The Making of Sowerby Bridge

Julian Carr

The Making of Sowerby Bridge

The story of how a few small hamlets strung along the River Calder grew into a milltown that was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in West Yorkshire. It was ahead of Halifax, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Hand-in-hand with its industries, the hamlets evolved  into a complex Georgian community. Skipping a century and a half, the story will be brought up-to-date with the testimony of a few of the last mill-workers.

Julian Carr is a local historian living in the Ryburn Valley and the author of three books. The first focused on a mill and its people in Ripponden; the second ventured further afield to explore the mills of the Ryburn Valley. In his latest book Julian looks to the big valley and the mills and people of Sowerby Bridge.