Heptonstall

I mentioned Heptonstall yesterday - and that gives me chance to share some photos I took a few weeks ago when I met members of my camera club there for an outing. Heptonstall is a small village perched on a hill above the larger town of Hebden Bridge in Calderdale. The village has a long history, back as far as the 1200s. Pre-industrialisation, people tended to live on the hills rather than in the valley, and the settlements in the valley grew when industries developed that needed water power. 

Heptonstall was historically an important centre of handloom weaving and has many very old properties along narrow, winding streets still surfaced with the stone setts common in this part of the country. (In fact they had been covered over with tarmac but were uncovered when some work took place. Local pressure led to them being restored and retained.)  

The many weavers' cottages have large windows on the upper floor, which gave light for the family's handloom weaving.

Yes, in the modern world with everyone's big cars, the narrow streets and lack of parking space here are a nightmare... especially when you meet the local bus, albeit quite a small version. 

The archway of the Great North Gate leads to what is now Heptonstall Museum, formerly the Old Grammar School.

Heptonstall is a really fascinating place to explore and there is a published trail to follow that takes in the main sights. I've visited several times before but never before have I known it to be sunny! It's very often bleak, windy and drizzly up there. In fact it was so sunny that it was quite hard to deal with, photographically - far too much contrast and shadow!!