West Yorkshire