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Harden, West Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°50′N 1°52′W / 53.83°N 1.86°W / 53.83; -1.86
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Harden
Harden is located in West Yorkshire
Harden
Harden
Location within West Yorkshire
Population1,900 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSE0838
Civil parish
  • Harden
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBINGLEY
Postcode districtBD16
Dialling code01535
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°50′N 1°52′W / 53.83°N 1.86°W / 53.83; -1.86

Harden is a civil parish and village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Bingley. It had a population of 1,615 in the 2001 census,[2] but by 2011 this had risen to 1,900.[1]

History

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Roman

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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 which points in a rough north east direction. The route is lined with stones that have deep cart-groove marks.[3]

Industrial

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Between 1960 and 1997,[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7][8]

Artistic

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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 Burne-Jones.[9][10]

Facilities

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Harden has two churches, one Congregational[11] and the other one is St Saviours Church in the newly created benefice of Cullingworth, Denholme, Harden & Wilsden.[12] Harden Primary School has been in existence since 1877 and the school still uses some of the Victorian buildings to this day.[13]

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.[14] Harden is the location of the St. Ive's Estate, a large stretch of land with woodland and a well-equipped children's playpark, as well as paths up to moorland. St Ive's also contains an 18-hole golf course and golf club. There is a beautician and a hairdresser in Long Lane, opposite Harden Primary School's car park. Harden has an establishment which holds drama plays every year, it is located in the centre of Harden.

Harden Road in the village of Harden looking east towards Bingley

Harden has a cricket club which has been in existence since at least 1950. They play matches on a pitch adjacent to the hamlet of Cuckoo's Nest on the east side of Harden village.[15]

Harden and District WI is based in Harden. It was formed in 1962 and meets monthly on the 2nd Monday in the Family Room of St Saviour's Church.

Transport

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First Bradford buses run from Bradford Interchange to Bingley through the village. The service, number 616, goes from Bradford through Four Lane Ends, Allerton, Sandy Lane Cross Roads, Wilsden and then into Harden before going on into Bingley. There is a half-hourly service through the day Mondays to Saturdays with additions in the peaks. Sundays sees an hourly service. Most evening services extend into Eldwick (along the route of the 615) and also start their journeys back from there.[16]

TLC buses provide the services 727/729 which goes from Keighley to Cullingworth via East Morton, Bingley Railway station, and into Harden village. During the day these services split their routes every hour with the 729 going direct to Cullingworth via the B6429, and the 727 going south to Wilsden first, then Harecroft and then into Cullingworth. The return journeys are the reverse of the above; but all 727/729 services will call at Harden, which gives an hourly service to Cullingworth, Keighley and Bingley, with Wilsden being a two-hourly service.[17]

Events

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Harden Gala

There is an annual gala in Harden park in the summer, which has races, jokes and a parade processing down Long Lane past the school and the church. The parade generally consists of themed floats from the Harden Players' (a local drama club and the primary school) and then the gala queen's float with her two attendants, all dressed up in evening wear with bouquets of flowers. A marching band leads the procession and Harden pre-school brings up the rear in costume.[14]

Harden & District WI have a stall selling homemade cakes, plants and produce.

Harden Show

Every September the Harden Beck Horticultural Society hold a show between the Golden Fleece public house and the former dam area. The society and show have been in existence for over 50 years.[18][19]

Harden Players

Harden Players is a local drama club that puts on productions roughly twice a year, with children and adults, ages ranging from 4 to about 54. In recent years they have presented enjoyable pantomimes as well as Macbeth.

Media

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A few short shots of footage of Harden are available on the British Film Institute (BFI) website on the BFI Player along with footage of the 1968 Miss Blackpool Beauty Contest. The whole short appears to have been filmed in 1968 and shows a shot of the Malt Shovel where Harden and Wilsden meet, the parade of shops with the Post Office and Snowdon's Butcher's shop, part of Wilsden Road and a shot of the weir at the bottom of Harden Road in Bingley.[20]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Harden Parish (E04000173)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Census 2001 : Urban Areas : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Full text of "Ancient Bingley: or, Bingley, its history and scenery"". archive.org. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Cirteq – Anderton and Ellison History". Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Blast scare at mill fire". Telegraph and Argus. 24 February 1979. p. 1. OCLC 956103400.
  6. ^ "Villagers fight second bid for housing project". Keighley News. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Hapton – Hardley | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Bingley History, The Hidden Valley – Goit Stock Harden". Bingley Hub. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Pre Raphaelite Movement in Harden, Bingley and Silsden – Bingley Hub". Bingley Hub. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Chronicles and stories of old Bingley. A full account of the history, antiquities, natural productions, scenery, customs and folklore of the ancient town and parish of Bingley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire". archive.org. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Harden – North East – Find a Church – Congregational Federation". www.congregational.org.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Harden and Wilsden: History of St Saviours Harden". www.hardenwilsden.org.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  13. ^ "About Us – Harden Primary". Harden Primary. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Harden Parish Council – Home Page". Harden Parish Council. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Information – Harden Cricket Club". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  16. ^ "West Yorkshire Metro Timetable 615/616".
  17. ^ "Bus services 727/729".
  18. ^ "Harden show aids charity". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Harden Beck Horticultural Society (HBHS)". Harden Beck Horticultural Society (HBHS). Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Blackpool, Harden and Grange-over-Sands". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Allan Wicks". The Daily Telegraph. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
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Media related to Harden, West Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons

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