Coordinates: 53°41′28″N 1°37′59″W / 53.691°N 1.633°W / 53.691; -1.633
Dewsbury (/ˈdjuːzbəri/[1]) is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds. It lies by the River Calder and an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, after undergoing a period of major growth in the 19th century as a mill town, Dewsbury went through a period of decline. More recently there has been redevelopment of derelict mills into flats, and regenerating of run-down areas.
According to the 2001 census the Dewsbury urban sub-area had a population of 54,341. Dewsbury is the largest town in the Heavy Woollen District, a conurbation of small mill towns.
The Domesday Book of 1086 records the name as Deusberia and Deusberie. It is believed to mean "fortified place by a stream", from Old English deaw "dew" (stream) and burg "fort". Other suggestions include the Burg of David, from the old pre-Norman-Conquest British Gaelic for David, being Deu, similar to the Welsh form, Dai. There are other theories on the name's origins such as a Mercian name, after the founder of a fortified settlement, named Dui, Dew or Deus--"beria" meaning fort or stronghold. # "God's Hill", from the old British word "Duw", meaning God (cf Latin "Deus"), and "burg", meaning a hill [1] [2] or "Tiu's Hill", derived from the Germanic god Tiu from the same Indo-European origin.
In Saxon times, Dewsbury was a centre of considerable importance. The ecclesiastical parish of Dewsbury encompassed Huddersfield, Mirfield and Bradford. Ancient legend records that in 627 Paulinus, the first Bishop of York, preached here on the banks of the River Calder. Numerous Saxon graves have been found in Dewsbury and Thornhill.[2]
Dewsbury Minster lies near the River Calder, traditionally on the site where Paulinus preached. Parts of the church date to the 13th century. The tower houses "Black Tom", a bell which is rung each Christmas Eve, one toll for each year since Christ's birth, known as the "Devil's Knell", a tradition dating back to the 15th century. The bell was donated by Sir Thomas de Soothill, in penance for murdering a servant boy in a fit of rage. The tradition was commemorated on a Royal Mail postage stamp in 1986. [3]
Dewsbury market was established in the 14th century for local clothiers. Occurrences of the plague in 1593 and 1603 closed the market and it reopened in 1741.
Throughout the Middle Ages Dewsbury retained a measure of importance in ecclesiastical terms, collecting tithes from as far away as Halifax in the mid-14th century. John Wesley visited the area five times in the mid-18th century, and the first Methodist Society was established in 1746. Centenary Chapel on Daisy Hill commemorates the centenary of this event, and the Methodist tradition remained strong in the town. [4]
In 1770, a short branch of the Calder and Hebble Navigation was completed, linking Dewsbury to the main canal system and giving access to Manchester and Hull. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, Dewsbury was a centre for the "shoddy" and "mungo" industries which recycled woollen items by mixing them with new wool and making heavy blankets and uniforms. The town benefited economically from the canal, its location at the heart of the Heavy Woollen District, and its proximity to nearby coal mines. The railway arrived in 1848 when Dewsbury Wellington Road railway station on the London and North Western Railway opened; this is the only station which remains open. Other stations were Dewsbury Central on the Great Northern Railway which closed in 1964 and Dewsbury Market Place on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway which closed in 1930; a fourth goods-only station was built in the early 20th century at Savile Town by the Midland Railway. In 1985 a bypass road was built on the site of Central Station and its adjacent viaduct, and nothing remains of Market Place Station. The 19th century saw a great increase in population, rising from 4,566 in 1801 to around 30,000 by 1890.
Steam engine, Providence Mills, Dewsbury
The town’s rapid expansion and commitment to industrialisation was not without problems, resulting in social instability. In the early 19th century, Dewsbury was a centre of Luddite opposition to mechanisation in which workers retaliated against mill owners who installed new textile machinery and smashed the machines which threatened their way of life. In the 1830s, Dewsbury was a centre of Chartist agitation. In August 1838, after a speech by Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor, a mob of between five and seven thousand people besieged the Dewsbury Poor Law Guardians in the town’s Royal Hotel. The mob was dispersed by troops. Trouble flared in 1840 when radical agitators seized control of the town, and troops were stationed to maintain order. This radical tradition left a legacy in the town's political life, its first elected MP in 1867 was John Simon, a Jewish lawyer from Jamaica and a Liberal.
The mills were often family businesses and continued manufacturing after the wool crisis in 1950–51, which saw Australian sheep farmers begin to charge higher prices. However, the recovery of the late 1960s was reversed by the 1973 oil crisis, and the textile industry in Dewsbury declined, with only bed manufacturing remaining a large scale employer.
Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, was questioned at Dewsbury Police Station and charged before magistrates in the courtroom of Dewsbury Town Hall after his arrest in January 1981.
After 2005 Dewsbury was labelled a troubled town after a series of negative press reports[3] and became "the town that dare not speak its name"[4] after high profile crimes brought it into the media spotlight. In June, a girl of 12 was charged with grievous bodily harm after attempting to hang a five year old boy from Chickenley.[5] Mohammad Sidique Khan, ringleader of the group responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings lived in Lees Holm, Dewsbury. On 19 February 2008, Shannon Matthews, aged nine, disappeared in Dewsbury Moor. Shannon was found hidden in the base of a divan bed in Batley Carr on 14 March 2008 and Michael Donovan, aged 39, was arrested. The hunt was the largest police search since that for the Yorkshire Ripper 30 years earlier. Donovan was the cousin of Craig Meehan, Shannon's step-father. Her mother Karen Matthews and Donovan were jailed for eight years for abduction and false imprisonment.
In October 2010 the Dewsbury Revival Centre opened, based the refurbished former St. Mark's Church on Halifax Road, Dewsbury. This was the church attended by the Titanic bandmaster, Wallace Hartley.
Dewsbury was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1862 [5], its first mayor was Dr George Fearnley. The 1868 Reform Act constituted Dewsbury a parliamentary borough, its first MP being Mr Sergeant Simon. The Victorian town hall standing in front of the old marketplace was built in 1886-89. Dewsbury's boundaries were expanded to include the urban districts of Ravensthorpe, Thornhill, Soothill Nether and part of Soothill Upper in 1910 and it was elevated to county borough status in 1913. "Soothill Nether" refers to the current east end of the town, although, at the time, Chickenley and Chidswell were hamlets, and Earlsheaton formed the bulk of the area's population. The covered market was opened in 1904 and during the 1920s trade moved from the original market place to the area around the covered market.
In 1974 responsibility for local government passed to Kirklees Metropolitan Council, with its headquarters in Huddersfield. The population of Dewsbury has remained broadly static over the past century - the 1911 census recorded 53,351 people [6], and the 1971 census 51,326 people, making it the fourth least populous county borough in England (after Canterbury, Burton and Yarmouth).
Dewsbury is situated between a number of larger towns and cities. Leeds and Bradford lie eight miles to the north, Huddersfield a similar distance to the south west, and Wakefield some six miles east. In recent years its proximity to these major urban centres, the M1 and M62 motorways and its position on the Huddersfield Line, served by the TransPennine Express, have contributed to its rising popularity as a commuter town.
Dewsbury is part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area, and the natural boundaries of the town are not well defined, with built up areas of the town running into neighbouring Batley, Heckmondwike and Ossett.
Geologically, the town is situated on rock dated to the Carboniferous Period, consisting of coal measures and gritstones. Quaternary Period rock, glacial deposits and gravels exist in the Calder Valley. Coal, stone and gravel have all been exploited commercially. Average rainfall is 100 cm per annum.[7]
The town is dominated by hills, notably Earlsheaton, Dewsbury Moor, Staincliffe and Thornhill. The town centre is at 40 m-55 m above sea level, rising to 110 m at Earlsheaton and Batley Carr, and 230 m at Grange Moor. The approach down from Earlsheaton through the Wakefield Road cutting, constructed in 1830, is dramatic with the view of the town centre nestling in the Calder Valley opening up as you descend.
The majority of the older buildings were built in Yorkshire stone, many of which have recently been restored by sandblasting. Notable structures include the railway viaduct, and Machell's Shoddy and Mungo Mill, converted into apartments but still bearing the famous slogan of its original occupants.
Dewsbury has a number of different districts with very different geographical and socio-economic patterns. Some of the districts of Dewsbury are, Chickenley, Crackenedge, Dewsbury Moor, Thornhill, Earlsheaton, Eastborough, Eightlands, Flatts, Ravensthorpe, Savile Town, Shaw Cross, Scout Hill, Thornhill Lees, Westborough, Westtown. Batley Carr, Hanging Heaton and Staincliffe have areas which lie in both Dewsbury and neighbouring Batley. Thornhill is classified as part of Dewsbury. It was annexed by the town's council in 1910, along with Briestfield and Whitley.
From the outset of the industrialisation of the town with its many mills, a large influx of Irish workers arrived in the town, settling in the Westtown area. This area has the large and imposing Our Lady and St. Paulinus Roman Catholic Church and its school, once run by the nuns of the area. The Irish National Club also is home to Dewsbury Celtic amateur rugby league club, with its many age groups of players. Starting in the late 1950s and continuing until the 1970s, many families from South Asia, particularly Pakistan, settled in Dewsbury. By 1966 around 2,000 immigrants from Commonwealth countries had made Dewsbury their home. Many worked in the woollen mills, making good the labour shortage in that sector.
The town has a large Asian community. Savile Town and Ravensthorpe are populated mainly by Muslims of Indian and Pakistani origin. In recent years, there has also been an immigration of Iraqi Kurds and Hungarians into the town.[6] Dewsbury is known for having a Shariah arbitration court, which has caused some controversy.[7] The Dewsbury Moor, Ravensthorpe and Chickenley areas are classed among the 10% most deprived areas in the UK [8]. In contrast to some British towns and cities, the east side of the town is generally more affluent. The majority of houses in the town are in the cheapest band for council tax, for house prices are amongst the lowest in the country.[9]
The town centre is starting to see a something of a revival, with large retailers such as Sainsbury's, Next and Matalan it also has many other stores. The local market comprising 400 stalls is one of the busiest in Yorkshire and today draws coach-loads of visitors to the town; in April 2007, Dewsbury Market won the award as "Britain's Best Market". Wednesdays and Saturdays are the normal market days with the popular flea market on Fridays. Just south of the River Calder in the town centre was where the mills of the town were traditionally located. As the mills closed, this area became a large brownfield site. However, many of the units have now been reoccupied and the town's largest employer, Carlton Cards is based in this area. A large shopping centre, planned to occupy a large area of the town centre has as many supporters as detractors.
Dewsbury RLFC play in the Co-op Championship. They play at the Tetley's Stadium, on Owl Lane, towards Ossett, on the site of the old Savile & Shaw Cross Colliery. Their original and famous ground Crown Flatt stood on Leeds Road, at Earlsheaton, for many years until it was burned down, by arsonists in the late 1980s. It has been replaced with a modern housing estate. Dewsbury are where one of the first rugby league sides to have their own TV website www.dewsburyramstv.co.uk. Dewsbury Celtic play in National League 3, their ground is on the west side of the town, in Crow Nest Park. The club's headquarters are at the Dewsbury Irish National Club on Park Parade. Also the home of the Dewsbury Rangers Football club, with over 300 members from the ages of six through to the old boys teams it is one of the largest in the area and new members always welcome, And thanks to the hard work of the committee and all involved with the club and local community the club is due to have a purpose built clubhouse on the Wakefield Road Playing Fields about 1 mile from the town centre of Dewsbury.
Dewsbury Museum, in Crow Nest Park
Dewsbury Museum is located within the mansion house in Crow Nest Park. After an extensive 18 month programme of building and gallery refurbishment the museum reopened in the summer of 2010. Nearby attractions include the National Coal Mining Museum for England.
In 2009 Dewsbury hosted Kirklees Council's Concerts in the Park and over 8,000 came to watch pop stars McFly, Ironik and the Yeah You's play a free concert.
The town also has an annual event called Spirit, a street theatre show every winter which takes place in the town centre.
Dewsbury had two grammar schools – The Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys and, further up the hill, the Wheelwright Grammar School for Girls. The 1970s education reforms downgraded these two establishments to high schools. One is now used by Dewsbury College, the other by Birkdale High School a notably improving school. In the 2005 School League Tables, Dewsbury's Eastborough Junior, Infants and Nursery schools were reported to have the most consistently improved results over the past four years. However, the headteacher of the school, Nicola Roth, has been highly critical of School League Tables in the UK and has been reported to have said "It would be better if league tables did not exist".[8]
Batley College of Art and Design, which is part of Dewsbury College, has a strong reputation for print and textile-based art work, whilst St John Fisher Catholic High School is a specialist Sports College and is one of the few schools in the area with a Sixth Form.
- Due to the placement of Dewsbury and District Hospital, many notable people have been born in the town. For a fuller list, see Category:People from Dewsbury
The following people were born in Dewsbury:
- John Rudd (c. 1498-c. 1579)[citation needed] and his apprentice Christopher Saxton (c. 1540-c. 1610), both clerics and cartographers who would be the first to complete the map of England, the latter finishing the job after the former's death.
- Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt (1836–1925), physician; inventor of the medical thermometer.
- Sir Owen Willans Richardson (1879–1959), physicist, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1928 for his work of thermionic emission.
- Eddie Waring (1910–1986), rugby league coach, commentator and television presenter famous for hosting the BBC game show, It's a Knockout. Managed Dewsbury RLFC (now the Dewsbury Rams) during World War II, leading them to their second Challenge Cup victory in 1943.
- Tom Kilburn (1921–2005), computer engineer; co-inventor of the first stored-program computer.
- Betty Lockwood, Baroness Lockwood (born 1924), politician and activist for women's rights; was the first chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission from 1975 to 1983, and served as Chancellor of the University of Bradford from 1997 to 2005.
- Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 1929), politician; first female Speaker of the House of Commons between 1992 and 2000).
- Mike "Stevo" Stephenson (born 1947), Sky Sports commentator and former rugby league footballer; captained Dewsbury to their only championship success in 1973.
- Mary Tamm (born 1950), actress famous for her role as "Romana" in Doctor Who from 1978-1979.
- Andrew Morton (born 1953), writer, journalist and biographer of royalty and celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Diana, Princess of Wales. His work is often met with controversy.
- Kazia Pelka (born 1960), actress famous for roles in soap-operas such as Brookside, Heartbeat and Coronation Street.
- Tim Fountain (born 1967), playwright and author, whose plays (often centered on sex or genitalia) have often been the cause of controversy.
- Victoria O'Keefe (1969–1990), actress best known for playing Jane Beckett, laconic survivor of an nuclear attack on nearby Sheffield, in the made-for-TV nuclear warfare drama "Threads".
- Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury (born 1971), Conservative politician.
- Joel Graham (born 1977), bassist for thrash metal band Evile.
- Leigh Bromby (born 1980), footballer for Leeds United.
- Bob Hardy (born 1980), bassist for popular Scottish post-punk revival band, Franz Ferdinand.
- Matt Diskin (born 1982), rugby league footballer for the Bradford Bulls; his career began at the amateur Dewsbury Moor ARLFC.
- Andrew Gale (born 1983), cricketer and captain for Yorkshire.
- Gary Sykes (born 1984), former super featherweight boxing champion.[citation needed]
- Current and former members of My Dying Bride.[citation needed]
Dewsbury is referenced in The Beatles' 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour. A line of dialogue in the film has one of the magicians (all portrayed by the Beatles themselves) - who are keeping an eye on the whereabouts of the bus that is taking its passengers on the journey of the film's title - exclaim: "The bus is ten miles north on the Dewsbury road and they're having a lovely time!" [10] Dewsbury is also referenced in the 1991 single "It's Grim Up North" by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (also known as The KLF).
The 1960 book A Kind of Loving is set in a fictional city named "Cressley", but its description was based upon Dewsbury. The author, Stan Barstow, was born in Horbury and grew up in Ossett - both of which are just to the east of Dewsbury.
More recently, the phrase "Dewsbury noir" has been used to describe the violent novels of David Peace, who was born in Dewsbury but lives in neighbouring Ossett.[9]
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Dewsbury 
