Colne Valley facts for kids
The Colne Valley is a beautiful valley in West Yorkshire, England. It's located on the eastern side of the Pennine Hills. The valley gets its name from the River Colne. This river starts near the town of Marsden and flows east towards Huddersfield.
When people talk about the Colne Valley, they usually mean the part of the valley from where the river begins all the way to Huddersfield. This is where the River Holme joins the River Colne. The valley includes several towns and villages like Marsden, Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, Milnsbridge, Scapegoat Hill, Longwood, and Golcar.
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Colne Valley's Past and Present
The Colne Valley has a rich history, especially during the time of the Industrial Revolution. This was a period when new machines changed how things were made.
How Industry Grew Here
For many years, most people in the valley made cloth by hand using looms. But then, new mills were built along the rivers and streams. These mills used water power to run machines that made textiles (cloth). This made the Colne Valley a very important place for producing textiles.
The River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal were important for moving goods. Later, roads like the A62 and railways were built. These links connected the valley to big cities like Huddersfield and Leeds in the east, and Manchester and Liverpool in the west.
Life in the Valley Today
After World War II, the textile industry in the Colne Valley started to slow down. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was even closed for a while in 1944. Today, the area is mostly a place where people live. Its good transport links make it easy for people to travel to work in nearby cities.
Tourism is also growing in the Colne Valley. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was reopened in 2001. Now, you can take boat trips into the Standedge Canal Tunnel, which is a very long tunnel! The National Trust also offers walks on Marsden Moor Estate. You might even recognize some places, as TV shows like Last of the Summer Wine and Where the Heart Is have been filmed here.
Local Government and Politics
The Colne Valley has a history of how its local areas were managed.
How the Area Was Governed
From 1937 to 1974, the Colne Valley was an "urban district" within the West Riding of Yorkshire. This meant it was a local government area. It was formed by joining together several smaller urban districts, including Golcar, Linthwaite, Marsden, Scammonden, and Slaithwaite. About 20,000 people lived there at that time.
In 1974, a new law called the Local Government Act 1972 changed things. The Colne Valley urban district became part of a larger area called the metropolitan borough of Kirklees. Today, the Colne Valley is a "ward" within Kirklees Council. In 2011, about 17,369 people lived in this ward.
Colne Valley's Parliament Members
The name "Colne Valley" is also used for a special area called a parliamentary constituency. This is the area that elects a MP to represent them in the UK Parliament. Even though it's called Colne Valley, this constituency also includes the Holme Valley, Meltham, and parts of Huddersfield.
Some famous former MPs for the Colne Valley constituency include Victor Grayson and Richard Wainwright.
