Clifton, Brighouse
| Clifton | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 St John's Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE159229 |
| Location: | 53°42’8"N, 1°45’38"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Brighouse |
| Postcode: | HD6 |
| Dialling code: | 01484 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Calderdale |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Calder Valley |
Clifton is a small village, near Brighouse, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
History
Clifton appears as Cliftone in the Domesday Book The entry reads ‘In Cliftone Escelf has seven carucates of land…where four ploughs may be…’
The manor was one of two hundred manors granted by William the Conqueror to the Norman noble, Ilbert de Laci. The early Lords of the Manor lived at Clifton Hall (which was down Well Lane) and Cross Hall (later called Highley Hall).
Remnants of the early strip farming, of the mediaeval open Field system, remain in the fields known as ‘The Acres’ at the northerly end of the village. Originally, there were 32 strips of land and families would work two or three. Beyond were fields known as the Doles, common grazing land.
There are many local historical references connected to drift mining. It was first recorded in 1307 and also mentioned by Daniel Defoe in his 1727 book 'A Tour Through the Whole Island Of Great Britain'.
The Black Horse Inn was a meeting place for Luddites, the machine wreckers, in the early 19th century.
Clifton 'airport' used by Sir Alan Cobham's Air Circus between the two World Wars.
About the village
On the western flank of the village is a long straight ridge, which constitutes the remains of a gravity railway that was last used to transport coal in 1920 to the municipal gasworks by the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Brighouse.
The remains of the village well can be seen opposite the school.
At the easterly edge of the village is the 16th-century Kirklees Hall, whose grounds contain the reputed grave of Robin Hood. It was the model for 'Nunwood' in Charlotte Brontë's novel 'Shirley'.
The village is on the north side of the valley of the River Calder and the plateau adjoining it. It is on the route of the Calderdale Way, a 50-mile circular walk around the hills and valleys of Calderdale.
Big society
There are two public houses at either end of the main street (Towngate): the Black Horse Inn and the Armytage Arms.
- Clifton & Lightcliffe brass band, which is one of the country's oldest, formed in 1838
- Clifton Village Community Association[1]
- Clifton Village Neighbourhood Forum[2]
Churches
- Church of England
- Methodist
Patrick Brontë, father of the novelist sisters, was Minister at the nearby Hartshead-cum-Clifton church.
Sport
Adjacent to the village is Willow Valley Golf Club. Each June, the club hosts the annual Yorkshire PGA Championship.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Clifton, Brighouse) |
- Domesday Book
- St John's CE Primary Academy, Clifton
- Clifton Village Community Association
- Clifton Village Neighbourhood Forum