Hudds History

Notable dates in Huddersfield's history


6 June 1989
Duchess of York: Paying her first visit to West Yorkshire, the Duchess of York visits Huddersfield to open a three day 'Business for Business' exhibition at Leeds Road football ground.

6 May 1988
Princess Royal: A concert at the Town Hall in aid of the Save the Children fund is attended by the Princess Royal. She also visits the charity shop in Westgate.

2 December 1987
Prince of Wales: An exhibition of paintings by Ashley Jackson at Bass Yorkshire's HQ, Lockwood, is opened by the Prince of Wales. Proceeds from the painting sales are donated to the Prince's Youth Business Trust.

25 June 1987
Princess of Wales: The antenatal clinic and delivery unit at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary receives a visit from the Princess of Wales. She also visits Help the Aged's sheltered housing complex at Dalton and plants a flowering cherry tree.

14 October 1983
St Lukes Hospital: The new £750,000 geriatric day hospital opens. This is one of the first purpose built geriatric hospitals in the Yorkshire region.

26 October 1982
Sainsburys: A new Sainsburys store opens in Market Street, Huddersfield on the site of the former YEB building which was demolished in March 1981.

July 1982
Kayes Department Store: Huddersfield's only privately owned department store, Kayes, in King Street, closes with the loss of 100 jobs. Blame is placed jointly on the recession and on town centre parking.

22 March 1982
Royal Visit: The Prince and Princess of Wales pay their first visit to Huddersfield to meet people assisted by the Prince's Trust. Thousands turn out to welcome them and they make a brief walkabout near St Patrick's Centre.

3 August 1981
Huddersfield Crematorium: The crematorium at Birkby is wrecked by a massive explosion which hurls rubble as far as the M62. Damage is estimated at £500,000 and the building is almost completely destroyed. The crematorium is re-dedicated and re-opens in November.

27 September 1978
Bradley Wood Hospital: Bradley Wood Hospital, formerly Bradley Wood Sanatorium, closes. Geriatric patients are moved to St Luke's and Mill Hill Hospital.

August 1978
Birkby Hypermarket: Lodge's hypermarket opens at Birkby in a converted textile mill. Annie Sugden of Emmerdale Farm performs the opening ceremony.

13 November 1977
Lion Chambers: A fibreglass lion is installed on the roof of Lion Chambers. The original 123 year old lion, which was removed in January, served as a model for the fibreglass replacement.

28 April 1975
Incinerator: A £2 million plant to take industrial and domestic waste, the most modern in West Yorkshire, opens in Hillhouse.

26 March 1974
St George's Square Fountain: The Mayor switches on the new £15,000 fountain and officially christens it by throwing coins into the water. The fountain, commemorating Huddersfield Borough, is over 100 years old and stood in Venice for many years. Unfortunately the soft limestone is unable to survive the Huddersfield climate, and the fountain is removed two years later.

26 March 1974
Bus Station: The new bus station on Upperhead Row is opened by the Mayor, Councillor Mernagh, despite the fact that it is not completely built.

24 July 1973
Sports Centre: Princess Anne opens the new £900,000 sports centre and is presented with honorary family membership by the Mayor.

21 March 1972
Ramsden Street Baths: The swimming baths at Ramsden Street, which first opened in 1879, close prior to demolition.

February 1972
Heywood's Store: Demolition begins on a new, unused building in Market Street, Huddersfield. The supermarket block was intended to replace Heywood's Store which was ravished by fire in 1967, and was built on the same site, but reorganisation of the firm meant that the store was never opened.

26 October 1971
Pack Horse Centre: Huddersfield's first pedestrian shopping precinct is opened by the Mayor, Alderman Mrs E.M. Whitteron.

28 March 1970
Market Hall: The old market hall in King Street closes for trade. The new Queensgate Market opens for business on 1st April, 1970.

13 July 1968
Trolleybuses: Huddersfield Corporation's final trolleybus journey runs from Waterloo to Outlane, just 35 years after the first trolleybus set out for Almondbury.

2 July 1968
Thunderstorm: One of the worst storms in living memory hits Huddersfield. Streets in Longroyd Bridge and Milnsbridge are flooded to a depth of eighteen inches. Giant hailstones smash windows and dent cars.

December 1967
Essoldo Fire: 80 firemen fight a blaze which almost destroys the Essoldo cinema. Cold weather causes the water from the firemen's hoses to freeze as it falls. The cinema re-opens after rebuilding in July 1969.

2 November 1967
Heywood's Fire: Five firemen and a policeman are injured in the fire which destroyed Heywood's department store in Market Street, Huddersfield.

11 June 1967
Picture House: The first purpose built cinema in the town closes its doors for the final time. The last films shown are "The Quatermass Experiment" and "X the Unknown".

27 January 1967
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary: The Royal Infirmary at Lindley is officially opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. It replaces the old infirmary in New North Road and is acclaimed as one of the most modern in Britain.

4 July 1966
Traffic Wardens: The first eight traffic wardens go on duty in Huddersfield. By September traders are describing them as 'overzealous'.

16 October 1964
Prime Minister: Harold Wilson becomes the Prime Minister after thirty years of Tory rule. At 48 he is the youngest PM since Rosebery.

18 January 1964
J Woods Fire: The music shop in New Street goes up in flames after a paraffin heater is knocked over. There are dramatic rescues via windows in Albert Yard.

29 November 1963
ABC Cinema: The Beatles perform in a concert at the ABC Cinema attracting an audience of over 4,000 people.

March 1961
Fire Station: Huddersfield's new fire station is opened by the Mayor, Alderman N. Day.

October 1960
Rushworth's Clock: A double faced electric clock, the first of its kind in England, is installed above the entrance to Rushworth's department store. The clock, which is visible from Westgate, Kirkgate, John William Street and New Street, has a three foot dial and continuous revolution.

14 November 1958
School Complex: Princess Margaret visits Huddersfield to open the complex of schools at Salendine Nook.

25 September 1955
L.B. Holidays Fire: Four houses are totally destroyed in a chemical tip fire at L.B. Holidays, the biggest fire in Huddersfield since the blaze at Booth's clothing factory in 1941.

5 July 1952
St Peter's Gardens: Formerly the old parish churchyard, St Peter's Gardens are opened to the public.

26 July 1949
Royal Visit: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visit Trafalgar Mills in Huddersfield, watch a display by school children at Leeds Road football ground, and appear on the Town Hall balcony before enormous crowds.

15 December 1947
Henry's Stores Fire: A fire started in the Fairy Grotto and swept through the store. One woman is killed trying to escape the fire.

16 May 1946
Art Gallery Exhibition: Sir Kenneth Clark opens an exhibition of 200 years of British painting held to officially celebrate the opening of the new art gallery in the Library building.

26 June 1945
Prime Minister: 30,000 people gather in St George's Square to welcome Prime Minister Winston Churchill on his visit to Huddersfield.

6 July 1944
Fartown Plane Crash: An aircraft flown by a local man crashes into two houses in Central Avenue, Fartown, killing the pilot, a mother and her two year old son, and a 62 year old woman.

31 October 1941
Booth's Factory Fire: Forty seven people, mainly women, die in Booth's clothing factory blaze. The majority of them are buried in a communal grave at Edgerton Cemetery.

14/15 March 1941
Incendiary Bombs: Hundreds of incendiary bombs and twenty high explosive shells are dropped on and around Huddersfield. Anti aircraft guns are in action throughout the night. The last air raids to hit the town are on 12 June.

29 August 1940
Hall Bower Bombs: The first two bombs to be dropped on Huddersfield landed at Hall Bower.

15 April 1940
The New Central Library: The new library in Ramsden Street is opened by the Mayor, Alderman Norman Crossley. The first book to be borrowed, Phyllis Bentley's "Take Courage" is issued to the wife of Alderman Smailes.