Marsden is a large village in the

Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...

, in the metropolitan borough of

Kirklees Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It ...

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. It is in the South Pennines close to the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

which lies to the south. The village is west of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees 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 confl ...

at the confluence of the River Colne and Wessenden Brook. It was an important centre for the production of woollen cloth. In 2020, the village had an estimated population of 3,768.

History

Marsden grew wealthy in the 19th century from the production of woollen cloth. It is still home to Bank Bottom Mill, later known as Marsden Mill, and to John Edward Crowther Ltd, formerly one of the largest mills in Yorkshire. The Crowthers moved to Marsden in 1876, beginning a long and profitable association with cloth manufacturing in the town. During the 1930s, Bank Bottom Mill covered an area of , employed 680 looms and provided employment for 1,900 workers.theviewfromthenorth.org
Retrieved December 2013 The Church of

St Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

was completed in 1899, although the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

had been in use from 1895, when the previous chapel was demolished. The tower was built in 1911 and the Parochial Hall in 1924 (with an extension in 1978). The church has a

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably ...

of 10 bells. Production of woollen cloth at Bank Bottom Mill ceased in 2003, with the loss of 244 jobs.

Governance

Marsden 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 ...

and

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

in the parishes of Almondbury and Huddersfield. On 26 March 1898 Marsden became a

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 ...

formed from "Marsden in Almondbury" and "Marsden in Huddersfield", on 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished to form Colne Valley Urban District. In 1931 the parish had a population of 5,723.

Geography

Marsden is the last significant settlement on the West Yorkshire side of the Standedge Pennine crossing into

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. The village is in the southern edge of the South Pennines, with the boundary of the

National Park to the south. It is surrounded on three sides by the

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

of Marsden and Meltham Moors with Saddleworth Moor nearby. Marsden has low level access only from the east along the

. The Marsden Moor Estate, which surrounds Marsden to the west and south, includes several reservoirs; it is in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, which is developing techniques to rehabilitate the moor. Butterley Reservoir with its distinctive

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

is near Marsden inside the Peak District National Park. The Peak District Boundary Walk runs across the moors and into Marsden. In

chronostratigraphy Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that studies the ages of rock strata in relation to time. The ultimate aim of chronostratigraphy is to arrange the sequence of deposition and the time of deposition of all rocks within a geological ...

, the British sub-stage of the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

period, the Marsdenian derives its name from Marsden.

Transport

Road

Several generations of tracks and roads have crossed the moors near Marsden. Mellor Bridge and Close Gate Bridge are both packhorse bridges. The A62 road between Huddersfield and Oldham passes through the village and the Standedge cutting some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west. The road between Oldham and Huddersfield, especially the stretch between Marsden and Diggle, was named the fourth most dangerous road in Britain in 2003-2005.

Railway

Marsden railway station is sited on the Huddersfield line. Services are operated by

TransPennine Express TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail ser ...

to locations including

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and Hull.

Buses

Local bus services are operated primarily by

First West Yorkshire First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Fir ...

. Routes run to Huddersfield, Honley, Slaithwaite,

Saddleworth Saddleworth is a civil parishes in England, civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and Hamlet (place), hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the Saddleworth Moor, west ...

and

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

. There was a tram service from Huddersfield to Marsden between 1914 and 1938 and a trolley bus service from 1938 to 1963. After the Second World War, extremely cheap fares (1d. return) allowed school children from Huddersfield access to the moors around Marsden during summer holidays.

Canal

The

Huddersfield Narrow Canal The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an Navigability, inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley, West Yorkshire, Aspley Basin in Huddersfield, to the ju ...

and the Huddersfield-Manchester railway enter the parallel rail and canal Standedge Tunnels about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of the village centre.

Mountain rescue

The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team has its headquarters at Marsden Fire Station from where the volunteer team provides rescue cover for surrounding moorland areas and assists West Yorkshire Police with searches for missing people. The team was founded in 1965 and was based in Meltham before relocating in 2005.

Sport

Marsden football club, Marsden F.C., play their home matches at the Fall Lane ground. In its centenary year the 1st team were promoted from the West Riding County Amateur League Division 1, and played in the West Riding County Amateur Premier Division for the 2008–09 season. They are currently members of the Yorkshire Amateur Football League Above the village at Hemplow, on Mount Road is a sports ground that hosts Marsden's cricket, golf and tennis clubs, as well as Hemplow Bowling Club. Marsden golf course was created in 1920 and was designed by the legendary Alister MacKenzie who also designed the famous Augusta National, home of the Masters, and possibly the most famous golf course in the world. The cricket club, formed in 1865, runs two teams in the Drake's Huddersfield Cricket League and teams in five age groups in the Huddersfield Junior Cricket League. In 2010 Marsden gained Walkers are Welcome status in recognition of its well-maintained footpaths, facilities and information for walkers and ramblers.

Culture

Marsden Silver Prize Band is the local silver band. The village hosts festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Marsden Cuckoo Day, a day-long festival held annually in Spring (April), holds

clog dancing Clog dancing is a form of step dance characterised by the wearing of inflexible, Clog (British), wooden soled clogs. Clog dancing developed into differing intricate forms both in Wales and also in the North of England. Welsh clog dancing mainly ...

, a duck race, music, a procession and a "cuckoo walk". The Marsden Jazz Festival is held every October, and the winter

Imbolc Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day (; ; ), is a Gaels, Gaelic traditional festival on 1 February. It marks the beginning of Spring (season), spring, and in Christianity, it is the calendar of saints, feast day of Brigid of Kild ...

Festival, in which the 'triumph of the Green Man' (who represents the coming spring), over Jack Frost (the winter) is celebrated with fire juggling and giant puppets. Marsden is the home of

Mikron Theatre Company The Mikron Theatre Company is an English touring theatre company, founded in 1972, which is notable for its tours by canal boat during the summer months, and by road in the spring and autumn. The company believes itself to be the only theatre ...

, the world's only professional theatre company to tour by

narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of Barge, canal boat, built to fit the narrow History of the British canal system, locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, b ...

. Marsden's 'Cuckoo Day festival' is named after a local legend of the Marsden Cuckoo: :"Many years ago the people of Marsden were aware that when the cuckoo arrived, so did the Spring and sunshine. They tried to keep Spring forever, by building a tower around the Cuckoo. Unfortunately, as the last stones were about to be laid, away flew the cuckoo. If only they'd built the tower one layer higher. As the legend says, it 'were nobbut just wun course too low'."

Filming location

Marsden is popular as a location for

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

productions. These productions have used the village: *'' Where the Heart Is'' ( ITV) *''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

'' (

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

) *'' Eleventh Hour'' (ITV) *'' Housewife, 49'' (ITV) *'' Wokenwell'' (ITV) *''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives ...

'' (BBC) *'' Between Two Women'' (film) *'' In the Flesh'' (BBC) *'' Remember Me'' (BBC) *'' A Monster Calls'' *'' Walk Like a Panther'' *'' Brassic''

Notable people

Marsden was the birthplace of Henrietta Thompson, the mother of General

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

who consolidated British power in North America by taking Quebec from the French in 1759. Marsden is also where Enoch Taylor was buried. Enoch Taylor was the blacksmith who built the first automatic croppers. The name Enoch was used for the hammers that the Luddites used to smash them. The Luddites used the slogan "Enoch made them, and Enoch shall break them." * Simon Armitage, born 1963, Poet Laureate and playwright, grew up in the village and has published several poems about the village (''

Magnetic Field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

'') * Samuel Laycock, 1826–1893, dialect poet, was born at Intake Head, Pule Hill * Dora Marsden, 1882–1960, English

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

, was born in the village

References

External links

Marsden Local History Group web site

The website of Mikron Theatre Company

St Bartholomew's Church Website
{{Authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of Kirklees Towns and villages of the Peak District Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire Colne Valley