Luddendenfoot or Luddenden Foot is a village in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It is in the borough of

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 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 ...

, to the northwest of

Sowerby Bridge Sowerby Bridge ( ) is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703. History The town was originally a fording point over the once mu ...

and west of Halifax. The population of Luddendenfoot is 2,547, with the wider Calderdale Ward having a population of 10,653 at the 2011 Census. The village lies along the

Upper Calder Valley The Upper Calder Valley lies in West Yorkshire, in northern England, and covers the towns of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, and Sowerby Bridge, as well as a number of smaller settlements such as Portsmouth, Cornholme ...

below Luddenden, between Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd.

History

The settlement grew up around the confluence of Luddenden Brook and the River Calder and the existence of the woollen textile industry. The industrial growth facilitated by the opening of the

Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is in Northern England, between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale through which it passes. The Rochdale is a broad canal be ...

in 1804 and the opening of the

Manchester and Leeds Railway The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a British railway company that built a line from Manchester to Normanton, West Yorkshire, Normanton where it made a junction with the North Midland Railway, over which it relied on running powers to access L ...

in 1840. There were several mills including Boy Mill, Luddendenfoot Mill, Delph Mill and Denholme Mill. None of these mills remain in their original use. Between 1840 and 1962 the village was served by

Luddendenfoot railway station Luddendenfoot railway station served the village of Luddendenfoot in West Yorkshire, England, from 1840 until 1962. History The Manchester and Leeds Railway, which was authorised in 1836 for a line from Manchester Oldham Road railway station, M ...

. Luddendenfoot grew up around the industry along the river and brook, then later the canal; then the railway and then the A646 Burnley Road. In the late 20th century, many houses along Burnley Road were cleared and a new housing estate at Kershaw was developed. In the early 21st century, housing has been built on a cleared mill site in the centre of the village.

Governance

There is just one tier of local government covering Luddenden Foot, at

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

level, being Calderdale Borough Council, based in Halifax. The village historically straddled the chapelries of Midgley, Sowerby and Warley, all of which formed part of the

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Halifax. The three chapelries became separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es in 1866. The village was made a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

in 1868, governed by a local board. Such local boards were reconstituted as urban district councils in December 1894 under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

. The 1894 Act also said that parishes could not straddle district boundaries, and so a new parish called Luddendenfoot was created at the same time covering the same area as the urban district. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2,881. On 1 April 1937, the parish and urban district were abolished and absorbed into the neighbouring parish and urban district of Sowerby Bridge. Sowerby Bridge Urban District was in turn abolished in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

and the area became part of the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

. No

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

was created for the former Sowerby Bridge Urban District and so Luddendenfoot is directly administered by Calderdale Borough Council. The settlement is part of the Luddendenfoot

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the part of the

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

. The Luddendenfoot ward covers a wider area and includes the villages of Mytholmroyd, Luddenden, Midgley, Booth, Wainstalls, Cragg Vale and Boulderclough. The ward has, over the years, elected councillors from all of the three main parties. However, as of May 2019, all three seats are held by Labour councillors and this is the first time this has happened since 1973. The current councillors by date elected are Jane Scullion (Deputy Leader of Calderdale), Scott Patient and Roisin Cavanagh.

Education

There are two primary schools in Luddendenfoot; Luddendenfoot Academy, formerly Luddendenfoot Junior and Infant School and Luddenden CE School.

Cultural reference and notable people

* Luddendenfoot is the subject of a poem "Full Moon" by Simon Armitage, published in 2008 in ''Gig: The Life and Times of a Rock-star Fantasist'', in which he comments on the rumoured pagan practices of the town. * The actor Peter Alexander, who starred in Emmerdale Farm and numerous pantomimes in Yorkshire, lives here. *Luddenden was also used as the exterior funeral parlour for the then

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

's '' In Loving Memory''. *The

in the village was used as a filming location in Happy Valley * *Luddendenfoot Rugby League Club appeared in the first round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup in

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

as an amateur side, losing 63–3 away at

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. *

Branwell Brontë Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family, and brother of the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte, Emily Brontë, Emily, and Anne Bro ...

worked at Luddendenfoot Railway Station in 1841

Gallery

File:Rochdale Canal near Luddenden Foot - geograph.org.uk - 985276.jpg,

File:Fender, by Joss Smith, at Luddendenfoot (11937295596).jpg, alt=Public Art by the Rochdale Canal, Public Art by the Rochdale Canal File:Division of Luddendenfoot and Warley (3306510677).jpg, alt=Former boundary marker denoting Luddendenfoot and Warley districts., Former boundary marker denoting Luddendenfoot and Warley districts. File:Luddendenfoot .jpg, alt=Luddendenfoot viewed from the south east., Luddendenfoot in the summer File:Winter Luddendenfoot.jpg, alt=Luddendenfoot in the winter, Luddendenfoot in the winter File:Luddendenfoot in the autumn.jpg, alt=Luddendenfoot in the Autumn, Luddendenfoot in the Autumn

References

External links

Luddendenfoot Junior & Infant School websiteSowerby Bridge Chronicle newspaper website
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of Calderdale Wards of Calderdale