Brighouse Totally Explained

Everything about Brighouse totally explained

Brighouse is the second largest town in the metropolitan district of Calderdale in the county of West Yorkshire, England.
   The 2001 census gave the town's population as 32,198. The town is situated on the River Calder, 4 miles (6 km) east of Halifax in the Pennines. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 and its own railway station on the Caldervale line. In the town centre is a mooring basin on the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
   The name Brighouse (or "Bridge House") originates from a building on (or close to) the bridge over the River Calder. In its early history, it was a hamlet of the nearby town of Rastrick.
   Brighouse has been represented in the House of Commons by the Labour Party Member of Parliament Christine McCafferty since 1997.
   Brighouse is twinned with Ludenscheid in Germany.
   The local newspapers are the Brighouse Echo which is published once per week (Thursday) and the Evening Courier which is published Monday to Saturday.

History

There was a river crossing called Snake Hill Ford across the Calder - this is believed to have formed part of the Roman route between Wakefield and Manchester.
   A wooden structure called Rastrick Bridge was recorded as being present in 1275. The bridge was replaced by one built with timber donated by John Hanson in 1514. Hanson's son funded a stone replacement for this bridge in 1558.
   The river provided power for the flour milling industry and the textile mills. Brighouse's industry received a boost through the construction of the Calder and Hebble Navigation, started in 1757 by the engineer John Smeaton.
   The Halifax and Huddersfield Turnpike Act of 1823 allowed for the building of Calder Bridge over what was to become the A641 road; tolls were abolished on the bridge in 1875 and extensive widening work was undertaken in 1905 and 1999 (both of these latter dates being commemorated in dedication stones on the bridge).
   Brighouse was part of Hipperholme with Brighouse Civil Parish until 1893, when Brighouse Municipal Borough was created. This included Rastrick but not Hipperholme, which became an Urban District. The other parts of Hipperholme with Brighouse, ie Norwood Green and Coley, became a civil parish in Halifax Rural District. The borough was expanded in 1937 when Clifton CP, Hipperholme UD, Norwood Green and Coley CP and part of Southowram UD were added. The borough was abolished in 1974 when it became part of the Calderdale Metropolitan District. (Youngs 1991)

Buildings

Brighouse is an area, in the so called "golden triangle" commuter belt between Halifax, Ripponden and Brighouse (entailing Elland, Stainland, Holywell Green and Greetland). At the moment, due to its proximity to the M62 motorway, there's an extensive programme of renovation of Brighouse mills, being renovated into loft style apartments. Recent high quality developments have taken advantage of the areas well regarded location, being especially close to the M62 motorway and ideal for commuting to Leeds. Points of note are the Prego restaurant and hotel.
   Many further developments are planned for Brighouse but are currently the topic of much debate but not much action. The former Sugden's Mill is due to be developed into either retail or residential use. The site is currently becoming derelict
   Brighouse is currently without a Swimming Pool. The previous one was very dated and had to be closed due to the building falling into disrepair. A new pool is being planned and will be situate at Wellhome Park.
   Brighouse Civic Hall will also undergo substantial renovation work and will feature a new Calderdale Customer First Centre. Customer First is a first point of contact for all council services and will offer services to the public such as general advice, housing and council tax benefits advice, a payments office and regular surgeries from outside agencies like Age Concern and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Churches

Two churches in Brighouse have stained glass from the William Morris factory, designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones.

Retail

There are also many shops in Brighouse Town Centre. The main shopping streets are Commercial Street and Bethel Street such as Woolworths, Wilkinsons, Just Books, Design 55, and Lords Photography as well being near the commercial centres of the near by town centres of Halifax, Huddersfield and Leeds.
A large Tesco superstore opened in 2003 replacing the former store which dated from the 1970s. There is also a smaller Sainsbury's store which opened in the 1990s

Brighouse Library and Smith art gallery

Brighouse library is a huge building and has many services, such as:

Adult and children's lending
Wheelchair access
Language courses
Internet access
Fax facilities

The Smith art gallery, within the library has many paintings from the Victorian era displayed in the main hall. There is also a changing program of exhibitions of artwork from local artists.

Arts

Music

Brighouse is home to the britpop band Embrace, who are most notable for their song "World at Your Feet", the official England anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The town is also mentioned in the song "It's Grim Up North".

Brass band

Brighouse is also the home of the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, founded in 1881 and associated with neighbouring Rastrick. They originally formed under the name The Brighouse and Rastrick Temperance Brass Band taking their current title in the early 20th century.
The band won the National Brass Band Contest in 1946 at the Royal Albert Hall and in 1968 they won the first Brass Band World Championship. In 1977 they recorded "The Floral Dance" which reached Number 2 in the UK Top 40 and stayed there for 6 weeks, inspiring radio DJ Terry Wogan to release his own version some time later. In 1993 they became the first Yorkshire team to win the All England Masters Brass Band Championship, a feat they to were repeat in 1998. The band also won the National Brass Band Championship Finals in 1997 and 1998, and the European Championships in 1998.

Drum & Bugle Corps

A local drum & bugle corps: Conquest Alliance was formed, in 1985, by the merger of two other drum corps, the Northern Skyryders and Brighouse RBL (Legion). The following year, 1986, Conquest Alliance made their first, re-organised, appearance on the Drum Corp United Kingdom (DCUK) field of competition. At the end of their first season they were declared co-champions of the DCUK, tying with the Dagenham Crusaders, with a score of 82.4 points |DCUK Roll of Honour

. They last competed in 1990, before disbanding.
The next four competitive years saw the following placings:-

1987 - 1st with 88.3 points DCUK Archives - 1987

1988 - 5th with 88.4 points DCUK Archives - 1988

1989 - 2nd with 90.25 points (having merged with Warrington Corps and renamed Northern Alliance) DCUK Archives - 1989

1990 - 4th with 83.6 points DCUK Archives - 1990

Following their disbandment many former band and staff members went on to teach other competitive drum corps in England, many very successful. They have judged and marched in the USA in Drum Corps International and Drum Corps Associates events - with the Bayonne Bridgemen (New Jersey), of Atlanta (Spirit of JSU)

(Georgia), Crossmen (Pennsylvania), New York Skyliners, and the Lehigh Valley Chieftains.
A successful reunion was held on 11 November 2006. Pictures of the night, message board and forum can be found on their website

Film and televisual arts

Author and inventor Wilf Lunn, whose pioneering approach in Vision On was followed by regular appearances in Magpie and Take Hart, is also based in the Huddersfield area.

Sport

Rugby League

Brighouse Rangers Amateur Rugby League Football Club are part of the Brighouse Sports Club Complex on Russell Way (Off Bradford Road) between Brighouse town centre and the village of Bailiff Bridge. Not many people know that Brighouse Rangers were founder members of the Rugby Football League and the first ever chairman of the RFL was H.H. Waller the chairman of the club. The club used to compete in the National Conference League until they were expelled for playing an ineligible player. They still however operate in Division 4 of the Pennine League and have a thriving youth and junior setup.

Football

During the 2003-4 season, the town's football club, Brighouse Town A.F.C. played in the West Riding County Amateur Football League Premier Division at level 12 of the National League System (also known as 'The Football Pyramid'). The town also has its own Sunday League football competition, which in the 2007-08 season comprised of 1 division of 10 teams. Junction (Rastrick) were crowned champions on 20 April 2008 - the first time a club from the Rastrick hostelry had won the competition since 1983.

Transportation

Roads

Roads which pass through Brighouse includes the following
The A641 links Brighouse northwards to Bradford and southwards to Huddersfield. The A644 runs eastwards out of Brighouse to Junction 25 of the M62, then continues on to Dewsbury. The north-westerly route goes out of Brighouse to Hipperholme where traffic can then either turn onto the A58 towards Halifax or continue towards Keighley. The A643 and A6025 provide less important links around the town.
In 1970 a bypass was constructed to clear heavy traffic from the small town centre streets. The bypass was named the Ludenshied Link named after Brighouse's twin town.

Buses

Bus services operate frequently to Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Leeds and are coordinated by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (Metro). Services are operated by First Bradford, First Calderdale and Huddersfield, Arriva Yorkshire, Loonat Coaches and Ryburn Taxibus.
   The Bus Station is located behind Commercial Street and currently dates from the late 70s. It is very old fashioned compared to modern designs found elsewhere in West Yorkshire. After a period of negotiation Metro is funding a new bus station, with work due to start in August 2008.
   Bus stops within the Brighouse area are equipped with Real Time Passenger Information Screens.
   A shophopper style service (C70), sponsored by Tesco Supermarket and operated by the Halifax Joint Committee, operates 7 days a week, during the daylight hours, around the town centre and linking the bus station to the Tesco Superstore.

Trains

Brighouse Railway Station was reopened in 2000 and provides the town with access to the National Rail network. All services are sponsored by Metro and provided by Northern Rail.
The current service is part of the Caldervale Line and operates from Wakefield Westgate to Selby via Huddersfield, Brighouse, Halifax, Bradford Interchange and Leeds and vice versa.
In December 2007, Brighouse gained an additional daytime service to Leeds from Hebden Bridge along the Huddersfield Line. The trains operate 0700 and 1900 Monday to Saturday. This will provide Brighouse with two trains an hour to Leeds and back. This way only takes 35 Minutes compared to the other service which goes via New Pudsey.

Events

Brighouse Charity Gala

The annual Brighouse Charity Gala is held on the last Saturday of June. The Gala consists of a procession assembling around 1.15pm at the Crosslee works in Hipperholme. It then follows a route around the suburbs and town centre of Brighouse to Wellholme Park. Local groups and businesses are encouraged to design floats and many walking groups and musical bands also take part.
The event comes to a closes just after 5.00pm when hundreds of numbered plastic yellow ducks are emptied into the nearby Clifton Beck this then flows down through the park to a finish line as the public watch their progress. The winning ticket holder receives a cash prize. In 2005 over £12,000 was raised at the Gala and then distributed to local charities
The 41st gala was due to take place on Saturday 30 June 2007, However the park was flooded on 25 June during the 2007 United Kingdom floods when Clifton Beck burst its banks. The Gala was rescheduled to the 15th of September.

Notable people born in Brighouse

Wilf Lunn, Inventor and TV presenter.

Nearby villages and suburbs

Brookfoot, Bailiff Bridge, Clifton, Hove Edge, Hipperholme, Lightcliffe, RastrickFurther Information

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