2013 was the year I started to take an interest in photography whilst on a holiday to Lanzarote, and upon my return I started to venture around the area I live, this meant a lot of pictures of Sowerby Bridge as this is the place I called home.
Sowerby Bridge is a medium sized market town in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. The town grew around the confluence of the Rivers Calder and Ryburn where a fording point crossed the much larger River Calder and was eventually replaced by a bridge of which the town takes it's name. The towns largest growth was during the industrial revolution when the Rivers and the many streams, cloughs and water inlets helped power the textile and engineering mills which grew up along the banks. The town became an urban district in 1894 and was merged with Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, and Todmorden to form the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in 1974.
Sowerby Bridge which grew around the Rivers Calder and Ryburn is also the junction point of the Calder and Hebble Navigation Canal which opened in 1770 and the Rochdale Canal, opened in 1804. The Calder and Hebble has remained open since completion, however the Rochdale Canal hasn't with closure of the canal in 1952, the last full journey from Sowerby Bridge having taken place in 1937. The section from Wharf Street to Bridge 1a Tower Hill was infilled and turned in to a new road, Tuel Lane and car park for the town. This section was reopened in 1996.
The railway reached Sowerby Bridge in 1840 when the first station to serve the town opened near to the present day Tesco superstore. This closed in 1876 when the current station opened it's present location. The stations move was in anticipation of the new Rishworth Branch Line opening.
The town declined when the textile and engineering companies left the area as the hilly nature and lack of flat land made it unsuitable for development. By the late 1970's the town was in serious decline with many industries, shops and business leaving, this led to various attempts at regeneration including a canoe club on the River Calder, restoration of the Rochdale Canal and canal wharf area, and large scale conversion of the former mills in to apartments or small industrial units more suitable for the area.
Sowerby Bridge whilst much improved since the 1980's still suffers from a lack of investment from Calderdale Council, the town suffering large traffic congestion problems, and a lack of shops that entice people to visit. The canals form a large centrepiece of the town and the annual Rushbearing festival brings much needed tourism to the town but these have been on the decline in recent years.
The pictures below were all taken around the town in 2013 and put together to form a YouTube video, they were taken using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet.
The pictures below all feature in the video and can be purchased from Clickasnap or Ebay.
