Haworth
Haworth is a rural village in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is located amongst the Pennines, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Keighley and 10 miles (16 km) west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages include Cross Roads, Stanbury and Lumbfoot.
Haworth is a tourist attraction, best known for its association with the Brontë sisters.
History
Haworth is first mentioned as a settlement in 1209.[1] The name may refer to a "hedged enclosure" or "hawthorn enclosure". The name was recorded as "Howorth" on a 1771 map.
Haworth's only traditional events were an annual service at Haworth Spa and the rush bearing. Spa Sunday died out in the early 20th century and the rush bearing ceremony has not been held for about twenty years. One of the modern events organised by the Haworth Traders' Association is "Scroggling the Holly" – an annual holly gathering event that takes place each November in Haworth. At the start of the festive season bands and Morris men lead a procession of children in Victorian costume, who follow the Holly Queen up the cobbles to her crowning ceremony on the church steps. The newly crowned Holly Queen unlocks the church gates to invite the spirit of Christmas into Haworth. Father Christmas then arrives bringing with him glad tidings and Christmas cheer to all.[2]
In Haworth itself there are tea rooms such as 'Cobbles and Clay the Art Cafe', souvenir and antiquarian bookshops, restaurants, pubs and hotels (including the Black Bull, where Branwell Brontë's decline into alcoholism and opium addiction allegedly began). Haworth is a good base for exploring the principal attractions of Brontë Country, while still being close to the major cities of Bradford and Leeds. Further afield lies the historic city of York, and the spa towns of Harrogate and Ilkley – popular spa towns on the edge of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park to the north.
Fairtrade
On 22 November 2002 Haworth was granted Fairtrade Village status.[3] On 21 October 2005 Haworth Fairtrade officially signed an agreement to twin with Machu Picchu in Peru.[4]
Governance
Haworth village is part of the parish of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury,[5] which in turn is part of the Bradford Metropolitan District Council, one of the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire.
Geography
Haworth is situated above the Worth Valley amid the Pennine moors. It is 212 miles (341 km) north of London, 43 miles (69 km) west of York and 9 miles (14 km) west of Bradford.
Economy
Tourism accounts for much of the local seasonal trade, with the major attractions being the steam railway and the Brontë parsonage.
Visitors are said to have been driven away due to the behaviour of a car clamper at the Changegate car park in Haworth. The car-clamping firm Carstoppers, who patrols the Changegate car park, was given the 'Dick Turpin' award by the RAC, for being the modern day equivalent of a highway robber. Complaints have been reported and motorists have been urged to park elsewhere.[6][7]
Culture
The first Haworth Arts Festival took place in 2000 and was repeated in 2001, but then ceased to operate because of the changing circumstances of the organisers. However a new group of Haworth residents took up the baton again in 2005 and began to build a festival which would combine performing arts, visual arts, street performance and a strong community involvement. The use of the local professional and semi-professional musicians, artists and performers has been coupled with a larger name for each festival, providing a local stage for the likes of John Cooper Clarke and John Shuttleworth. The festival continues to expand its horizons, slowly encompassing areas of the Worth Valley outside of Haworth itself and is always held on the first weekend in September, starting on the preceding Thursday and running until the Sunday night.
The Haworth Band is one of the oldest secular musical organisations in the Keighley area and its band room is located in the heart of the Haworth Village.[8] History records indicate that there was a brass band at Ponden, close by as far back as 1854 with a body of excellent performers. It was founded by John Heaton who lived at Ponden. The band had the job of playing at a celebration in Haworth at the conclusion of the Crimean War. Over the years the world of brass band music went from strength to strength, during which time the Haworth Band went with it. As it stands today the Haworth Band is a busy and thriving organisation that is closely linked to the local community. [citation needed]
Every year the village hosts a 1940s weekend where locals and visitors don wartime attire for a host of nostalgic events.[citation needed]
Community facilities
On 13 January 2009, it was announced that a permanent library will be established in the village, replacing the mobile service which visits the village once a week. Haworth last had its own library in 1978.[9]
Landmarks
Haworth railway station is part of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, an authentic preserved steam railway.
The 43 miles (69 km) long Brontë Way leads past Lower Laithe Reservoir, Stanbury to the Brontë waterfalls, the Brontë Bridge and the Brontë Stone Chair in which (it is said) the sisters took turns to sit and write their first stories. It then leads out of the valley and up on the moors to Ponden Hall (reputedly Thrushcross Grange in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights) and Top Withens, a desolate ruin which was reputedly the setting for the farmstead Wuthering Heights. Top Withens can also be reached by a shorter walking route departing from the nearby village of Stanbury.
Transport
Haworth is served by Keighley & District rural bus service which provides links to the main local town of Keighley and the local villages of Oxenhope, Stanbury, Oakworth and Denholme. Evening and Sunday services are partly paid for by Metro.
Education
Haworth primary school on Rawdon Road is the only school in the village and takes children from age 3 to 11.[10] Children from 11 to 18 attend secondary schools outside the village at Oakbank school in Keighley and Parkside School in Cullingworth.[11]
Religious sites
St. Michael and All Angels church is situated on Church Street, next to the Brontë parsonage. It is part of the Church of England Deanery of Craven.[12]
Baptists in the area originally met in a barn at the bottom of Brow Road, first used in 1785. They subsequently moved to Hall Green Baptist Church at the junction of Bridgehouse Lane and Sun Street.[13]
Sport
Haworth Cricket club was established in 1887 as Haworth Wesleyan Cricket Club and are members of the English Cricket Board.[14] They have a permanent ground north of Well Lane, west of the village centre. Haworth West End Cricket Club was formed in 1900 as the Haworth West Lane Baptist Cricket Club.[15]
Notable people
Brontë sisters
The Brontë sisters were born in Thornton, but wrote most of their novels while living at the Haworth Parsonage (which is now a museum owned and maintained by the Brontë Society), when their father was the parson at the adjacent Church of St. Michael and All Angels. In the 19th century, the town and surrounding settlements were largely industrialized, which put it at odds with the popular portrayal in Wuthering Heights, which only bore resemblance to the upper moorland that Emily Brontë was accustomed to.[16]
Filmography
Haworth and Haworth railway station have been used as settings for numerous period films and TV series, including The Railway Children (starring Jenny Agutter), Yanks (starring Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave), and Alan Parker's film version of Pink Floyd's The Wall (starring Bob Geldof). It also featured in "Wild Child" (starring Emma Roberts), and "The Souk" (a high class vintage shop) was depicted as a charity shop.
Twin towns
References
- ^ "Haworth Village – Visiting Haworth – England". Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ "Scroggling the Holly – 20th November". Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ Telegraph & Argus, Fair traders win award
- ^ a b Telegraph & Argus, Andes show boosts International link
- ^ "City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – Parish and town councils". Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Russell Jenkins (26 May 2007). "Clamper drove away Brontë tourists". The Times.
- ^ unknown (26 November 2003). "Clamping firm "Worst in UK"". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ "The Haworth Band – History". Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Fiona (13 January 2009). "Library hope for literary village". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ "Ofsted – Haworth primary school". Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "Haworth Village Local Information – Secondary schools". Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "St Michael & All Angels, Haworth". Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Hall Green Baptist Church – History". Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Haworth Cricket Club". Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ "Haworth West End Cricket Club – History". Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ Rebecca Fraser (1993). "The Brontës". In Kate Marsh (ed.). Writers and Their Homes. Hamish Hamilton. p. 41. ISBN 0241127696.
External links
- [1] Voice of the Valleys. Community newspaper and web site for the Worth and Aire Valleys
- Haworth Online Haworth Online Community Website
- Brontë Country
- Haworth at Curlie
- Visit Bronte Country – tourist group
- Website of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire
- The Name Haworth by James M. Knox
- Haworth Arts Festival
- [2] – Details of dates for the 1940s weekend and other events held in Haworth.
