Southowram
| Southowram | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 Southowram Library, Southowram | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE115235 |
| Location: | 53°42’29"N, 1°49’30"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Halifax |
| Postcode: | HX3 |
| Dialling code: | 01422 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Calderdale |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Calder Valley |
Southowram is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, standing on the hilltop to the east of Halifax, on the south side of Shibden Valley.
This is a small Pennine village, near Bank Top, Brookfoot and Siddal.
Northowram is on the northern side of the valley and is roughly equidistant from Halifax and Brighouse.
History
The parish of Southowram was recorded on 1 July 1837.
Parts of the village centre were demolished and rebuilt in the 1970s and 1980s. But many older buildings remain, as do the ancient stocks on Towngate.[1] Old buildings were lost on New Street and were replaced by council housing. More such housing is to be found in the lower part of the village. Southowram retains in the main, however, a mixture of older historic and new housing, council owned and private housing.
A number of old halls and farms which survived until the 1940s and 1950s were lost in subsequent decades.
A National School was built in 1839 and also served as the Sunday school for the church of St Anne in the Grove opposite. The architecture employs Gothic pointed arches but Tudor-style chimneys. In the centre of the front wall are two blocked doorways with round heads. There is also a carved stone plaque, the inscription on which includes "National School".
About the village
Law Hill House is a three-storey house on Law Lane. In 1837, at the age of 19, Emily Brontë came here to teach, when the house was an exclusive boarding school. She stayed for only about six months, however, because of the strict lifestyle demanded. She was homesick and in a collection of letters, her sister Charlotte wrote about how Emily had to work from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day and was more of a governess than a teacher. Emily wrote poetry while at Law Hill and became fascinated by the story of intrigue and feuding which surrounded the house's builder, Jack Sharp, and his near neighbours, the Walker family of Walterclough Hall. It is said she reflected the story in the plot of her novel Wuthering Heights and that the central character Heathcliff was based on Sharp himself. A plaque on the wall commemorates Brontë's stay between 1837 and 1838.
Local industries have included farming, mining for coal and fireclay, brick-manufacture, and stone quarrying and mining. With the exception of farming, and quarrying, which is continued by Marshalls plc, these industries are more or less defunct. Marshalls continues to extract stone in the area and the company has moved its headquarters to Huddersfield in recent years. However, the quarries at Brookfoot Lane remain open.
A number of walls which incorporate quarry waste can still be seen in the locality, especially those on the valley opposite Hove Edge. These walls include a rather splendid set of steps set into the side of the valley, which lead into a small narrow ginnel to permit passage along a public footpath.
Churches
The Church of England parish church, St Anne's, stands below the village proper, surrounded by trees and fields, is an old stone-built church with a bell tower with a clock. It is the only remaining place of worship in the village.
Originally situated as part of a house belonging to the lord of the manor, Pope Eugenius IV issued a licence in 1440 to enable the Mass to be offered. The legal name of the parish is "St Anne-in-the-Grove, Southowram".
The church was restored in 2006 after a four-year appeal. It features a beautiful rood cross,[2] as well as a gallery, a fine carved stone pulpit and some fine stained-glass windows.
Various non-conformist chapels have closed over the years, most recent being Southowram Methodist Church, which was located at the lower end of Chapel Lane. The building has now been converted to apartments, but the graveyard survives.. The congregation however have continued t worship in the village Community Centre.
Sport
- Cricket:
- Southowram Cricket Club, who play at Ashday Lane
- Beacon Rangers (junior)
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Southowram) |
- North Owram in "A concise history of the parish and vicarage of Halifax, in the county of York" by John Crabtree, published 1836
- Information on Southowram from GENUKI
- Southowram Cricket Club