Luddendenfoot


Luddendenfoot or Luddenden Foot is a community in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The population of Luddendenfoot is 2,547, with the wider Calderdale Ward at the 2011 Census as 10,653. It lies along the Upper Calder Valley below the village of Luddenden, between Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd

History

The settlement grew up around the confluence of Luddenden Brook and the River Calder and the existence of the woollen textile industry. The industrial growth facilitated by the opening of the Rochdale Canal in 1804 and the opening of the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840. There were several mills including Boy Mill, Luddendenfoot Mill, Delph Mill and Denholme Mill. None of these mills remain in their original use.
Between 1840 and 1962 the village was served by Luddendenfoot railway station.
Luddendenfoot grew up around the industry along the river and brook, then later the canal; then the railway and then the A646 Burnley Road.
In the late part of the 20th Century; many houses along Burnley Road were cleared and a new housing estate at Kershaw was developed. In the early 21st Century; housing has been built on a cleared mill site in the centre of the village.

Governance

Luddendenfoot had a Local Board of Health from 1868 until 1894, in 1894 an Urban District Council was established. Luddendenfoot was absorbed into Sowerby Bridge in 1937 and remained part of Sowerby Bridge Urban District until the formation of the metropolitan borough of Calderdale in 1974, which is administered from Halifax.
The settlement is part of the Luddendenfoot ward of the part of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. The Luddendenfoot ward covers a wider area and includes the villages of Mytholmroyd, Luddenden, Midgley, Booth, Wainstalls, Cragg Vale and Boulderclough.
The ward has, over the years, elected councillors from all of the three main parties. However, as of May 2019, all three seats are held by Labour councillors and this is the first time this has happened since 1973. The current councillors by date elected are Jane Scullion, Scott Patient and Roisin Cavanagh.

Education

There are two primary schools in Luddendenfoot; Luddendenfoot Academy, formerly Luddendenfoot Junior and Infant School and Luddenden CE School.

Cultural reference and notable people