Denholme
| Denholme | |
|---|---|
 Christmas Day in Denholme 2004 |
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 Denholme
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| Denholme shown within West Yorkshire | |
| Population | 3,489 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SE070340 |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRADFORD |
| Postcode district | BD13 |
| Dialling code | 01274 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
Denholme is a small town and civil parish in the Bradford Metropolitan Borough, West Yorkshire, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) west of Bradford, 7 miles (11 km) from Keighley and roughly the same distance from Halifax. Administratively, it is part of the Bingley Rural ward of the City of Bradford. Denholme has a population of 2,976, increasing to 3,489 at the 2011 Census.
The name Denholme is probably of Viking origin, translating to "A flat amongst the hillside". This is a good description of the village's geographical setting, since it is located in a broad side valley extending southwards from that of the River Aire - the Aire Valley or Airedale. However, an alternative suggestion of the word "Holme", in old Viking Danelaw, would be that of reclaimed marshland (or an "island" in a wet area) and Den or Denu, in Old English, means Valley. This would also make sense given the areas many springs, marshy terrain and being situated in a valley. Denholme is also on the eastern flank of the Pennines, commonly known as the "backbone of England", about midway along their length.
The village sits astride the old Roman Road from Manchester (Mamucium or Mancunium) to Ilkley (Olicana) though there is no evidence of any settlement then. The line of the road is visible on the ground to the south of the village, not far from St Paul's church.
The first evidence of habitation in the area dates from the 13th century. There is a grant of land, dated 1239, whereby Thomas de Thornton gave grazing land at Denholme to the monks of Byland Abbey. It is likely that the monks would have built a grange in the area and this may well have given the village its first occupants.
The entire Victorian housing sites of Denholme were built by the Fosters who also built the old textile mills of Denholme. The houses were for the workers of the mills. It was common in Victorian England for wealthy businessmen to build entire towns to house the workers of their mills.
Denholme had a working railway station from 1 January 1884. It closed to passengers on 23 May 1955 and closed completely on 10 April 1961 when sometime after most of its buildings were demolished. The railway was built by the Great Northern Railway and linked Bradford, Keighley and Halifax via a triangular junction at Queensbury. The lines and station transferred to the LNER and, ultimately, to British Railways (North Eastern Region) at closure. At 850 ft above sea level, Denholme was the highest station on the entire GN system. The line was mostly rural and needed the construction of many earthworks, viaducts and tunnels. Its hilly nature earned it the nicknames of "the Alpine route" or "the switchback" from its drivers.
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