Marsden, West Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°36′04″N 1°55′36″W / 53.6011°N 1.9267°W / 53.6011; -1.9267

Marsden
Marsden Mill
Marsden  Marsden shown within West Yorkshire
Population	3,499 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SE048116
Metropolitan borough	Kirklees
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HUDDERSFIELD
Postcode district	HD7
Dialling code	01484
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Colne Valley
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Huddersfield and located at the confluence of the River Colne and the Wessenden Brook. The village has a population of 4,440 (Kirklees Council mid-year estimate 2008)[1].

Geography

Marsden is the last significant settlement on the West Yorkshire side of Standedge crossing of the Pennines into Greater Manchester. The village is surrounded on three sides by the high moors which are called Marsden Moor and Meltham Moor although Saddleworth Moor is very close. Saddleworth Moor is known for the place of burial for the moors murders. Marsden has low level access only from the east up the Colne Valley.

Several generations of tracks and roads have crossed the moors at this point. There are two distinctive packhorse bridges in the town (Mellor Bridge by the church, and Close Gate Bridge at the edge of the moor to the east of the village), whilst the current A62 main road crosses through the Standedge cutting some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west. Both the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Huddersfield to Manchester railway also pass through Marsden, entering the parallel rail and canal Standedge Tunnels about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of the town. Marsden station is located in the village on the railway line.^[1]

Marsden Moor Estate, which surrounds Marsden to the west and south, is in the care of the National Trust (NT). The estate, and several reservoirs also to be found on the moors, form an area of beautiful scenery ideal for walking and cycling. Moor management is not an established science/craft, so the NT are breaking new ground in developing new techniques to rehabilitate the moor.

Institutions

Mellor Bridge, one of Marsden's two packhorse bridges, with St Bartholomews Church in the background.

The present Church of St Bartholomews was completed in 1899, although the nave and aisle 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 peel of ten bells.^[2]

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

Marsden also homes a successful football club, Marsden AFC, who play their home matches at their Fall Lane ground. The football club celebrated their centenary year this year and in a double celebration, their 1st team were promoted from the West Riding County Amateur League Division 1 and will now play in the West Riding County Amateur Premier Division at the start of the 2008/2009 season.

Above the village at Hemplow, on Mount Road (at the terminus of the Hard End bus service) is a sports ground which hosts Marsdens cricket [2], golf and tennis clubs as well as Hemplow Bowling Club.

The cricket club, formed in 1865, runs two teams in the Drakes Huddersfield Cricket League [3] and teams in four age groups in the Huddersfield Junior Cricket League.

Culture

Marsden is the home of the Marsden Silver Prize Band, a top level brass band. The village is host to several festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Perhaps the most notable of these is Marsden Cuckoo Day, which is a day-long festival held annually in Spring (April), with clog dancing, a duck race, music, a procession and a famous "cuckoo walk". There is also the annual Marsden Jazz Festival each October and the Imbolc festival each winter, 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.^[3] Marsden is the home of Mikron Theatre Company, the worlds only professional theatre company to tour by Narrowboat.

Marsden is also the home, or perhaps the butt, of the famous local legend of the Marsden Cuckoo, after which the Cuckoo Day festival is named:

"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."

Activities

Walking

In 2010 Marsden gained Walkers are Welcome status in recognition of its well maintained footpaths, facilities and information for walkers and ramblers.

Use as a media location

Marsden is popular as a location for television and film productions. Recent productions which have used the village include:^{[citation needed]}

• Where the Heart Is (ITV)
• Last of the Summer Wine (BBC)
• Eleventh Hour (ITV)
• Housewife, 49 (ITV)
• Wokenwell (ITV)
• The League of Gentlemen (BBC)
• Between Two Women (film)

Transport

Tunnel End in Marsden, the eastern entrance to Standedge Tunnel.

Peel Street, the main street of Marsden, with the Mechanics Institute.

Marsden can accessed via the A62 between Oldham and Huddersfield, although drivers may need to take care when travelling along the A62, as the road between Oldham and Huddersfield, in particular the stretch of road between Marsden and Diggle was once voted the 4th dangerous road in Britain.^[4]

There are good bus links between Marsden and Huddersfield. Services run by First West Yorkshire operates the main services between Huddersfield and Marsden. There is also a local service run by JRT, which runs around the Marsden area, before continuing to Slaithwaite. A Trans-pennine service, which is operated by First Manchester and First West Yorkshire, runs through Marsden between Huddersfield and Manchester..

Marsden has its own train station, which is based to the north of the village, near Dirker where the 185 terminates. Marsden is served by Northern Rail services along the Huddersfield Line between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria with some Sunday journeys running to Leeds.

Notable people

Marsden was the birthplace of Henrietta Thompson, the mother of General James Wolfe who took 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."^[5]

• Simon Armitage, born 1963, renowned poet & playwright.
• Samuel Laycock, 1826–1893, a dialect poet.

References

1. ^ "Marsden & Standedge Tunnels". TripsByTrain.com. http://www.tripsbytrain.com/trip0104/index.html. Retrieved 25 December 2006. 
2. ^ "Church and Chapel in Marsden". Marsden Local History Group. http://www.marsdenhistory.co.uk/church%20and%20chapel.html. Retrieved 11 January 2007. 
3. ^ "Night of fire and fun as Imbolc festival returns to Marsden". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 9 February 2009. http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/02/09/night-of-fire-and-fun-as-imbolc-festival-returns-to-marsden-86081-22884083/. Retrieved 9 February 2009. 
4. ^ "Britains most dangerous roads". BBC News. 25 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6236636.stm. 
5. ^ "Luddites". Marsden History Group. http://www.marsdenhistory.co.uk/people/luddites.html. Retrieved December 30, 2007. 

External links

• Description of Marsden from the Marsden Jazz Festival's web site.
• Marsden Local History Group web site.
• A walk between Marsden and Standedge Tunnel from TripsByTrain.com
• Virtual Huddersfield shows all the shops in Marsden
• The website of Mikron Theatre Company