A sunny Monday on August 16th, 1819. A peaceful, lively meeting of 60,000 men, women and children, calling for ‘manhood suffrage’ and political reform.
Cavalry charging with sabres drawn. By the end of the day, 15 were dead, including 4 women and a child of two, and as many as 600 injured.
Read report 19 March 2019
For modern day residents and visitors to the Calder Valley our woodlands are largely a place of leisure, serving as an escape from the industrial towns, but as Hywel Lewis told the Hebden Bridge Local History Society, their history shows how closely they were integrated in the industrial economic life of this area. Read report
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Does it seem like a contradiction to speak on the topic of 'farming in the industrial Pennines'? That was the question put to members of the audience at a meeting of the Hebden Bridge Local History Society by Dr Stephen Caunce, formerly senior lecturer in history with the University of Central Lancashire.
As we walk along country lanes, bridle paths and canal tow-paths we perhaps don’t always notoice the waymarkers and milestones that guided our forebears. For David Garside, a member of the Yorkshire Milestones Society, the collecting and mapping of these wayside markers is a passion which he shared with a meeting of the Hebden Bridge Local History Society.
Read more Monday, 28 January 2019
There was standing room only when artist Kate Lycett came to speak to Hebden Bridge Local History Society about the stories behind her hugely successful paintings of the Lost Houses of the South Pennines.
As an artist settled in Hebden Bridge, she found that many grand local houses had disappeared almost without trace, and set about searching the archives for documents and photographs that would give her enough detail to create paintings which celebrated their individual styles and moods. Read more Tuesday, 15 January 2019
The Nutclough Mill in Hebden Bridge was the home of a daring and visionary venture in industrial production: a worker-run co-operative which ran, at a profit, for almost fifty years and achieved national and international fame. Andrew Bibby, local author and member of the society, spoke to the Society about how this successful model of production was established and about its role in changing and shaping the character of Hebden Bridge. Read more Sat 1 December 2018
The Clothing Industry of Hebden Bridge: selected texts. Edited by Nigel Smith and Diana Monahan. This book contains four unpublished texts on the clothing industry that dominated Hebden Bridge for much of the twentieth century.
See Publications section for more info.
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.