Mytholmroyd

Coordinates: 53°43′48″N 1°58′52″W / 53.730°N 1.981°W / 53.730; -1.981

Mytholmroyd
View of Mytholmroyd from the north
Mytholmroyd  Mytholmroyd shown within West Yorkshire
Population	3,730 (2001)
OS grid reference	SE012260
Parish	Hebden Royd
Metropolitan borough	Calderdale
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HEBDEN BRIDGE
Postcode district	HX7
Dialling code	01422
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Calder Valley
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Mytholmroyd ( /ˈmaɪðəmrɔɪd/) is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Hebden Bridge and 6.7 miles (10.8 km) west of Halifax.

Mytholmroyd is the birthplace of the English poet Ted Hughes. He became the Poet Laureate and married the American poet Sylvia Plath who is buried at nearby Heptonstall. Its population is roughly 4,200.

Mytholmroyd is the home of Calder High School, the largest Comprehensive School in the Upper Calder Valley. Mytholmroyd Community Centre hosts the annual Dock Pudding Championships in April, attended in 2007 by Robbie Coltrane who entered the competition and came second, and the Mytholmroyd Gala takes place every July.

The town is served by Mytholmroyd railway station.

During the late 18th century, the valley to the south, known as Cragg Vale, was home to a gang of counterfeiters known as the Cragg Coiners. The gang's leader, David Hartley, or King David as he was known, was found guilty of the 1769 murder of excise official William Dighton and was hanged at the York Tyburn on 28 April 1770. Two other gang members were also executed for their part in the murder.

Etymology

The plot of cleared land in the swampy area where the two streams meet.

Governance

New Road, Mytholmroyd

At a district level Mytholmroyd Urban District Council was set up in 1894. In 1937 it merged with Hebden Bridge Urban District Council to become Hebden Royd Urban District Council. At a county level Mytholmroyd was administered by the West Riding County Council. Both of these were abolished as part of the reforms introduced in the Local Government Act 1972. They were replaced with West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, and Hebden Royd Town Council. The Town Council area forms a civil parish. West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986, leaving Mytholmroyd with a borough and town council.

Sport

Mytholmroyd F.C., where Eric Harrison began his career, were based in the town.

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Calderdale

References

External links

• Mytholmroyd.net
• Calder High School
• The Elmet Trust - Ted Hughes Festival, Mytholmroyd