Luddenden
| Luddenden | |
 View looking west across Luddenden village showing Oats Royd Mill to the right and Old Lane to the left |
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  Luddenden |
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| OS grid reference | SE045265 |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | Calderdale |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HALIFAX |
| Postcode district | HX2 |
| Dialling code | 01422 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Coordinates: 53°44′06″N 1°56′00″W / 53.734871°N 1.933263°W
Luddenden is a district of Calderdale west of Halifax on the river Ludd in the county of West Yorkshire, England.
Government
The settlement is part of the Luddendenfoot ward of the Metropolitan borough of Calderdale, part of the Metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.[1]
The name means Ludd valley, or valley of the loud stream and refers to the Luddenden Brook. An alternative meaning refers to the Celtic water god Lud, who gave his name to many water-related features. This was a Brythonic area, speaking a form of primitive Welsh, until perhaps the 9th century as a relict of the kingdom of Elmet.
The spellings Ludingdene, Luddington and Luddyngden are found.
The community is first mentioned in 1284.
In 1375, a corn mill was moved from Warley Town to exploit the Luddenden Brook. With the introduction of water power, many textile mills were established in the district.
The cobbled packhorse trail which runs through the village, down Old Lane from Midgley, crossing the river and on up Halifax Lane to Warley, was once the equivalent of the modern day M62, providing a major goods route through the Pennines when the main mode of transport was packhorses.
The area including fellow nearby town of Bramham was used for filming external scenes in the 1980s ITV Yorkshire Television situation comedy series In Loving Memory, starring Dame Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny.
The village has a lovely church "St Mary's" and a very old pub "The Lord Nelson", where Branwell Brontë once drank and is asserted to have established the first public library in one of the upstairs rooms.
In recent years the village has reestablished the position of Village Mayor, the role is primarily about raising funds for local charitable causes and investment in the village.
A regular and strong candidate in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition since 1998 when the village first entered. Listed below are the villages awards
- Silver-Gilt Medal - Britain in Bloom 2013
- Gold Medal & Village Category Winner - Yorkshire in Bloom 2012
- Gold Medal & Village Category Winner - Britain in Bloom 2011
- Gold Medal & Village Category Winner – Yorkshire in Bloom 2010
- 2008 & 2009 No competition entered
- Gold Medal – Yorkshire in Bloom 2007
- Silver Gilt – Yorkshire in Bloom 2006
- Silver Medal – Britain in Bloom 2005
- Gold Medal – Yorkshire in Bloom 2004
- 2nd Place – Yorkshire in Bloom 2003
- 3rd Place & Summer Display Trophy Winner – Yorkshire in Bloom 2002
- 2nd Place – Highly Commended Certificate and Most Improved Village Trophy – Yorkshire in Bloom 2001
- 2nd Place – Yorkshire in Bloom 2000
- 2nd Place & Certificate of Merit – Yorkshire in Bloom 1999
- 5th Place & Certificate of Merit Yorkshire in Bloom 1998 (The village’s first entry)
In 2005 the village was chosen to represent Yorkshire in Britain in Bloom having won its Yorkshire in Bloom category in 2004. It was awarded a commendable Silver Medal. Once again in 2010 the village won Yorkshire in Bloom and was invited to enter Britain in Bloom 2011.
On Sunday 25 September the Britain in Bloom Awards were held in St. Andrews. Luddenden not only won a Gold Medal but was named Village Category Winner 2011.
Having re-entered Yorkshire in Bloom 2012, Luddenden once again won gold and was named category winner in the village section.
On Saturday 12 October 2013 the village won a Silver-Gilt Medal in the Britain in Bloom Awards.
With an ageing "bloom" group the team responsible for the villages success were pondering whether to continue entering the annual bloom competitions. That decision though has now been placed on the back burner as once again Luddenden has been asked to enter Britain in Bloom 2013.
For a musical slide show of the village please click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUO4qtSk-iE
For more information visit the website http://luddenden.com/
There is also a very active local Conservation Society.
There is also a digital television and analogue radio transmitter for the local area, it broadcasts BBC National Radio and BBC Radio Leeds to the South and East to Halifax, Sowerby Bridge and as far south as Rishworth. The television services are directed North, West and South.
References
- ↑ "Luddendenfoot". 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Vikki Egerton. Luddenden Saga: A Brief History of a Yorkshire Village
- Mark Lewisohn. The Radio Times Guide to Television Comedy
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luddenden. |