the heavy woollen district: heckmondwike

The Spen Valley area has a long and rich history which, in parts, can be traced back to the Norman conquest in 1066.

However, the Spen Valley, a collection of small towns and villages, first came to prominence during the Industrial Revolution.

Around town

Heckmondwike market place

In 1815, it was here that the most severe of the Luddite uprisings by workers frightened by the rapid advance of mechanical manufacturing took place. This new technology turned textiles into big business on which the wealth of towns such as Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton would be based.

Textiles had provided jobs for the people of the Spen Valley for centuries, but during the 19th Century the area grew massively. Populations rose five-fold across the course of just 100 years. This led to the villages of Roberttown, Norristhorpe and Millbridge being formed.

Factories at this time would have a workforce in the region of 1,500 people and production would be as high as 9,000 blankets a week.

This growth did have its troubles - the introduction of new technology sparked civil disturbances which were most fierce on the banks of Spen Beck. The Luddites enjoyed considerable public support and their uprising culminated in an attack on Rawfolds Mill at Cleckheaton in 1813. Before the attack, they gathered at the Shears pub in Hightown, before setting off to smash the newly installed equipment.

In 1842 there was further unrest when 5,000 marchers descended on Peg Mill in Cleckheaton to draw the plugs on steam boilers.

Cleckheaton Town Hall

The arrival of trains in the West Riding in the 1830s engendered more growth and by the 1840s Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike were part of the district's rail network.

However, the stations in both towns closed during the 1960s.
A local authority for the district was formed in 1915 and Brighouse and Spen became a parliamentary constituency in 1937. In later years it became Batley and Spen.

Today, the district is in Kirklees, a local authority based in Huddersfield, which was formed in the local government shake-up of 1974.

Textiles still play an important part in local life in Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton, but many of the old mills have closed or been bulldozed.

Many locals are still employed in textiles, while other local industries include chemicals and light engineering.

For rugby union fans, Cleckheaton play at Moorend (near junction 26 of the M62) and there are many local league cricket sides in the area.