SCENERY OF HUDDERSFIELD
AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
BY T.W. WOODHEAD Ph.D., M.Sc., F.L.S.
Page One of Five
The district of which Huddersfield is the natural centre,
lies among the foot-hills of the Southern Pennines in the
ancient Wapentake of Agbrigg. This area is indicated in
the sketch map from Mr. W.G. Collingwood’s “Angles,
Danes and Norse in the District of Huddersfield.”
Here the range sweeps round to the south-east like a great
amphitheatre and its summit forms the irregular and massive
plateau which extends to the Peak in Derbyshire.
The great anticlinal fold of the Pennine axis is locally
composed of rocks of Carboniferous age. The Mountain Limestone
is no where represented in this area and except for thin
beds of impure limestone our local rocks are siliceous sandstones
and shales. The oldest beds of the series which are exposed
are the Pengleside series and lie in the extreme south-west
of our district in the neighbourhood of Saddleworth.
Above the Pendlesides, lie the coarse almost conglomeritic
Kinderscout Grits which form the bold crags at Alderman’s
overlooking Greenfield. Ascending the ridge on this steep
western slope towards Huddersfield, the Middle Grits are
passed over in succession, until on the summit, the higher
points are capped with Rough Rock, the highest bed in the
Millstone Grit series. The grits on the neighbouring hills
are often weathered into fantastic shapes and have received
such fanciful names as Raven Stones, Wolf Stones, Buck Stones,
Cat Stones, Joiner Stones and Pots and Pans. Rocking stones
were and are frequent, and several have been described,
on very unsatisfactory evidence, as Druids Altars, Sun Temples
and the like.
Heather Moor on a Rough Rock Terrace - Honley
Wood
On the eastern side, the Rough Rock follows the gentle
slope of the range, forming very characteristic rock terraces,
whose uniform surfaces are emphasized by the rectangular
stone walls which form the field fences of the reclaimed
area. This feature is not only a reflex of local geology
but also of native tidiness and thrift. The Millstone Grits
dip gently to the east and disappear under the Lower Coal
Measures which form an escarpment along which runs the railway
from Penistone to Huddersfield, Though, like the grits,
they are composed of siliceous beds of sandstones and shales
they form a scenic feature which is marked contrast to that
of the Rough Rock.
Throughout the Millstone Grit area, the sandstones, cut
through by innumerable streams, from rugged edges, and the
steep slopes, which are strewn with great blocks of grit,
are overgrown with heath plants and bracken. The sandstones
are extensively quarried e.g. at Crosland Moor, and provide
Huddersfield with much excellent building stone, while borings
in these grits yield a good supply of water for manufacturing
purposes.
The great preponderance of shales over the sandstones in
the Coal Measure area, results in a more even surface of
the undulating hills, but where the sandstones crop out
they give a step like character to the hill sides.
To the east of the town are the Middle Coal Measures with
their more important coal seams. This is an area studded
with colliery villages e.g. Lepton, Whitely, Hopton, Thornhill,
Flockton and Emley, all surrounded by small farmsteads,
woodlands and parklands. All the beds, both Grits and Coal
Measures are disturbed by numerous faults. North of the
town, Coal Measure sandstones are extensively quarried at
Elland Edge, Southowram and elsewhere. They are usually
more flaggy than the Millstone Grits, and not only provide
excellent building stone but also the roofing slates so
typical of the old cottages of the district. The finer shales
are worked for brick making and the coal seams with fire
clay beneath are often worked together.
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