Roger Frost, former teacher and a writer on local history, spoke to the Local History Society about the area of Cliviger near Burnley, and specifically about the Holme, residence of the Whittaker family. Roger pointed out that the geology of Cliviger, with its layers of limestone erratics, contributed to its wealth, as lime was a valuable commodity in agriculture and construction.
Read more Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Amy Binns, lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire and author of Valley of a Hundred Chapels, asked the audience at Hebden Bridge Local History Society meeting to write down their nominations women they thought of as heroines. There was quite a range.
Read more Wednesday, 3 October 2018
The programme of forthcoming talks is now available from our What's on page, starting Wednesday, 26 September - as usual at the Hebden Bridge Methodist Church at 7.30pm and fortnightly from then onwards.
The first talk with be on Changing times, changing heroines: what happened after the suffragettes? with speaker Amy Binns
We will be running another beginners’ family history course starting on 1 October 2018 for 10 weeks. It will be on Monday evenings 7:30 to 9:30 at the Birchcliffe Centre and will cover the records you need to take your English or Welsh ancestry back to around 1840. It is suitable for complete beginners or anyone who has done some research already. Contact Anne Mealia for more information. Download Form.
Food and Farming in the Calder Valley, Past, Present and Future
Birchcliffe Centre, Saturday 15th September 2018
This day will include:-An introduction to archives held by HBLHS that have reference to land use and farming, including historic publications, maps, wills and deeds and photographs. A closer look at Local Probate Records, the 1939 Farm Survey and Farm Buildings.
The Alan Petford Memorial Lecture 2018 Township boundaries and commons disputes in the South Pennines. To the eye of the average walker, the moorland hills around Hebden Bridge might seem miles away from dispute and confrontation, but research carried out by Dr Nigel Smith, tells how disagreements over the location of township boundaries reached a peak of litigation in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Read report Thursday, 5 April 2018
This is no ordinary local history book. It is the first publication for many years to cover aspects of the history of various localities across the South Pennines, rather than focusing on the history of a specific area. Produced by the South Pennine History Group as a memorial volume for the late Alan Petford, a gifted local history lecturer, it presents the results of new research by some of the many people that he inspired. See Publications section for more info and short YouTube video.
Download Newsletter
Autumn 2018
How to use this site
Use these pages to find information on the Society's own activities, links to local and other historical organisations' sites, and links to useful resources for local history researchers.
What do we do?
We have a programme of fortnightly talks on Wednesday evenings in Hebden Bridge Methodist Church Hall. The 2018-2019 programme started in September. Our Archive is open to members
History Society Archive and Family History Opening Times.
Come and join us!
There are lots of activities to get involved in as well as the Society's regular programme of events.
Trestle Bridge, Blake Dean c1904
West End Bridge, 1960s
The group runs a popular programme of workshops and drop-in sessions at the Birchcliffe Centre
A major role of folklore is to express the 'common sense' of a community - in other words, the shared rhythms and beliefs and ways of doing things that are accepted and largely followed locally.
For some years now a small group of friends has been exploring the evidence for prehistoric activity in the South Pennines.
What you find in this section are the results of about ten years work - visiting archives, interviewing local residents and digging up new photos.