Welcome to Huddersfield

Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, is located on the River Colne, approximately 189 miles north-north-west of London and 16 miles south-west of Leeds.

The town has a population of around 143,500. Administratively it is within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees which covers an area of approximately 408 sq kms and which has a population of around 391,000.

Lying in the Colne Valley at the edge of the Pennines, this hilly town rises 1000ft from its east side to its western edge and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre with excellent retail and leisure facilities. There has been much modern development although it retains some notable historic buildings, and the Huddersfield Canal which runs through the town is a reminder of its industrial past with coal being brought in to power the once numerous textile mills. It is a good base from which to explore the surrounding area.

A village during Anglo-Saxon times, Huddersfield appeared in the Domesday Book as Oderesfelt. However, there had been a settlement in the vicinity since Roman times, as evidenced by discovery of the remains of a Roman fort at Slack, just west of the town. Castle Hill, a major landmark of the town, was originally an Iron Age hillfort. Huddersfield has been known as a market town since Saxon times. Following the Industrial Revolution the town played a major part in the woollen textile industry. Sir John Ramsden, owner of most of the town at this time, built a cloth hall here in 1765 for the cloth merchants to display their wares. He also had a canal cut to the town for the transport of the goods to other parts of the country.

Historically the town's economy was based upon textiles and manufacturing, but today the service industry is the largest sector of the local economy, employing 61% of all workers.

The name Huddersfield means 'open land of a man called Hudræd', from the Old English person's name and 'feld'. Huddersfield appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Oderesfelt.