West Yorkshire Guides

Boat or train for a trip under the Pennines...

Of course, this wasn't always the case. For centuries Saddleworth on the other side of the hill was in the West Riding and there's quite a few folk over there who wish they were still part of West Yorkshire. And, say what you like, Marsden has certainly been shaped by attempts to find a way over these boggy heights.

Picnic or paddle at Close Gate Bridge

At first those venturing across the hills had to rely on their own two feet and, surrounded as it is by unspoilt moorlands (today much of this is the care of the National Trust), it could be argued that this is still the best way to explore the adjacent countryside. For those who want a challenging walk the Pennine Way passes by but slabs have been laid along part of the way to make the going much easier. Or take a stroll up the Wessenden Valley with its series of reservoirs - it's difficult to realise there's a small town just a short distance away.

Inside Standedge canal tunnel...

It was road building which brought the engineer Jack Metcalfe - known to history as Blind Jack of Knaresborough - to Marsden around 1760. A way had to be found across the Pennines for the mail coaches and, in its day, Blind Jack's road was just as much an engineering marvel as the M62 was in the 20th century. The present A62 linking Huddersfield to Oldham is the third turnpike road to go through Marsden - Blind Jack's road still survives today as Old Mount Road.

Marsden from the A62

Thanks to the efforts of the Huddersfield Canal Society, the canal reopened in 2001, 60 years after it was closed by an Act of Parliament. Today boats towed by electric tugs again pass through the Standedge Tunnel (restored at a cost of £5 million) and an exhibition at the nearby Visitor Centre tells the story of those who spent their lives on the canal as well as those who built it. In summer Marden-based theatre company, Mikron, take their productions up and down the country by narrowboat!

The Standedge Visitor Centre

But it wasn't all good news for those who got their living from cloth. The tomb of the Taylor family is almost all that marks the site of the old churchyard. Enoch Taylor and his brother James were originally blacksmiths who, as their business expanded, started to make cropping machines which threatened the livelihood of the hand croppers in the Colne Valley but textile workers across the North and Midlands were joining together to resist the new machinery. Those who took part came to be called Luddites after Ned Ludd, the almost certainly mythical 'founder' of the movement. As Enoch Taylor also made large sledgehammers it's said the Luddites used to shout: "Enoch makes them and Enoch shall break them!" as they smashed the frames. Mill owner William Horsfall even fortified his mill at Ottiwells but in April 1812 he was shot and fatally wounded on the road home from Huddersfield. Even though a war was being fought against the French, troops had to be sent to Marsden!

Enoch Taylor's tomb

If transport needs and industry have played their part in shaping Marsden then so has the weather! Put simply, it rains a lot. After all it was the plentiful supply of water that made the village an ideal place for wool. But perhaps it also means that Marsden folk are more aware of the changes in seasons than most. No wonder then that on the first Saturday in February a fiery procession marks the old Celtic Fire Festival, Imbolc, where Jack Frost and Mr Green fight it out!

Marsden welcomes the Spring!

However, it's not fire or cuckoos but music which brings visitors in their thousands to Marsden. The Jazz Festival, held in October - a sure sign that Autumn has arrived - is now in its 17th year and takes place all over the village. There's not usually a seat to be had in the pubs and clubs and the crowds spill out on to the pavement. And, of course, there's the big ticketed events with the headline acts which tend to take place in the Mechanics Institute. In case you are wondering, that's the big building with the red and cream clock tower which dominates the centre of the village. The building which opened in 1861 was paid for by public subscription and classes were held there in subjects ranging from science to singing for those who wanted to improve themselves.

You can't miss the Mechanics Institute clock!

Further information:

You can find out a lot more about Marsden's fascinating past both by visiting British Waterways' Standedge Visitor Centre at Tunnel End and the information display at the National Trust's Marsden Moor Estate Office in the Old Goods Yard nest to Marsden Station - follow the signs for the car park. You should also park here if you want to visit Tunnel End or Close Gate Bridge although there is limited parking for people with disabilities next to the Standedge Visitor Centre. The National Trust has published a very good guide to Marsden and Tunnel End which is available from their estate Office.