Harden, Yorkshire

Harden
Yorkshire West Riding
Cottages at Ryecroft, Harden
Location
Grid reference:	SE084383
Location:	53°50’28"N, 1°52’21"W
Data
Population:	1,900  (2011)
Post town:	Bingley
Postcode:	BD16
Dialling code:	01535
Local Government
Council:	Bradford

Harden is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in Airedale, two miles west of Bingley. It had a population of 1,900 at the 2011 census.

History

Romans

Excavations on Leech Lane, off Hill End towards Cullingworth have suggested Roman settlement in the area from c.150 AD. Archaeologists have, in the past unearthed pottery, coins and even Elephant-Ivory on this site suggesting that an Anglo-Roman villa may have stood here.

There is a small section of Roman Road on Harden Moor that points in a rough north-east direction. The route is lined with stones that have deep cart-groove marks.

Industrial Revolution

Between 1960 and 1997, Harden's biggest employer was Ellison Circlips. The huge factory adjoined another smaller factory producing similar products. On 24 February 1979, Ellison's Mill caught fire in the computer room and the resultant blaze gutted the timber floored mill. The outer stone walls stayed upright during the fire, but because of the threat of explosions from the acid baths if they came into contact with water, two houses were evacuated as a precaution.

The factories were bounded on the south by Long Lane (the B6429) on the east by Keighley Road, on the west by Effingham Road and the north by fields leading up to Harden Moor. The company relocated to Glusburn in 1997 and the factory was demolished to make way for housing.

At least two other mills were in operation in Harden, both situated alongside Harden Beck to the south of the village. One of the mills is still there and now operates as a printing works. The other mill was further upstream from the existing mill and during the early part of the 20th century was turned into a café and ballroom. It was destroyed by fire in 1927.

Artistic

Woodbank, an area to the east of Harden and south of the B6429, played host to some of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Many of the stained glass works around Bingley, Bradford and Silsden (including the Church of All Saints, Bingley) were designed by Edward Burne-Jones.

Churches

• Church of England: St Saviour's
• Congregational

About the village

Harden Primary School has stood since 1877 and the school still uses some of the Victorian buildings to this day.

There is also a Post Office, a convenience store, a garden centre and an independent butcher's. There is a village park which contains a large square piece of land that hosts the annual gala during the summer.

Sport and society

Harden Road in the village

• Cricket: Harden Cricket Club, who play on a pitch adjacent to the hamlet of Cuckoo's Nest on the east side of the village.
• Harden and District Women's Institute
• Harden Players: local drama club

Harden Gala is held each year Harden Park in the summer.

Harden Show is held every September

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Harden, Yorkshire)