Calendar 2021

In the 19th century Cragg Vale had 11 working mills. In 1896 on the 30th January, Vale Mill was destroyed by fire and then 4 years later, 1900, on the 27th, Upper Mill suffered the same fate. Today very little trace of them remains. Vale Mill chimney stack is the most prominent one and amazingly remains in working order, as was proved on Tour de France Grand Depart day in 2014, the owner of the mills lived in Cragg Vale for 25 years

In 1912, Cragg Vale Inn was bought by Helen Simpson Hinchliffe, of Cragg Hall, and renamed The Hinchliffe Arms. Helen's funeral (1917) cortege is shown above. On 1st February 1856, the post Office opened at Bank Bottom and remained there until 1986 when it transferred to Cragg Holme, finally closing in 1989.

In 1823, on the 31st of this month, Hinchliffe Hinchliffe, The last of the Mill Masters, was born in Marsh Grove. Another well-known gentleman born in the area, Samual Greenwood Hellowell died on the 18th March, 1997, aged 90. Sam committed a good 60 years to the writing of "A Chronological History of Cragg Vale", an epic work consisting of hundreds of pages over two large books. He was also kn own for his thespian and piano skills

In 1891, 18th April, the first sod for withers Clough reservoir was cut by the Mayor of Morley, for which he was presented with a very fine and engraved shovel. Today it forms the pendulum of a clock in the Mayor's Parlour. In the previous century this area was infamous as being Coiner Country. In 1770, 28th April, David Hartley of Bell House, was hanged near York for the murder of wWilliam Deighton, the Excise Officer. Nearly two centuries later, in 1954, George 'Bert' Hall, at the time living on Hill Top farm Cottage, was hanged at Leeds Prison for the murder of 6 yr old Mary Hackett. In contrast, in 2014, as part of the run-up to the Tour de France, Cragg Vale saw and heard a Grand Piano being pulled up the full 5.5 miles incline on a windy and wet day, by a specially constructed cycle 'harness'

Said to be over 300 years old, the taking of waters at Cragg Vale on the 1st Sunday in May became famous across the valley with crowds flocking to join in the procession to the spring followed by singing and dancing. The spa eventually fell into disrepair but, happily, it was renovated and in 2010 the tradition was restored. In 1815, 2nd May, the Dauber Bridge Toll road was given Royal Assent

In 1770, 28th June, on his 67th birthday, John Wesley, the travelling evangelist, preached under a tree at hoo hole Farm, shown above sited a few hundred yards from the start of the Cragg Vale Incline. In 1980 a re-enactment took place. In 1887, the 6th saw the opening of the new Cragg Vale Board with around 200 pupils. It remained in that building for 130 years, closing in 2017. In 2014, the 'Midsummer Madness' event, the 'Longest Choir' and 'Longest Climb up the Longest Hill' (ie Cragg Vale Incline) events were held on the 21st

2014 proved to be the most exciting year for Cragg Vale. The Tour de France Grand Depart Stage 2, came here on the 6th, and Cragg Vale School (as was) was right in the middle of the stage. On the day, the peloton passed through in a flash but crowds had descended from early morning and the festivities continued into the evening. More importantly, the 4th saw Cragg Vale being awarded the Guiness World Record for the longest continuous line of hunting - a mere 12,115 metres of it, consisting of 59,939 flags. Cragg Vale has its own annual event - The Fell Race. It takes place end June/early july

In 1921 - late evening of 11th August - fire broke out in Cragg Hall. By morning, the whole mansion was in ruins, and its contents in ashes. The 100 year anniversary of this devastating event is being commemorated (Covid 19 permitting0 with a Presentation, Exhibition, and Booklet, organised by the History Group. In 1954, it was water that caused havoc - the Birds Hall Flood - the cobbled road between Twist Clough and Upper Barks was washed away by water that had come down from Robin Hood Rocks

In 1909, Tuesday 21st, a terrible accident happened on Church Bank Lane. A 4 ton engine was being transported down the road on a horse-drawn waggon. A check chain broke on one of the wheels and the horse and wagon crashed through the wall towards Turvin Brook. The driver was able to jump to safety but sadly the horse was killed. In 1960, a much happier event took place when Cragg Vale was, finally, connected to mains water after many years of requesting and several decades after the construction of Withens Clough Reservoir. And then in 2014, music came to the valley with the inaugural Craggiest Music Festival, organised by Joanne and the Robin Hood

Broadhead Clough Nature Reserve is our local SSE (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Its meadows have traditionally been grazed in the summer and early autumn. This is ideal of fungi as their spores spread more easily in the short grass. And then on the 1st October the grazing is ended so that the fungi may flourish. One of the fields has national importance with 17 species of wax cap being recorded in 2017, alongside fairy clubs, pink gills and earth tongues. In 1978 the Calderdale Way was opened. It is over 50 miles long and cuts through the centre of Cragg Vale, passing the Church and on to Marshaw Bank

In 1859, 18th November, the Rev Thomas Crowther, Vicar of St John the Baptist in the Wilderness 1821-1859, died. The Rev Crowther had campaigned tirelessly against the treatment of child labour prevalent at the time and never more so than in the mills of the valley. In 2012 the trunk of a tree in the park that had been damaged by honeysuckle fungus was carved as a tribute to the Reverend. It depicts a child millworker with a chimney rising behind. Four years before the Reverend's death, on the 10th, 1855, the final stone of the new Stoodley Pike was put in place

There has been a very long tradition of wonderful entertainment in Cragg Vale, based at the church, with a variety of musical events, pantomimes and of course Carol singing. December 1643 was a different time in the area when a number of Civil War skirmishes were taking place