Berry Brow
Encyclopedia
Berry Brow is a semi-rural village in West Yorkshire
, England
situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Huddersfield
. It lies on the eastern bank of the Holme Valley
and partially straddles the A616 road
to Honley
and Penistone
.
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The village
has a Victorian
infants' and nursery school, some shops and a railway platform
on the Penistone Line
. It lies between Armitage Bridge
, Taylor Hill and Newsome
. Berry Brow is served by two public house
s (The Railway and The Golden Fleece) and a liberal club
. The site of a third public house, The Black Bull, has now been converted into an Indian restaurant.
In the bottom of the valley
are two high rise buildings, consisting of local authority flats and bedsits. These reached public notoriety in the 1980s, when they were found to contain high levels of asbestos
, which had been built into the fabric of the building, under the regulations in force at that time. Expecting to take approximately 6 months to complete the task of removing the asbestos, Kirklees Council
temporarily re-housed the tenants in other areas, the majority of whom consisted of mature and elderly residents. As the 6 months dragged on into first two then three years, the tenants were offered more permanent housing elsewhere. The two blocks were eventually refurbished at a cost in excess of £6,000,000. They were then used to house younger single people and asylum seekers from other countries. As part of the refurbishment a 'State-of-the Art' CCTV security system was installed to cover both buildings.
Notoriety again began to rise due to the escalating amount of drug use, violence and drug-dependent crimes from a minority of tenants. This entailed an increased use of security staff, concierges and CCTV cameras, plus evictions by the housing authority.
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
. It lies on the eastern bank of the Holme Valley
River Holme
The River Holme is a river in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England and is a tributary of the River Colne. It starts from Digley reservoir and is then fed firstly by the run-off stream from Brownhill Reservoir, then by Dobbs Dike...
and partially straddles the A616 road
A616 road
The A616 is a road which links Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, to the M1 motorway at Junction 30, then reappears at Junction 35A and goes on to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire....
to Honley
Honley
Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield situated on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. In 2001 it had a population of 5,897 according to the census.-Education:...
and Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
has a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
infants' and nursery school, some shops and a railway platform
Berry Brow railway station
Berry Brow railway station serves the Huddersfield suburban villages of Berry Brow, Taylor Hill, Armitage Bridge and Newsome in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.The present single-platform station was opened in 1989...
on the Penistone Line
Penistone Line
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Rail in the West Yorkshire Metro/ Travel South Yorkshire area of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities...
. It lies between Armitage Bridge
Armitage Bridge
Armitage Bridge is a village approximately south of Huddersfield, in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Berry Brow and South Crosland and straddles the River Holme...
, Taylor Hill and Newsome
Newsome
Newsome is a village situated approximately 1 mile south of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. The village lies at the centre of Newsome Ward to which it gives its name.-Geography:...
. Berry Brow is served by two public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s (The Railway and The Golden Fleece) and a liberal club
Social clubs
A social club may refer to a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity . Note that this article covers only two distinct types of social clubs, the historic gentlemen's clubs and the modern activities clubs...
. The site of a third public house, The Black Bull, has now been converted into an Indian restaurant.
In the bottom of the valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
are two high rise buildings, consisting of local authority flats and bedsits. These reached public notoriety in the 1980s, when they were found to contain high levels of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, which had been built into the fabric of the building, under the regulations in force at that time. Expecting to take approximately 6 months to complete the task of removing the asbestos, Kirklees Council
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
temporarily re-housed the tenants in other areas, the majority of whom consisted of mature and elderly residents. As the 6 months dragged on into first two then three years, the tenants were offered more permanent housing elsewhere. The two blocks were eventually refurbished at a cost in excess of £6,000,000. They were then used to house younger single people and asylum seekers from other countries. As part of the refurbishment a 'State-of-the Art' CCTV security system was installed to cover both buildings.
Notoriety again began to rise due to the escalating amount of drug use, violence and drug-dependent crimes from a minority of tenants. This entailed an increased use of security staff, concierges and CCTV cameras, plus evictions by the housing authority.
Early history
The oldest part of the village is Deadmanstone. Originally known as Dudmanstone, Dudmanstone House is situated above Berry Brow. In 1584 the estate was recorded as belonging to the Lockwood family:-- "Thomas Lockwood holdeth a messuage called Dudmanstone, now made into two ; two gardens ; one little croft, called Tenter Croft ; two closes, called Cockshutts ; two closes, called Ouroyds ; one close, called Sykes ; third part of one called William Croft ; one little meadow, called Calf Croft ; one other meadow, called the Lime Croft ; four closes called the Lees, &c. One house, called the Forward House ; one garden and one close to the same belonging. One house called Budge Royd. One house and one garden in the tenure of one Shaw ; and one meadow to the same adjoining. One messuage, called Stirley ; one garden and one croft to the same belonging."