My family live just down the hill from Heptonstall village, so when I went over to see them we had a mooch around there. There's a very nice café, which supplied copious amounts of tea and cake before we ventured out for a wander. It was really rather cold so we didn't linger long and, compared to my last visit with camera club companions, I was only taking quick snaps rather than considered shots.
It's a moody and photogenic village, with its narrow streets and cobblestones. It was, historically, a centre for handloom weaving, safely perched on the high plateau above the flood-prone river valley. Hebden Bridge and the other towns and villages down in the valley only really grew when, in the late 18th century, industrialised textile processes in the water-powered mills began to take over from the home-based cottage industry.
In the photo below, up the street on the right, you can see on the upper floors the serried windows typical of the weavers' cottages. The handlooms would have been up there and needed as much light as they could manage.
It's an amazing place to wander through, with unexpected sights at every turn.
Fascinating photos. I have been a couple of times and found the grave yard very eerie. I would have loved to see those houses being built though.
ReplyDeleteHistorically speaking my husband's family originated from there, our surname has evolved from where they were living and there is even talk of potentially having Heptonstall coin clippers as ancestors.
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