Huddersfield

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Infobox England place Huddersfield is a large town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees within the County of West Yorkshire in England. It is located near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. The Huddersfield Broad Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which are navigable canals, using narrowboats, pass through the town.

1 History
2 Institutions
- 2.1 Schools and colleges
3 Historical landmarks
4 Transport infrastructure
5 Sport
- 5.1 Rugby
- 5.2 Football
6 Arts
7 Notable people born in Huddersfield
8 Suburbs of the town
9 See also
10 External links
11 References

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History

A village during Anglo-Saxon times, Huddersfield appeared in the Domesday Book as Oderesfelt. However, there had been a settlement in the vicinity since Roman times, as evidenced by discovery of the remains of a Roman fort at Slack, just west of the town. Castle Hill, a major landmark of the town, was originally an Iron Age hillfort.

In 1952, in recognition of historic ties and links with The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding), Huddersfield conferred on the regiment the Freedom of the Town. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'Flags Flying, Bands playing and Bayonets fixed'. Many of the town and district's male residents have served in the regiment during its 304 year history.

Huddersfield was always known as a Market Town, since Saxon times, but since the local Polytechnic gained University status, certain 'Up-market' elements of the town have insisted on calling it a University Town.

Attempts by the local council to gain support for city status were rejected by the town's population in an unofficial referendum, held by the local media.

According to the 2001 census the population of the Huddersfield urban sub-area of the West Yorkshire Urban Area was 146,234, and the population of the former county borough of Huddersfield was 121,620. The wider South Kirklees area had a population of 216,011.

Image:Huddersfield1000px.jpg

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Institutions

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Schools and colleges

Huddersfield is the home to two sixth form colleges (Huddersfield New College located at Salendine Nook and Greenhead College), Huddersfield Technical College and the University of Huddersfield. The current Chancellor of the University is the actor Patrick Stewart, who comes from Mirfield.

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Historical landmarks

The colonnaded Huddersfield railway station in St George's Square was once described as 'a stately home with trains in it', and by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as 'one of the best early railway stations in England'.

A clock tower in the village of Lindley (a suburb to the west of the town) was constructed in 1902 by a local mill-owner, so that his workers would not have any excuse for being late for work! St Peters' Church, or 'Huddersfield Parish Church' was constructed in 1838 and is located in the town centre.

Image:Victoria Tower Castle Hill.jpg
The picture on the New Zealand wine "Castle Hill" is of Victoria Tower atop Castle Hill overlooking Huddersfield.

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Transport infrastructure

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Road

Huddersfield is well connected to the national motorway network via the M1 and M62 motorways. The M1 passes near the eastern fringes of the town about ten miles away. The M62 comes much nearer (about 2½ miles away) and Huddersfield is served by three junctions at Mount (A640, J23 - limited access), Ainley Top (A629, J24) and between Brighouse and Cooper Bridge (A644, J25).

The Huddersfield Corporation built an inner ring road (part of the A62) in the 1970s. The area within this ring road has come to define the central business district of the town. The ring road is effective in relieving traffic congestion in the town centre where many roads are now pedestrianised.

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Rail

Huddersfield railway station enjoys a comprehensive local and regional rail service. However, there are no Intercity services or a direct service to London. Many services are subsidised by the local-government public transport co-ordinator, Metro. A frequent service operates to the nearby principal cities of Leeds and Manchester and a regular service to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Scarborough, York, Hull, Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Manchester International Airport and Liverpool.

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Bus

Huddersfield Bus Station is the busiest bus station in West Yorkshire with a daily footfall of almost 35,000, (source). The majority of bus services pass through the bus station. Many services are subsidised by Metro who are also responsible for co-ordination, planning and timetabling of services throughout West Yorkshire. Huddersfield's bus operators reflect the national situation; three dominant national operators provide most of the services in the area: First (in Huddersfield & Halifax), Arriva Yorkshire and Stagecoach Yorkshire through its recently-acquired subsidiary, Yorkshire Traction.

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Sport

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Rugby

On August 29, 1895, 22 rugby clubs from across the north of England held a meeting in the George Hotel, next to the railway station. They voted to secede from the Rugby Football Union and set up their own Northern Rugby Football Union. In 1922 this became the Rugby Football League. Huddersfield is still a focus for rugby league, being represented by the Huddersfield Giants in the Superleague, and the Huddersfield Underbank Rangers in National League 3, as well as many amateur teams. The Huddersfield Giants play in claret and gold coloured hooped shirts with white shorts.

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Football

Huddersfield Town A.F.C. are the town's senior association football team, and were founded in 1908. In the 1920s they became the first club to win the League Championship three times in a row, an achievement matched only by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. They left their ground on Leeds Road in 1994 and currently share the Galpharm Stadium with the Giants rugby league team and play in shirts with blue-and-white vertical stripes. Their most famous ex-players are Scottish international Denis Law (later of Manchester United) and Ray Wilson, a World Cup winner with England in 1966. They have been managed by Bill Shankly and Herbert Chapman.

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Arts

Huddersfield Choral Society, founded in 1836, claims to be the UK's leading choral society. Its history was chronicled in the book 'And The Glory' to commemorate the Society's 150th anniversary in 2001. The author was a choir member for over 35 years.

Huddersfield is also home to the Lawrence Batley Theatre, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra and the Huddersfield Singers.

Huddersfield had a strong Liberal tradition up to the 1950s and this is still reflected in the large number of Liberal Social Clubs in the town.

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