Over a 1,000 years ago the first inhabitants began to settle in the are we now know as Holmfirth. Back in Saxon and medieval times, the lords of Wakefield used the area as a hunting forest, the name Holmfirth means ’sparse woodland belonging to Holme’.
By the 13th Century more settlers began moving to the area, with early records depicting a corn mill and bridge with a few houses are already appearing around the mill.
By now Holmfirth the village can begun to take shape, with residents opting to build their homes higher up into the valley rather than the valley bottom. This continued well into the 1700’s with the ever increasing population remaining particularly rural, and continuing to live and work on the farms and cottage industries higher up the valley.
It took until the end of the 18th century for this to begin to change. In 1784, a woollen clotheir named John Fallas begun acquiring property in the valley bottom and the mills. Ofcourse the mills needed to be built around the rivers
which in turn would require a workforce that lived nearer the rivers. This marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution for Holmfirth that would see this small rural village transformed into a thriving mill town.
Holmfirth’s fast flowing water supply which was great for the mills, was also a cause of tragedy in the flood of 1852.
The area was of course prone to flooding, and had been numerous times in the past. But before the Industrial Revolution the valley bottom was virtually empty as homes were built higher up the valley. In 1738 and 1777 the village suffered a number of floods, but none where to be as severe as the flood of 1852.
The flood of 1852 saw some 81 lives lost, whole families wiped out, with property destroyed and thousands left homeless and jobless.
Between the late to 18th century to the 20th century many people living in Holmfirth and surrounding areas made their living in the textile industry. Even as late as 1941 Holmfirth was still known as a ‘town busy with wool’.
Whilst the town still has strong ties with the textile industry today, Holmfirth’s main source of prosperity now comes from the success of The Last of the Summer Wine television programme which saw the town become a tourist attraction for the show’s many fans.
But The Last of the Summer Wine wasn’t the first time the town had seen TV cameras. In the early 20th century, the streets of Holmfirth were the backdrop for James Bamforth’s moving pictures. James Bamforth was a talented local artist who began painting the backgrounds of life models for lantern slides. Know as the ‘king of the lantern slides’, Bamforth later went on to producing films and his company was the first in Britain to make films purely for entertainment purposes.
His filming saw the streets of Holmfirth brought to a virtual standstill, with locals often seen in the streets getting plastered with custard pies, being drenched by fire hoses or buckets of whitewash.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of Holmfirth through the ages.
Holmfirth History Timeline
1000 – 1200: First recorded settlers, although it is likely that the area had been inhabited prior to this.
Late 1300s: There were 175 taxable inhabitants in Holmfirth (a married couple counted as one).
1476: The first stone church was built. It is probable that there had been a wooden one on the same site prior to this.
1500: A chapel-of-ease is built in Holmfirth. Worshippers no longer had to travel the four or five miles to Almondbury Parish Church.
1597: Th’owd Towzer is believed to have been built in this year. Th’owd Towzer is a building near the Holy Trinity Church. It was originally the church lockup. It has had various roles over the years: a mortuary, an ambulance station, a jail and a fire station.
1642: The English Civil War begins. Holmfirth sends 100 musketeers to join Oliver Cromwell’s armies (the Roundheads).
1650: Holmfirth people petition for the chapelry of Holmfirth to be a separate parish.
1651: Holmfirth becomes a separate parish.
1660: After the Restoration Holmfirth loses its status as a separate parish and reverts to a chapel-of-ease. Perhaps a punishment for Holmfirth’s role in the Civil War!
1738: Sunday, May 7 – first recorded Holmfirth flood. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.
1776: The first Spinning Jenny is introduced in the area.
1777: Wednesday, July 23 – a thunderstorm causes the River Holme to burst its banks. Three lives were lost as a result of this flood.
1788: The present day Holy Trinity Church is built.
1801: Th’owd Genn is erected to mark the end of the war with France.
1812: Luddite activity begins in Holmfirth and the surrounding villages.
1821: September 21 – heavy rainstorms cause yet another flood. Again there was no loss of life.
1838: The Town Hall is built by public subscription.
1850: Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company open the branch line to Holmfirth. The Druids’ Hall is built for the Ancient Order of Druids Friendly Society at a cost of £1,800. It has since been used for various purposes: entertainment, a hotel and a drill hall but is now the home of the Freemasons.
1852: February 5 – `The Great Flood’. This flood has been described as `probably the greatest single disaster ever to befall the Holme Valley’, claiming 81 lives.
1858: The population in Holmfirth had increased so much that it once again became an independent parish.
1860: Victoria Bridge is built. Prior to this Upper Bridge and Toll House was the main entrance to Holmfirth.
1865: A wooden railway viaduct at Mytholmbridge collapsed causing the Holmfirth railway line to be shut for one and a half years.
1867: The train service resumes when a new stone viaduct is completed to replace the wooden one.
1870: The firm Bamforth & Co is established by James Bamforth.
1872: On July 8, one thousand weavers went on strike.
1911: Death of James Bamforth. He was described in one local newspaper as `one of Holmfirth’s most honoured townsmen’.
1912: The Valley Theatre opens its doors.
1914: Steam wagons from B Mellor and Sons help with the transportation of troops.
1944: Whit Monday. The last of the Great Floods. Called the `Forgotten Flood’ because it occurred a few days before
the Allied invasion of Normandy. There was a news blackout at this time and it was ten days later when the flood was reported. By the time it was reported it was a minor event – the news being all about the Allied invasion.
1959: October 31 – Holmfirth passenger line closes. The goods service continues for another six years.
1995: Digley Reservoir was almost empty as a result of a drought.
1999: July 12 – Bill Owen, who played Compo in Last of the Summer Wine, died. His character died as well – the rest of the cast attending both his real life funeral and the funeral of his character Compo a few months later. He is buried at St John’s Church, Upperthong overlooking Summer Wine Country.
