Southowram
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| Southowram | |
  Southowram shown within West Yorkshire |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | Calderdale |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HALIFAX |
| Postcode district | HX3 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| European Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Southowram is a village in West Yorkshire, England that stands on the hill top to the east of Halifax, and is roughly equidistant from Halifax and Brighouse.
Southowram stands on the south side of Shibden valley. A small Pennine village with outlying regions of Bank Top, Brookfoot and Siddal. Northowram stands on the northern side of the valley.
Walterclough Hall lies nearby.
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[edit] History
The centre of the village was largely demolished and built over in the 1970s and 1980s.
A number of old halls and farms which survived until the 1940s and 1950s were lost in subsequent decades.
Some photographs of the village in the 1960s and earlier exist, but are in private hands.
There were quite a few photos of the village in The Shoulder of Mutton.
[edit] Law Hill House
In 1837, 19-year-old, Emily Bronte came to teach at the three-storey house which was then an exclusive boarding school. However, she only lasted about six months because of the strict lifestyle demanded. She was also homesick and in a collection of letters, Charlotte wrote about her her sister had to work from 6am to 11pm each day and was more of a governess than a teacher. Emily wrote poetry while at Law Hill and became fascinated by the story of intrigue and feuding which surrounded the house’s builder, Jack Sharp, and his near neighbours, the Walker family of Walterclough. It is said she reflected the story in the plot of Wuthering Heights and that the central character was based on Sharp himself.
[edit] Industries
- Farming (very much in-decline)
- mining for coal and fireclay
- brick-manufacture
- stone quarrying and mining
All of these are more or less defunct, with the exception of stone quarrying where Marshalls plc are still extracting as much stone as they can profitably sell along with imported chinese stone made into decorative things. The company which was privately owned moved its headquarters to Huddersfield in recent years. It is currently engaged in destroying one of the few unspoilt areas of the locality, the area between Pasture House, Pasture House Farm, Saint Anne's church and Barker Royde Farm. Expect to see Pasture House and Pasture House Farm demolished and quarried out in the coming years. Don't expect to see any land restored to working order withn your life time.
A number of Judd walls which retain quarry waste can still be seen in the locality, especially those on the valley opposite Hove Edge. These walls include a rather splendid sets of steps set into the side, which lead into a small narrow ginnel to permit passage along a public footpath.
[edit] Religion
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (September 2007) |
The C Of E church of St Anne's below the village proper, is the only remaining place of worship, various non-conformist chapels having closed over the years, most recently that at the lower end of Chapel Lane.
[edit] External links
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