Editing Slaithwaite

{{Short description|Town in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| official_name            = Slaithwaite
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.623|-1.880|display=inline,title}}
| population               =
| metropolitan_borough     = [[Kirklees]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[West Yorkshire]]
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Colne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Colne Valley]]
| post_town                = HUDDERSFIELD
| postcode_area            = HD
| postcode_district        = HD7
| dial_code                = 01484
| os_grid_reference        = SE079141
| london_distance          = 
| static_image_name        = St James' Church through the viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 1659512.jpg
| static_image_caption     = St James's church through the viaduct
| london_distance_mi       = 164
| london_direction         = SE 
}}

'''Slaithwaite''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|l|æ|θ|.|w|eɪ|t}} {{respell|SLAH|wit}}, ; [[Old Norse]] for "timber-fell [[thwaite (placename element)|thwaite]]/clearing")<ref>{{cite web|url = http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Yorkshire%20WR/Slaithwaite|title = Slaithwaite|work = Key to English Place Names|publisher = [[English Place-Name Society]]|accessdate = 8 August 2013}}</ref> is a town in the [[Kirklees]] district of [[West Yorkshire]], England. [[Historic counties of England|Historically]] part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], it is in the [[River Colne, West Yorkshire|Colne Valley]] and on the [[Huddersfield Narrow Canal]], {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} south-west of [[Huddersfield]].

==History==
[[File:St James' Church and Shoulder of Mutton, Slaithwaite - geograph.org.uk - 1543239.jpg|thumb|left|The parish church of St James and the Shoulder of Mutton inn]]
[[File:Town Hall, Lewisham Road, Slaithwaite - geograph.org.uk - 880404.jpg|thumb|left|[[Slaithwaite Town Hall]] in Lewisham Road]]
Between 1195 and 1205, Roger de Laci, Constable of Chester, gave the manor of Slaithwaite to Henry Teutonicus (Lord Tyas). It remained in the Tyas family until the end of the 14th century when it came into the Kaye family. It eventually joined the estates of the [[Earl of Dartmouth]], a descendant of the Kayes, and was part of the upper division of the [[wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal |publisher=Yorkshire Archæological Society. |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZhQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA27&dq=Slaithwaite |access-date=26 January 2021 }}</ref> It included the [[township]] of ''Lingarths'' (Lingards) and constituted the Chapelry of Slaithwaite, in the Patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hulbert |first1=Charles Augustus |title=Supplementary Annals of the Church and Parish of Almondbury: July, 1882, to June 1885 |date=1885 |publisher=Longmans |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnkDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA128&dq=Township+of+Slaithwaite |access-date=26 January 2021 }}</ref>

In the early 19th century, a local spring was discovered to contain [[Sulfur|sulphurous]] properties and minerals, similar to those found in [[Harrogate]]. Sometime after 1820 a bathing facility was built, along with a gardens and pleasure ground, with some visitor cottages. A free [[school]] was founded in 1721 and rebuilt twice: first in 1744, and again in 1842.

In the 1848 edition of ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', Samuel Lewis (the editor) wrote:
"the lands are in meadow and pasture, with a small portion of arable; the scenery is bold and romantic. In the quarries of the district are found vegetable fossils, especially firs and other mountain trees. The town is beautifully seated in the valley of the river Colne; the inhabitants are mostly employed in the woollen manufacture, in the spinning of cotton and silk, and in silk-weaving"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp118-120|title=Slackstead – Slawston &#124; British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref>

Slaithwaite Hall, (dated by dendrochronology to 1452), is located on a nearby hillside. It is one of a number of [[cruck]]-framed buildings clustered in this area of West Yorkshire. After many years divided into [[cottages]], the building has been extensively restored and is now a single dwelling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bodgesoc.org/slaithwaite.html|title=The rehabilitation of Slaithwaite Old Hall}}</ref>

[[Legend]] has it that local [[smugglers]] caught by the [[Her Majesty's Customs and Excise|excise men]] tried to explain their [[nocturnal]] activities as 'raking the moon from the canal' and definitely not as 'fishing out smuggled [[brandy]]'.<ref name=SM>[http://www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org/2009/home.html Slaithwaite Moonraking .org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103010326/http://www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org/2009/home.html |date=3 November 2010 }}</ref> A "Moonraker" is now the nickname for a native of the town. There are similar stories and nicknames for the neighbouring settlements of [[Golcar]] ("Lillies"), [[Marsden, West Yorkshire|Marsden]] ("Cuckoos") and [[Linthwaite]] ("Leadboilers"). The legend is also known in [[Wiltshire]], where the locals are also known as 'Moonrakers'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moonrakers.org.uk/moonrakers.asp|title=Moonrakers.org}}</ref>

[[Slaithwaite Town Hall]] in Lewisham Road served as the municipal headquarters of successive local authorities in the area until the abolition of Colne Valley Urban District Council in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10002254#tab02  |title=Colne Valley UD|publisher=Vision of Britain|access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref>

=== Civil parish ===
Slaithwaite was formerly a [[Township (England)|township]] and [[chapelry]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/452|title=History of Marsden, in Kirklees and West Riding|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=11 August 2023}}</ref> From 1866, Slaithwaite was a civil parish in its own right.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10468917|title=Relationships and changes Slaithwaite Tn/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=11 August 2023}}</ref> On 1 April 1937, the parish was abolished to form Colne Valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/huddersfield.html|title=Huddersfield Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=11 August 2023}}</ref> In 1931, the parish had a population of 5,183.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10468917/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Slaithwaite Tn/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=11 August 2023}}</ref>

==Economy==
Recent projects have seen a major restoration of the canal. That required a full re-[[Earthworks (engineering)|excavation]] and new [[Lock (water transport)|lock gates]]. Following the emergence of the [[railway]] network they were little used and closed down then filled in during 1956.

There are several significant local employers, including [[Thornton & Ross]] (a pharmaceuticals manufacturer), Shaw Pallets and Spectrum Yarns – one of a small number of remaining textiles businesses in the Colne Valley, once a major centre for wool and yarn.

==Churches==
The church of St James in Slaithwaite is the [[Anglican]] parish church; it is grouped with St Bartholomew's in Marsden and the mission church at Shred. The present church stands on high ground and was constructed c. 1789 to replace the original church which had suffered from flooding.<ref>[https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/18037/ St James, Slaithwaite with East Scammonden]; achurchnearyou.com</ref><ref>[https://stjames-slaithwaite.com/ St James, Slaithwaite]</ref> There is also a Methodist church.<ref>[http://www.huddersfieldmethodists.org.uk/slaithwaite.html Slaithwaite Methodist Church, Huddersfield Methodist Circuit]</ref>

==Commerce==
[[File:Silent Woman Pub, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield 01.jpg|thumb|Silent Woman public house]]
There are many independent shops, a post office, cafes in the centre of Slaithwaite. Shops include the community-owned cooperative the 'Green Valley Grocer', the workers' cooperative the 'Handmade Bakery,' and the Mystical Moments 'magic wand shop'.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ballinger |first=Lauren |date=17 August 2016 |title=JK Rowling's tweet takes a swipe at Slaithwaite magic wand shop |url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/jk-rowling-takes-swipe-slaithwaite-11758427 |newspaper=YorkshireLive}}</ref>

There are several traditional [[public house]]s in Slaithwaite, including the 'Silent Woman' which came to the attention of the world media on 23 September 2007, when Christopher Hawkins walked into the pub and ordered a pint of beer a few minutes after he had murdered his son and attacked his daughter with a knife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/dad-held-boy-4-stabbed-5048721|title=Dad held as boy 4 stabbed to death|first=Andrew|last=Hirst|date=24 September 2007|website=YorkshireLive}}</ref>  The town is included as one of the stops in the Transpennine Real Ale Trail.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ales on rails: How to do Yorkshire's iconic Transpennine Real Ale Trail |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/how-to-do-the-transpennine-real-ale-trail-3302516 |access-date=8 March 2022 |website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk }}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Slaithwaite viaduct (5th September 2010).jpg|thumb|right|Slaithwaite Viaduct]]
There are direct trains to [[Huddersfield]] and [[Manchester]] from [[Slaithwaite railway station]]. The Colne Valley defines local geography by channelling the railway line, the canal and the [[A62 road|A62]]: each of which has at one time been the primary means of transport across the [[Pennines]]. The small [[humpback bridge]] over the canal is called 'Tim Brig'; it is said to be named after a local innkeeper who used the bridge during smuggling operations with the [[narrowboat]]s passing through.

There are bus links from Slaithwaite to several places in the Huddersfield area. Services run by [[First West Yorkshire]] and [[First Manchester]] go from Slaithwaite to [[Marsden, West Yorkshire|Marsden]], [[Oldham]] and [[Manchester]] and to Huddersfield. Other bus services are to [[Holmfirth]], Blackmoorfoot and surrounding villages.

<gallery>
File:Narrow canal.jpg|[[Huddersfield Narrow Canal|Huddersfield Narrow Canal Towpath]] at Slaithwaite
File:Slawit_2.jpg|Canal lock in Slaithwaite
File:Slaithwaite, viewed from Laund Road.jpg|Slaithwaite, viewed from Laund Road
</gallery>

==Culture==
In February, on alternate years, Slaithwaite celebrates a 19th-century legend of Moonraking<ref name=SM/> with the Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival, with a week of lantern making and a programme of storytelling. The week-long celebration, which always takes place during the school half term week, ends with a parade of lanterns around the town, and a festival finale by the canal in the centre of the town. A heritage lottery funded project 'Wild about Wool', that is collating memories of the industrial heritage of the Colne Valley, is linked to the festival. 'Wool' was also the theme of the festival held in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org.uk/|title=Supporting the festival|website=Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival}}</ref>

Slaithwaite is also home to the annual &Piano Music Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andpiano.co.uk/|title=&Piano Music Festival|accessdate=16 July 2023}}</ref> a classical chamber music festival started in 2018, that focuses on showcasing professional musicians with a connection to the North of England.

The Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spo.org.uk/|title=Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra}}</ref> was founded here in 1891. An 80-strong amateur orchestra, the orchestra also plays an annual season of concerts in Huddersfield.

Slaithwaite Brass Band<ref>[http://www.slaithwaiteband.co.uk/ Slaithwaite Brass Band] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031074816/http://www.slaithwaiteband.co.uk/ |date=31 October 2012 }}</ref> have been making music here since 1892. They perform at many concerts and events throughout the year and have had many successes over the years including being the first band to gain the Grand Shield twice.

==Media==
Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC Yorkshire]] and [[ITV Yorkshire]]. Television signals are received from the [[Emley Moor transmitting station|Emley Moor]] TV transmitter <ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Emley_Moor|title=Emley Moor (Kirklees, England) Full Freeview transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=26 December 2023}}</ref> and the local relay transmitter situated west of the town. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Cop_Hill|title=Freeview Light on the Cop Hill (Kirklees, England) transmitter
|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=26 December 2023}}</ref> 

Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Leeds]] on 92.4 FM, [[Heart Yorkshire]] on 106.2 FM, [[Capital Yorkshire]] on 105.1 FM, [[Hits Radio West Yorkshire]] on 102.5 FM and [[Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire]] on 96.3 FM. 

The town is served by the local newspaper, ''[[Huddersfield Daily Examiner]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-yorks/Huddersfield-Daily-Examiner/|title= Huddersfield Daily Examiner|date=2 March 2014|website=British Papers|accessdate=26 December 2023}}</ref>

==Sport==
Cricket is popular in the town. Slaithwaite Cricket & Bowling Club, situated on Hill Top, during the summer becomes the heart of the community. It is a thriving club with many successful teams including winning Second XI Premiership Championship in the 2010 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/amateur/amateur-rl-slaithwaite-saracens-seize-4999901|title=Amateur RL: Slaithwaite Saracens seize Holliday Cup|first=Pete|last=Barrow|date=6 April 2010|website=YorkshireLive}}</ref> The town also has its own running club named Slaithwaite Striders, which has a mixture of all abilities, meeting weekly to run and enjoy the surrounding roads, paths and of course the views.

==Notable people born in Slaithwaite==
*[[William Crowther (New Zealand politician)|William Crowther]], Mayor of [[Auckland]], born at Slaithwaite-cum-Lingards, 1832.
*[[Haydn Wood]], (composer) was born here on 25 March 1882.
<!---
Editors note: Please do not add people that were not born in the town with a linkable wiki article or references. Non-notable names will be deleted 
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==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Colne Valley (central area)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Charles Augustus Hulbert ''Annals of the Church in Slaithwaite'' 1864.
*--do.--''Extracts from the diary of ... Robert Meeke, founder of the Slaithwaite free school in 1721. To which are added notes, illustr. and a brief sketch of his life by H. J. Morehouse. Also a continuation of the history of Slaithwaite free school by C. A. Hulbert'' 1875.

==External links==
{{commons category|Slaithwaite}}
*[https://mses.org.uk/ St James, Slaithwaite] (Church of England)
*[https://www.andrewwhitehead.net/blog/however-you-pronounce-it-its-not-slaithwaite A visit to Slaithwaite]
*[https://huddersfield.org/place-to-visit/slaithwaite/ Let's Go Huddersfield]

{{West Yorkshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Huddersfield]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Colne Valley]]