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Sowerby Bridge

Coordinates:53°43′N1°55′W/ 53.71°N 1.91°W/53.71; -1.91
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Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge skyline
Sowerby Bridge is located in Calderdale
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge is located in West Yorkshire
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge
Location withinWest Yorkshire
Population11,703 (Ward2011)
OS grid referenceSE058233
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSowerby Bridge
Postcode districtHX6
Dialling code01422
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°43′N1°55′W/ 53.71°N 1.91°W/53.71; -1.91

Sowerby Bridge(/ˈsɔːrbi/SOR-bi)[1]is amarket townin theUpper Calder ValleyinCalderdaleinWest Yorkshire,England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703.[2]

History

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Sowerby Bridge Town Hall,which originally accommodated the offices of the local board and, later, became a branch of Lloyds Bank

The town was originally a fording point over the once much-widerRiver Calderwhere it is joined by theRiver Ryburn.The town takes its name from the historic bridge which spans the river in the town centre. Before theIndustrial Revolutionthe area was divided between the parishes of Sowerby, Norland, Skircoat and Warley. The boundaries between them being the rivers Calder andRyburnand Warley Clough, which is now largely culverted. Textiles and engineering industry grew up around the bridge.Sowerby Bridge Town Hall,which accommodated the offices of the local board, was completed in 1857.[3]

19th century

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The Anglicanparish church,Christ Church, situated on Wharf Street, is a Grade IIlisted building.It was built in 1819 by John Oates. Thechancelwas rebuilt in 1873–74 and the church was re-roofed 1894.[4]The church is still active and the vicar is Revd. Canon Angela Dick.[5]The church's first organ was installed in 1825 and replaced in 1865. The organ and much of the church was destroyed in a 1894 fire. A larger organ, built byAbbott and Smith,was installed, and next repaired in 1979. The current organ was installed in 1983, moved from a nearby closed church.[6]

By the mid-19th century the population had grown and the settlement became an urban district in theWest Riding of Yorkshirein 1894.[7]

20th century

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From 1892 to 1930 Pollit & Wigzell manufactured stationarysteam enginesfor the cotton and woollen mills of Yorkshire, Lancashire and India. Wood Brothers, an engineering andmillwrightcompany, also produced engines from its Valley Iron Works. TheMarkfield Beam Enginein northLondonis an example of its work.[8]

21st century

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In January 2019, it was announced that the council buildings on Hollins Mill Lane, which include the former offices of Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council, the old swimming pool and old fire station will be transferred to a community group, Sowerby Bridge Fire and Water, and will be renovated for community use.[9][10]

Governance

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The town is part of the Sowerby Bridgewardof theMetropolitan boroughofCalderdale,inWest Yorkshire.[11]

Geography

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Sowerby Bridge is situated about 3 miles (4.8 km) fromHalifaxtown centre. It is at the confluence of theRiver CalderandRiver Ryburn,and the name Sowerby Bridge references its situation as a crossing point over the River Calder to the older settlement atSowerby.

Education

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There are twosecondary schoolsin Sowerby Bridge.

Media

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Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC YorkshireandITV Yorkshire.Television signals received from theEmley Moor[12]and one of the three local relay transmitters (Halifax,[13]Luddenden[14]and Ripponden[15]).

Local radio stations areBBC Radio Leedson 95.3 FM,Pulse 1on 102.5 FM,Heart Yorkshireon 107.6 FM,Capital Yorkshireon 105.1 FM,Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshireon 96.3 FM andPhoenix Radioon 96.7 FM, which has its studios in Halifax.[16]

The town is served by the local newspaper theHalifax Courier.[17]

Transport

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The town is served bySowerby Bridge railway station,which sees a regular service to Manchester, Huddersfield (via Brighouse), Bradford and Leeds on theCaldervale Line.This station has no public toilets although there are many interesting information panels about the local area.

The town is at the junction of theCalder and Hebble Navigationand theRochdale Canal;Tuel Lane Lockon the Rochdale Canal is the deepest lock in the United Kingdom.[18]The canal basin and warehouses where the canals meet, Sowerby Bridge Wharf, arelisted buildingsand house the Moorings Bar and Restaurant, 12-04 Restaurant and Temujin Mongolian Restaurant. The basin is the headquarters of the 12th HalifaxSea Scouts(M.o.D. No. 54 Royal Navy recognised) wherePrince Charlesopened the William Andrew Memorial Headquarters. Shire Cruisers run holiday hire canal barges, build narrow boats and provide mooring facilities.

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Sowerby Bridge features inGeorge Gissing's 1890 novelThe Emancipatedas the hometown of the protagonist Ross Mallard.[19]

The canal basin was used as a filming location for theITVcomedy-dramaStay Lucky,and the ITV dramaDead Cleverwas set in the town. The 2014BBC OnedramaHappy Valleywas set in Sowerby Bridge and parts of the series were filmed in and around the town.[20][21]Catherine's workplace is a former police station. The series writer and directorSally Wainwrightgrew up in Sowerby Bridge.[22]

Notable residents

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See also:Category:People from Sowerby Bridge

Traditions

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Rushbearing,the annual ceremony of (now nominally) taking rushes to churches for covering the floors throughout winter, still takes place in Sowerby Bridge over the first weekend of September.

The Fire & Water Festival is an annual festival to raise awareness for the Fire & Water Buildings in Sowerby Bridge. It showcases all the events that Fire & Water put on throughout the year and the Music Festival showcases local artists on an open and accessible stage.

Boxing Day floods 2015

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Local river monitoring stations recorded a level of 11 feet 8 inches (3.55 m)[23]between 12 pm and 6 pm, surpassing previous recorded highs of 8 feet 0 inches (2.43 m) (23 June 2012). Known flood plains, such as Dixie Woods and Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club, were submerged to an estimated depth of 2 feet (61 cm). The floods were reported as the worst in the area since 1968.[24]The town was flooded again on 9 February 2020 byStorm Ciara,causing a similar amount of damage to the 2015 floods.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Jones, Daniel(2011).Roach, Peter;Setter, Jane;Esling, John(eds.).Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary(18th ed.). Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-15255-6.
  2. ^"Calderdale Council Ward population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National statistics.Retrieved22 February2016.
  3. ^"Sowerby Bridge Town Hall".Sowerby Bridge High Street Heritage Action Zone.Retrieved7 May2022.
  4. ^Good Stuff (15 November 1966)."Christ Church – Sowerby Bridge – Calderdale – England".British Listed Buildings.Retrieved30 June2015.
  5. ^"Christ Church, Sowerby Bridge".Christchurchsb.org.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2015.Retrieved30 June2015.
  6. ^Nigel Castledine (2015)."The Organ at Christ Church Sowerby Bridge".The Parochial Church Council of Christ Church, Sowerby Bridge. Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2015.Retrieved2 July2015.
  7. ^"Sowerby Bridge UD".Vision of Britain.Retrieved7 May2022.
  8. ^Brereton, Ken (2013).Tottenham Sewage Works and the Wood Bros. Beam Engine.Markfield Beam Engine and Museum. p. 7.
  9. ^"Information".Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2019.Retrieved7 September2019.
  10. ^"Revitalising Sowerby Bridge Fire and Water".Sowerby Bridge High Street Heritage Action Zone.Retrieved7 May2022.
  11. ^"Sowerby Bridge".2010.Retrieved20 January2014.
  12. ^"Emley Moor (Kirklees, England) Full Freeview transmitter".UK Free TV.1 May 2004.Retrieved1 November2023.
  13. ^"Freeview Light on the Halifax (Calderdale, England) transmitter".UK Free TV.1 May 2004.Retrieved1 November2023.
  14. ^"Freeview Light on the Luddenden (Calderdale, England) transmitter".UK Free TV.1 May 2004.Retrieved1 November2023.
  15. ^"Freeview Light on the Ripponden (Calderdale, England) transmitter".UK Free TV.1 May 2004.Retrieved1 November2023.
  16. ^"Phoenix Radio".Retrieved1 November2023.
  17. ^"Halifax Courier".British Papers.13 April 2014.Retrieved1 November2023.
  18. ^"Deepest Canal Locks".Pennine Waterways.
  19. ^Coustillas, Pierre; Partridge, Colin, eds. (1972).Gissing, the critical heritage;.London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp.432–434.ISBN9780710073679.
  20. ^"Creative England provides filming location and crew support to new BBC drama Happy Valley when filming in Yorkshire".Creative England.29 April 2014.Retrieved12 June2014.
  21. ^Gildea, Samantha (19 May 2014)."20 facts about the police drama set in Sowerby Bridge".Examiner Examiner.Huddersfield.Retrieved10 February2017.
  22. ^Calkin, Jessamy (9 February 2016)."Behind the scenes of Bafta-winning drama Happy Valley".Telegraph.London.Retrieved10 February2017.
  23. ^"gov.uk flood information service".gov.uk.Retrieved10 February2020.
  24. ^"Worst floods to hit Sowerby Bridge since 1968 | Calendar".ITV News.ITV. 23 December 2015.Retrieved27 December2015.
  25. ^"Sowerby Bridge in Calderdale hit by Storm Ciara floods | BBC News".BBC News.BBC News. 9 February 2020.Retrieved5 July2020.
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Wikisourcehas the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannicaarticle "Sowerby Bridge".
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