The buildings in Holmfirth are made and roofed with local stone, and some still retain weavers' windows on the upper storey that allowed more light to reach handlooms. There are several split-level four-storey houses set on hillsides, with a two-storey section on the lower level and another above, reached from the upper level. In the wooded valleys around the town are mills which were once powered by water from streams.
In Holmfirth itself, a walk up Cooper Lane gives a good view back over the rooftops: to the left of the church tower you will see a terrace of three houses with pointed lintels used as Clegg's home in the television series, with Pearl and Howard living at the other end of the lane. At the foot of Cooper Lane, in a basement, is the Last of the Summer Wine Exhibition, which includes some gadgets used by Seymour and photographs from filming.
At the Postcard Museum there is a display selected from a collection of over 30,000 cards. Opened in 1987, it features a video presentation of early cinema films and a Victorian post-box that can be used to mail reproduction cards on sale, all requiring a special collector's stamp.
A section of the museum is also devoted to the 1852 Holmfirth Flood Disaster, when the Bilberry Dam (situated 3.5 miles / 5.6 km up the valley) burst in the early hours of 5 February after heavy rain. Retaining walls collapsed, sending 86 million gallons (390 million litres) of water sweeping down onto the town, carrying bales of wool, masonry, uprooted trees, and even steam boilers. That night 81 inhabitants lost their lives, and 7 bridges, 21 industrial buildings, 27 cottages, and 7 shops were totally destroyed. Because of Holmfirth's geological location in a steep-sided valley surrounded by high moors, it has always been at risk, with more serious floods occurring in 1771, 1821, and 1944.
The Toll House Bookshop stands on the site of the former toll house, where the original building was washed away in the 1852 flood, drowning occupants Samuel Greenwood and his wife and child. The toll house collected tolls on Enterclough Bridge on the Woodhead turnpike road, which climbs to 1,718 feet (524 metres) before descending to the hamlet of Woodhead in neighbouring Derbyshire. Toll-paying was taken so seriously that anyone found guilty of damaging or pulling down a toll gate could be transported for seven years.
When you reach Upper Bridge, look upstream to see the row of houses on the right used as the home of Nora Batty, and Compo who lived in the basement. On the left is the Elephant and Castle, a former coaching inn standing beside the turnpike road, bearing a brass plaque on the second door indicating the flood height reached after a cloudburst on Whit Monday, 29 May 1944.
Standing in the paved churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Sid's Cafe has appeared in nearly every episode of the television series (though interior scenes were filmed on a reproduced studio set). Another familiar landmark is the exterior of the White Horse Inn, inside which are over 250 photographs of the stars taken during filming.
Above and to the right of the inn are buildings with weavers' windows. Weaving was once a cottage industry here before declining with the advent of large mills; a boost was given to local cloth sales in the 19th century when a treaty was signed to mark the Peace of Amiens. The tall stone pillar known as "T'owd Genn" was erected in 1802 to commemorate this short-lived peace after the French wars, and also bears a plaque showing the flood height of 1852.
From Holmfirth the walk is an exciting adventure visiting neighbouring small communities: Wooldale, Hole Bottom, and Jackson Bridge. Folk here kept similar trades, as evidenced by small mills scattered around — some still standing as shops or converted homes. On the final leg returning from Jackson Bridge to Holmfirth along Paris to New Gate, the views back down are sumptuous. Take a break, a deep breath, and enjoy the glorious view of the town and the Holme Valley.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
