Lightcliffe is a village in the

Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...

district in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated approximately three miles east of Halifax and two miles north west of

Brighouse Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 m ...

. Lightcliffe was a separate parish in 1846 in the West Riding of Yorkshire."Lightcliffe"
Online Visual Archive of Calderdale History (calderdale.gov.uk). Retrieved 7 December 2011. Lightcliffe is a dormitory village for people working in Halifax, Brighouse, and

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, and commuting to Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield."Profile on..."
'' Yorkshire Post'' (9 May 2011). Retrieved 3 December 2011. It stretches along the Wakefield and Leeds roads, surrounded by fields and rolling countryside. Lightcliffe feels very established and green – with many mature trees and large houses. Lightcliffe's main park, "the Stray", is 11 acres of lawn and trees and contains a war memorial erected in 1923."Stray (B) Lightcliffe"
Online Visual Archive of Calderdale History (calderdale.gov.uk). Retrieved 7 December 2011. In April 1937, an avenue of trees was planted in the park to commemorate King George VI's coronation. Towards the village centre is the cricket club. There are two golf clubs, the long established Lightcliffe Golf Club and Crow's Nest Golf Club. The oldest part of the village contains the Sun Inn – a former

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

, along what was in antiquity the main road to London. The new Lightcliffe Anglican church, St Matthew's, was built in 1875 to replace the old church. It is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building, with an

embattled A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet which is reminiscent of a medieval castle. Lightcliffe Academy is a secondary school serving the area. Lightcliffe Church of England Primary School is located in an old stone building and Cliffe Hill Primary has newer premises. Sir Titus Salt, a wealthy businessman known for having built the village of

Saltaire Saltaire is a Victorian era, Victorian model village in Shipley, West Yorkshire, Shipley, part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, in West Yorkshire, England. The Victorian era Salt's Mill and associated residential district locate ...

, as well as owning a mill there, once lived in a large house, Crow Nest. The house was a former home of Ann Walker, partner of Anne Lister, the latter of whom was also known as "Gentleman Jack". Crow Nest has since been demolished, and its grounds are now a golf course. Walker is buried a short distance away, across the road at the site of Old St Matthew's Churchyard. Old St Matthew's Church has since been replaced by a newer Church of St Matthew. Walker also once lived at Lydgate House, now surrounded by a residential street called Lydgate Park, and formerly alongside Crow Nest. Walker and her family also lived at Cliffe Hill, which still survives . On Leeds Road is situated the URC church – now converted to offices. A feature of this church is that it contained a peal of bells – unusual for a nonconformist church. It has a tall steeple and stained glass. The church congregation has joined with Hipperholme Methodist Church to form a Local Ecumenical Partnership worshipping at Christ Church at the main Crossroads.

References

{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of Calderdale Brighouse

See also

References