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Heckmondwike
Where the Luddites first wielded their hammers and home to the very first illuminations (years before Blackpool stole the idea!)
the heavy woollen district: dewsbury
Dewsbury has its earliest roots circa 627AD when Monk Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, founded a Christian settlement on the banks of the River Calder. The name could derive from Dewi's Burh, meaning fortification. Dewi, a British name - and still popular in Wales - is the equivalent of David in modern language.
During the Industrial Revolution, Dewsbury became the centre of the Heavy Woollen District. The local invention of the rag-grinding machine in 1813 allowed discarded cloth to be reprocessed. This cloth was called "shoddy and mungo" and as a result Dewsbury became a major manufacturer of quality blankets, coats and military uniforms.
Shoddy and mungo was the result of a local man, Benjamin Law, who invented a machine for grinding up rags. Old and new material (shoddy and mungo) was mixed with new wool and the quality blankets and uniforms were the result. Business boomed in the so-called Heavy Woollen District and shoddy barons, a shoddy king and even a shoddy temple were created.
Many of the old mills have gone and given way to modern industrial premises and processes. However, the town's heritage is preserved with many Victorian town centre buildings and shops, a particularly good example is the Town Hall.
Around town
Dewsbury Town Hall
King
George V and Queen Mary visited in 1918 to thank the people of Dewsbury
for their help during the First World War when many of the shoddy
and mungo mills were producing army uniforms. Two Dewsbury
soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery during
the war, they were Sergeant William Ormsby V.C. and Private Horace
Walker V.C. who now have roads named in their honour.
Dewsbury has a famous market with more than 300 stalls - you'll find the market trading on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Dewsbury railway station
Dewsbury has become very multi-cultural in the last 50 years and now boasts one of the biggest Asian populations in West Yorkshire. The town's MP is Shahid Malik and the Commons connections continue with one of Dewsbury's most famous daughters, Betty Boothroyd, the former Speaker of the House.
Dewsbury railway station is mid-way between Leeds and Huddersfield and has up to four trains an hour on the transpennine line.
The Tetley's Stadium,
home of the Dewsbury Rams
The town's main sporting club is the Dewsbury Rams. They play their home games at The Tetley's Stadium, a purpose built ground to the north of the town. Completed in 1994, the stadium took three years to complete.
During their heyday the Rams were one of the top rugby league teams in the country. However, the early 1990s were a depressing time for the Rams after the original ground at Crown Flatt burnt down, thanks to the handy-work of vandals.
The Rams have had a number of players selected for international duty during their history. Viewers of rugby league on Sky Sports will know the name of Mike "Stevo" Stephenson. Stevo captained the championship winning Dewsbury side of 1973 and won several Great Britain caps.
The town is not short of stories to tell about other famous people. Legend has it that Stan Laurel's family lived in the area too, although there are conflicting reports as to whether or not the great comedian ever visited himself. Tennis fans familiar with Greg Rusedski may be surprised to learn that his mother-in-law is from Dewsbury!
Other Dewsbury facts:
Dewsbury has the only Minster church in West Yorkshire.
Every Christmas Eve, a team of bell ringers toll a bell at the Minster beginning late in the evening and ending at the stroke of midnight. It proclaims God's sentence of death on all that is evil.
According to legend, the ancient custom concerns Sir Thomas de Soothill, a local nobleman and Lord of the Manor, who suffered from a terrible temper. On one occasion, he murdered a servant boy and hid his body in a mill pond. Some time later, he realised what he had done and wanted to cleanse his soul so he presented All Saints' Church (now known as Dewsbury Minster) with a thirteen hundredweight tenor bell on the condition that it be tolled every Christmas Eve at a slow pace. The exact number of strikes should represent one year since Christ was born
In 1593 an outbreak of plague in Dewsbury was so severe that people had to be buried on their own land instead of in the churchyard.