Brighouse
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Overview
BrighouseCrest.jpg
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.
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.
Architecture
Two churches in Brighouse have stained glass from the William Morris factory, designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones.
History
In prehistoric times, there was a ford called Snake Hill Ford across the Calder - this was 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 in was undertaken in 1905 and 1999 (both of these latter dates being commemorated in dedication stones on the bridge).
Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
Brighouse is the home of the well-known and almost chart-topping Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, founded in 1881 and associated also with Brighouse's neighbour Rastrick. They originally formed under the name The Brighouse and Rastrick Temperance Brass Band and took 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 charts and stayed there for 9 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.
Sport
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').
External links
- Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band (http://www.brighouseandrastrickband.co.uk/)
- Brighouse Town AFC site (http://www.btafc.com/)
- Brighouse Today - Online news provided by the Brighouse Echo newspaper (http://www.brighousetoday.co.uk/)
- Brighouse Online - A site full of information about Brighouse with guides, shops, maps etc (http://www.brighouseonline.com/)
- Brighouse Chess Club (http://www.bardelang.f2s.com/chess/brighousechess.htm)
- Census data (http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/AreaProfileFrames.asp?aid=177249&hid=14&tid=14)