Sowerby

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Sowerby Bridge

Coordinates: 53°42′N 1°55′W / 53.70°N 1.91°W / 53.70; -1.91

Sowerby Bridge /ˌsɔːrbi ˈbrɪdʒ/ is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England.

History

Always pronounced Sorby Bridge, the town was originally a fording point over the once much-wider River Calder where it joins the River Ryburn. The town takes its name from the historic bridge which spans the river in the town centre. Before the Industrial Revolution the area was divided between the parishes of Sowerby, Norland, Skircoat and Warley. The boundaries between them being the rivers Calder and Ryburn and Warley Clough, which is now largely culverted. Textiles and engineering industry grew up around the bridge. By the mid-19th century the population had grown and the settlement became an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1894.

From 1892 to 1930 Pollit & Wigzell manufactured stationary steam engines for the cotton and woollen mills of Yorkshire, Lancashire and India. Wood Brothers, an engineering and millwright company, also produced engines from its Valley Iron Works. The Markfield Beam Engine is an example for its work.

Leo Sowerby

Leo Sowerby (May 1, 1895 – July 7, 1968), American composer and church musician, was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946, and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century.

Biography

Sowerby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he began to compose at the age of ten. His interest in the organ began at the age of 15, he was self-taught at the instrument. He studied composition with Arthur Olaf Andersen at the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago (Gleason n.d.). Early recognition came when his violin concerto was premiered in 1913 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Stalford & Meckna 2001). He spent time in France during World War I in the role of bandmaster (Gleason n.d.). In 1921 he was awarded the Rome Prize (from the American Academy in Rome), the first composer to receive this. He joined the American Conservatory of Music as faculty in 1924 (Gleason n.d.). In addition he received the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his cantata, the Canticle of the Sun, written in 1944 (Stalford & Meckna 2001; Anon. n.d.)