Editing Brighouse (section)

==History==
[[File:Brighouse bridge 019.jpg|thumb|left|[[Rastrick Bridge]]]]
There was a [[ford (river)|river crossing]] called Snake Hill Ford across the Calder – believed to have formed part of the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] route between [[Wakefield]] and [[Manchester]]. A wooden structure called [[Rastrick Bridge]] was recorded in 1275.  The bridge was replaced by another built with timber donated by John Hanson in 1514.  Hanson's son funded a stone replacement for this bridge in 1558. The river provided power for the flour milling industry and the [[textile]] mills. Brighouse's industry received a boost through the [[construction]] of the [[Calder and Hebble Navigation]], started in 1757 by the engineer [[John Smeaton]]. The town was incorporated in 1893.<ref name=EB1911/>

The [[Halifax and Huddersfield Turnpike Act 1824]] ([[5 Geo. 4]]. c. ciii) allowed for the building of Calder Bridge, or [[Brighouse Bridge]], over the river on what was to become the [[A roads in Zone 6 of the Great Britain numbering scheme|A641 road]]; tolls were abolished on the bridge in 1875 and extensive widening work was undertaken in 1905 and 1999 (both of these latter dates being commemorated in dedication stones on the bridge).