River Holme
The River Holme flows through the Holme Valley and is a major tributary of the River Colne, which it joins near to Folly Hall, Huddersfield.
The river begins at Digley Reservoir and flows through Holmbridge, Holmfirth, Thongsbridge, Brockholes, Honley, Armitage Bridge and Lockwood before joining the Colne at Huddersfield.
Tributaries include the River Ribble, Mag Brook, Dean Clough, Hebble Dike and Black Sike Dike.
Floods
Historically, the Holme Valley was prone to flooding, most notably in 1852 when upwards of 80 people were killed.
Year | Description | Local Deaths |
---|---|---|
1738 | Heavy prolonged rain caused the valley to flood on 7 May, damaging fields. The flood water "forced its way into the Holmfirth Parish Church while the congregation was assembled, and it is recorded that it excited 'great consternation and alarm, as the water rose to a considerable height in the pews.'" | 0 |
1777 | A heavy storm on 23 July caused the river to burst its banks and flood the valley. A stone church built in the 1470s was washed away but rebuilt the following year. The Leeds Intelligencer (29/Jul/1777) reported that "three men were carried away by it, to a considerable distance and unfortunately drown’d, one of whom has left a widow and nine children!". A separate report in the Ipswich Journal notes that flooding also occurred in the Colne Valley. | 3 |
1787 | Heavy rains led to "most of the bridge" in Holmfirth being washed away.[1] | 0 |
1799 | "In the autumn of 1799 several houses and mills at Holmfirth and Huddersfield were swept away by the floods, but no loss of life is recorded."[2] This is contradicted by a brief article in the Leeds Intelligencer (14/Feb/1852) which stated "At the flood which occurred at Holmfirth in 1799, an innkeeper was drowned and his body was found in the river at Wakefield, where it had been carried by the flood. He had nothing on but his shirt." The Historical Chronicle reported that the "canal at Huddersfield has been considerably injured, and several mills and houses near Holmfirth, and other places in the West Riding have been entirely swept away by the overflowing of different streams". | 1 |
1821 | "On September 21st, after a heavy rain, the great reservoir above Blacksike Mill burst its embankment, and rolled down the valley a prodigious volume of water, which forced down the buildings in its course. The flood commenced at seven in the evening, and the water had subsided at ten, but the inhabitants did not dare to retire to rest. The next day presented a truly affecting scene of desolation — mud, stones, timber, broken furniture, work-tools, and prostrate trees were spread over the fields for a considerable extent. Happily no lives were lost, although the wreck of property was very great."[2] The Leeds Intelligencer reported that workers at Black Sike Mill "just escaped with their lives".[3] | 0 |
1822 | "May 20th, after a severe thunder storm, a cloud burst on the hills above Holmfirth and Meltham, and, from the junctions of those valleys, sent down the vale a breast of water from seven to nine feet, high, but happily no lives were lost."[2][4] | 0 |
1849 | A "terrific thunder storm raged in the Holmfirth valley, near Huddersfield, and was attended with injurious effects to property from the filling of the streams in the neighbourhood". The Holme Styes Reservoir overflowed and the River Ribble flooded, causing damage to property and mills.[5] | 0 |
1852 | Following prolonged heavy rain, the defective embankment of the Bilberry Reservoir gave way in the early hours of 5 February and released around 86 million gallons of water down the Holme Valley. Along with the large loss of life, seven bridges, several mills and many residential properties were washed away. [2] | 81[6] |
1944 | On 29 May, a severe thunderstorm caused flash flooding. Despite widespread damage to property, Bilberry Reservoir held back some of the water and helped limit the number of fatalities. German prisoners of war housed in the area helped with the rescue efforts. Geoffrey Riley was awarded the Albert Medal, and later the George Cross, in recognition of his valiant attempt to rescue an elderly woman. The victims were named as: Donald Riley (aged 42 of Spring Leigh, Woodhead Road), Mrs. Dorothea Schofield (aged 34 of Towngate, Holmfirth) and Miss Maud Evelyn Wimpenny (aged 76 of Victoria, Holmfirth). | 3 |
1946 | On 20 September, following gales and rainstorms across the country, Edward Brook Addy (32) of Hope Bank, Honley, died after being swept away by the swollen river. Downriver, Mirfield was flooded and the Yorkshire Post reported that at least 10 people had died across the country, including Esholt Sewage Works employee Edgar Marsh who had been attempting to help local residents who had been cut off by the River Aire bursting its banks.[7] | 1 |
Accidents
- 8-year-old Maud Ellis accidentally fell into the river near Armitage Road whilst walking home from school. Her body was recovered four days later near Lockwood.
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Notes and References
- ↑ Leeds Intelligencer (13/Nov/1787).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Awful Catastrophe and Fearful Loss of Life at Holmfirth in Huddersfield Chronicle (07/Feb/1852).
- ↑ See also "Destructive Inundation" in Morning Post (02/Oct/1821).
- ↑ See also Leeds Intelligencer (27/May/1822).
- ↑ "Holmfirth" in Manchester Times (11/Aug/1849).
- ↑ The figure of 81 was seemingly derived from combining the 78 named victims with the 3 children who were buried as "unknown"s. However, it is likely that 1 or 2 of those children were in the list of the 78, as not all of the bodies of the 78 were found and identified. In the years immediately after the flood, the figure was usually given as "upwards of 80" to reflect the uncertainty.
- ↑ Yorkshire Post (21/Sep/1946).