Flying the Flag for the 21st Century

Formed in 1949, the Local History Section (now Hebden Bridge Local History Society) is effectively the voice of the HBLSS, together with the Astronomy Society flying the flag for the 21st century.

A nucleus of seven members headed by first president Barber Gledhill set the wheels in motion in August and two months later the first public meeting was held at Hebden Bridge Grammar School, attended by 25 people. Membership rapidly grew to 80 and has rarely fallen below 100 ever since.

Over the decades hundreds of books, documents and photographs have been collected and now form an invaluable archive. The society has also produced its own publications, most notably "The History of Hebden Bridge" (1991) and "A Century of Change" (1999), both written by former president Colin Spencer. The latest is "Heptonstall Town Trail," published in 2005 in conjunction with Pennine Heritage.

Thanks to a Lottery award the society was able to purchase a laptop and multimedia projector and in 2001 a website -
www.hebdenbridgehistory.org.uk - was created.

Following the closure of the former Tourist Information Centre four years ago the society lost its home and meetings are now held at Hope Baptist Church; the collections are housed in a local mill. Hebden Bridge Astronomy Society also meets at the church on a monthly basis between September and May. Further details from Len Entwisle 01422 378368; len.entwisle@btopenworld.com

The societies are indebted to the Rev Stanley Kirby and David E. Fletcher for their help.

Read the full story in Milltown Memories, issue 13. If this or other stories stirs a memory, we'd be happy to know - send us your memories and comments.