The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line ) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool . It is the slower of the two main rail routes between Leeds and Manchester (the other being the Huddersfield line ), and the northernmost of the three main trans-Pennine routes.
79-657: Sowerby Bridge ( / ˈ s ɔːr b i / SOR -bi ) is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire , England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703. The town was originally a fording point over the once much-wider River Calder where it is joined by the River Ryburn . The town takes its name from the historic bridge which spans
158-535: A market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of a market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from the 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy,
237-587: A Wakefield to Rose Grove goods train broke into two due to a broken coupling, resulting in the rear half eventually crashing at high speed into the front half in Millwood Tunnel. No one was killed but wreckage filled the tunnel right up to the roof. Summit Tunnel was the scene of a major fire in 1984, caused when a freight train hauling petrol tankers derailed. Trains continue up the Calder valley to Burnley and Blackburn ; it also runs parallel with
316-494: A charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that a successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk
395-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
474-514: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
553-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
632-559: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
711-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
790-420: A hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on
869-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
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#1732779903298948-613: A long term network to electrify the Trans-Pennine Route and not the Calder Valley Line". In March 2015 The Northern Sparks report was produced by a committee of Members of Parliament from all parties focusing on economic benefits of electrification in the North. The Calder Valley line in its entirety was number one priority. This was reiterated in 2018. The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands ( IRP )
1027-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
1106-706: A more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around the same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as
1185-473: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
1264-604: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
1343-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
1422-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
1501-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
1580-673: Is a 440-yard (400 m) section of track at Hall Royd Junction in Todmorden which was lifted in 1972. Originally Hall Royd Junction was triangular, and the lifted curve allowed services from Burnley to reach Manchester via Todmorden (regular services over it had ceased in November 1965). Reinstating the curve was a priority for Lancashire County Council and was ranked as the most important project in its 2010 Rail Improvement Schemes draft report. The government stated in March 2010 that reinstating
1659-518: Is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at a crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of
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#17327799032981738-701: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
1817-512: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
1896-620: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
1975-596: Is served by the local newspaper the Halifax Courier . The town is served by Sowerby Bridge railway station , which sees a regular service to Manchester, Huddersfield (via Brighouse), Bradford and Leeds on the Caldervale Line . This station has no public toilets although there are many interesting information panels about the local area. The town is at the junction of the Calder and Hebble Navigation and
2054-588: The 1923 Grouping the first section of the line (Leeds–Bradford) was owned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR); and the entire remainder by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR), apart from the final section of the branch leading into Huddersfield, which was owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). For the section between Halifax and Burnley the line uses the valley of
2133-778: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Burnley. The section from Todmorden to Burnley (often called the Copy Pit line ) was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (later L&YR) on 12 November 1849. The East Lancashire Railway (later L&YR) built the Burnley to Preston line, Burnley to Accrington 18 September 1848, Accrington to Blackburn 19 June 1848, and the Blackburn to Preston section on 1 June 1846. The Rose Grove–Todmorden (Hall Royd) local service over this route ended in 1965,
2212-666: The River Calder , which in fact comprises two separate valleys with rivers of the same name, that of West Yorkshire and the Lancashire River Calder thus giving the services their name; it also follows the Rochdale Canal from Todmorden into Manchester. Since the route crosses the Pennines , there are many tunnels to negotiate en route . The British Railways Board's Corporate Plan for 1983–1988 marked
2291-688: The Rochdale Canal ; Tuel Lane Lock on the Rochdale Canal is the deepest lock in the United Kingdom. The canal basin and warehouses where the canals meet, Sowerby Bridge Wharf, are listed buildings and house the Moorings Bar and Restaurant, 12-04 Restaurant and Temujin Mongolian Restaurant. The basin is the headquarters of the 12th Halifax Sea Scouts (M.o.D. No. 54 Royal Navy recognised) where Prince Charles opened
2370-510: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
2449-434: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography Caldervale Line Passenger train services are operated by Northern and run on
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2528-659: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
2607-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
2686-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
2765-516: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
2844-654: The William Andrew Memorial Headquarters. Shire Cruisers run holiday hire canal barges, build narrow boats and provide mooring facilities. Sowerby Bridge features in George Gissing 's 1890 novel The Emancipated as the hometown of the protagonist Ross Mallard. The canal basin was used as a filming location for the ITV comedy-drama Stay Lucky , and the ITV drama Dead Clever was set in
2923-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
3002-598: The autumn of 2018. The work will see four existing signal boxes between Hebden Bridge and Mill Lane Junction in Bradford closed and signalling control transferred to the Rail Operating Centre at York . The ROC will also take over the operation of the parts of the line through Brighouse and Mirfield currently controlled from Huddersfield and Healey Mills panel boxes. Low Moor station, between Bradford Interchange and Halifax, reopened on 2 April 2017 after
3081-519: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
3160-403: The cotton and woollen mills of Yorkshire, Lancashire and India. Wood Brothers, an engineering and millwright company, also produced engines from its Valley Iron Works. The Markfield Beam Engine in north London is an example of its work. In January 2019, it was announced that the council buildings on Hollins Mill Lane, which include the former offices of Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council,
3239-761: The curve was planned to be available for the May 2014 timetable change. The track was completed and tested in May 2014, and services began on 17 May 2015. Many stations on this route have been closed (or are not served by the Calder Valley line trains): original stations served and other notes on the route: This line is described in more detail in East Lancashire line . This route is described in more detail in Blackpool branch lines . Holme Tunnel, which lies between Hebden Bridge and Burnley Manchester Road,
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3318-488: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
3397-546: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
3476-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
3555-879: The first weekend of September. The Fire & Water Festival is an annual festival to raise awareness for the Fire & Water Buildings in Sowerby Bridge. It showcases all the events that Fire & Water put on throughout the year and the Music Festival showcases local artists on an open and accessible stage. Local river monitoring stations recorded a level of 11 feet 8 inches (3.55 m) between 12 pm and 6 pm, surpassing previous recorded highs of 8 feet 0 inches (2.43 m) (23 June 2012). Known flood plains, such as Dixie Woods and Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club, were submerged to an estimated depth of 2 feet (61 cm). The floods were reported as
3634-758: The following pattern: This line, along with the Huddersfield line and York and Selby lines, was in the past combined in national timetables to show a coast-to-coast service but since May 2018 has been split again into separate routes for operational reasons and to improve service reliability. Through running to Chester (with a limited peak provision to Ellesmere Port via Helsby) began in May 2019. Services within West Yorkshire are sponsored by West Yorkshire Metro , whose tickets (including Metrocards) can be used up to Hebden Bridge between Leeds and Blackpool, and Walsden between Leeds and Manchester. Before
3713-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
3792-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
3871-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
3950-833: The line. Some services via Bradford would also be extended to Chester , Crewe , Liverpool and Manchester Airport . The Chester services started in December 2017 under the proposed "Northern Connect" brand, which has since been scrapped. Those services are operated by new 100 mph Class 195 diesel trains by December 2019. In 2018, the Manchester Airport trains briefly ran over the Ordsall Curve . However, those services have also been scrapped. Track and signalling upgrades between Hebden Bridge and Leeds (following on from work already carried out between Littleborough and Manchester) will allow for quicker journey times by
4029-497: The link would cost around £7 million and any new rail services would require initial subsidy. Burnley MP Kitty Ussher wrote to the North West Development Agency to seek assurance that it could find the money. In October 2010 Network Rail agreed to pay for the final assessment of the plans. This assessment, completed in May 2011, concluded that it could be feasible to reinstate the curve, although
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#17327799032984108-519: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
4187-464: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
4266-549: The mid-1980s uncertainty over the Settle-Carlisle route meant that this became the preferred route for goods between Leeds and Preston/Carlisle. Today, Hebden Bridge and Leeds are the only stations where every service calls, the route description follows. For the initial section of the route between Leeds and Bradford , see Leeds–Bradford lines . Many stations on this route have been closed. Stations currently open are in bold. Original places served, and notes on
4345-900: The name Sowerby Bridge references its situation as a crossing point over the River Calder to the older settlement at Sowerby . There are two secondary schools in Sowerby Bridge. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire . Television signals received from the Emley Moor and one of the three local relay transmitters (Halifax, Luddenden and Ripponden). Local radio stations are BBC Radio Leeds on 95.3 FM, Hits Radio West Yorkshire on 102.5 FM, Heart Yorkshire on 107.6 FM, Capital Yorkshire on 105.1 FM , Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire on 96.3 FM and Phoenix Radio on 96.7 FM, which has its studios in Halifax. The town
4424-575: The new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
4503-487: The old swimming pool and old fire station will be transferred to a community group, Sowerby Bridge Fire and Water, and will be renovated for community use. The town is part of the Sowerby Bridge ward of the Metropolitan borough of Calderdale , in West Yorkshire . Sowerby Bridge is situated about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Halifax town centre. It is at the confluence of the River Calder and River Ryburn , and
4582-629: The only passenger services thereafter being a daily Leeds–Blackpool train. In mid-1982 the last tanker train travelled over the line, with the expectation of closure shortly after. A turning point came when the National and Provincial Building Society moved staff from Burnley to Bradford. The Society arranged for a Preston–Bradford Interchange train to be run to move staff from their home base to Bradford offices. In October 1984 British Rail developed this into five trains each way between Leeds and Preston with one extended to Blackpool. The Todmorden curve
4661-477: The original opening planned for 2005 was delayed by the discovery of disused mine workings under the station site. A business case is being developed to re-open Elland station between Halifax and Brighouse. Calderdale Council have called for the route to be electrified as an alternative route to the line through Huddersfield should that be closed for engineering works. Tim Swift, the leader of Calderdale Council in 2015 stated "It makes no logical sense in terms of
4740-429: The original route could not be used as the original curve was deemed to be too sharp. An alternative route was instead put forward, and it was stated that, if funds could be obtained by early 2012 to carry forward the project, the curve could be back in use by the end of 2013. On 31 October 2011, the deputy Prime Minister announced that the scheme would be given the go-ahead. Construction work began in summer 2013, and
4819-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
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#17327799032984898-540: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
4977-476: The river in the town centre. Before the Industrial Revolution the area was divided between the parishes of Sowerby, Norland, Skircoat and Warley. The boundaries between them being the rivers Calder and Ryburn and Warley Clough, which is now largely culverted. Textiles and engineering industry grew up around the bridge. Sowerby Bridge Town Hall , which accommodated the offices of the local board,
5056-403: The route: On 24 October 1901, as the 6.10 pm down goods train from Low Moor to Leeds to was passing through Bowling Tunnel, the rear section broke loose. It came to a stop in the tunnel and was run into from behind by the 9.05 pm goods train from Low Moor to Laisterdyke. Wreckage partly blocking the up line was then hit by the 9:00 pm passenger train from Leeds to Manchester. Nobody
5135-483: The routes between Milner Royd Junction (east of Sowerby Bridge ) and Bowling Junction (south of Bradford Interchange); and Milner Royd Junction and Heaton Lodge Junction (west of Mirfield) to be 'singled' on a list "The Proposed Elimination of Non-Essential Multiple Tracks". A combination of factors meant this was never implemented: the better gradients for freight than the Huddersfield trans-Pennine route; and
5214-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
5293-574: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
5372-466: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
5451-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
5530-747: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
5609-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
5688-430: The town. The 2014 BBC One drama Happy Valley was set in Sowerby Bridge and parts of the series were filmed in and around the town. Catherine's workplace is a former police station. The series writer and director Sally Wainwright grew up in Sowerby Bridge. Rushbearing , the annual ceremony of (now nominally) taking rushes to churches for covering the floors throughout winter, still takes place in Sowerby Bridge over
5767-503: The worst in the area since 1968. The town was flooded again on 9 February 2020 by Storm Ciara , causing a similar amount of damage to the 2015 floods. Market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host a regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with
5846-498: Was closed for 20 weeks from November 2013 until March 2014. This was to allow for major engineering work to fix the distorted shape of the tunnel, caused by movement of the ground through which it passes. The project was budgeted to cost £16.3 million. During the works, buses replaced train services. Trains can now pass through at 45 mph. Improvements to the line were proposed as part of Network Rail 's 2010 Northern Hub plans, which would allow for more frequent services on
5925-403: Was completed in 1857. The Anglican parish church , Christ Church, situated on Wharf Street, is a Grade II listed building . It was built in 1819 by John Oates. The chancel was rebuilt in 1873–74 and the church was re-roofed 1894. The church is still active and the vicar is Revd. Tommy Daglish. The church's first organ was installed in 1825 and replaced in 1865. The organ and much of the church
6004-482: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
6083-474: Was destroyed in a 1894 fire. A larger organ, built by Abbott and Smith , was installed, and next repaired in 1979. The current organ was installed in 1983, moved from a nearby closed church. By the mid-19th century the population had grown and the settlement became an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1894. From 1892 to 1930 Pollit & Wigzell manufactured stationary steam engines for
6162-416: Was killed but there was extensive damage to rolling stock. This route was re-opened to passengers in 2000 when Brighouse station was re-opened, and two short lengths of line were relaid (after being out of use for 15 years) to enable trains to reach Huddersfield. Many stations on this route have been closed (or are not served by the Calder Valley line trains): original stations served: On 28 February 1902
6241-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
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