Spen Valley Trivia

Welcome to the home of trivial facts about the old Spen Valley district of Yorkshire.  Our area is steeped in history, so take a dive into the past and discover things you never knew! Local history and family history often go hand in glove, and this site aims to combine the best of both these worlds. 

The vast majority of information contained in these pages has been obtained from free and publicly available resources with the exception of old newspaper reports, which requires a subscription. 

You can navigate to other pages of the site by selecting the items in the side menu or by selecting one of the links below. If you are using a mobile phone or tablet then the menu items are found by clicking the 3 lines at the top left of your screen. The site is probably best viewed on a computer or laptop. Some pages may seem a little disjointed on phones and tablets.

What can be found on this site? Please be aware that this is very much a "work in progress" project and new or updated information is added on a regular basis. Check below this section to see what has been recently added.

Timeline: - A chronological list of local & other news and events dating back to the Domesday Book.
Census Records: - A complete listing of local census records dating back to 1841. Also includes an address index of the 1939 Register.
Census Address Master Index - Addresses that feature in any of the census records on this site in alphabetical order with links to where they appear.
Church, Chapel & Cemetery: - A list of churches, chapels and public cemeteries in the area along with details of their history, baptisms, marriages and burials that took place there. There are also plenty of grave inscriptions.
Local Boards: - Responsible for the day to day running of our Townships. Discover what was discussed and implemented at their meetings.
Public Houses: - Fancy a pint? Have a look at the location and history of our public houses. Some still going strong, others long gone.
Public Services: - Covers a wide range of topics such as Education, Post Offices, Libraries, Health, Recreation, Fire & Police.
Trade Directories: - Lists of tradesmen and others by district. Descriptions of the towns can often include some historic facts.
Through the Keyhole: - A look at some of the well-known residences in the district and who once lived there.
Tales from the Past: - A more in depth look at some of the people and events in our history.
Local Wills & Obituaries: - Just what it says on the tin! Some names you may instantly recognise, others maybe not...
Where was it?: - Over time, some locations either disappeared or were renamed.
Under the Hammer: - Details of various auctions. Descriptions of land, property and owners.
War Memorials: - Links to various memorials in the district.
Mills & Businesses: - Details of mills by name and the businesses carried on in our towns through the years.
How Much?: - Details of how much various items would cost you through the years.
Cleckheaton & District Local History Group: - Meeting once a month, gives details of the venue and subject of the talk.
Completed & ongoing Projects: - Details of all the completed projects and the status of some ongoing projects.
Info by District - This website contains information on the Spen Valley as a whole. This particular page helps to narrow down your choice by a particular town, village or area, with links to various information that is already available on the site.
Useful Links: - Some other websites that may be of interest to the local or family historian.

If you have any corrections, additions or suggestions then I would be glad to hear from you. You can contact me, Martin Bentley, at: casafruitas(at)gmail.com but make sure to replace the (at) with the usual @

For anyone interested in family history, I have a viewable tree that contains many local Spen Valley families: https://spenvalley.tribalpages.com 

Recent updates (click on the underlined item to take you there):

• Updated Birkenshaw St. Paul baptisms 250 entries 1869-1877 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Birkenshaw St. Paul marriages 125 entries 1907-1919 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Birkenshaw St. Paul burials 500 entries 1868-1878 added (15 Jan 2026)

• New Gomersal 1851 Census ED1m (part of Drub & Birkenshaw) 623 individuals added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Gomersal St. Mary marriages 80 entries 1916-1920 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Gomersal St. Mary burials 500 entries 1918-1934 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Completed Heckmondwike 1871 Census ED1 (part of Heckmondwike) 1269 individuals added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Heckmondwike Cemetery Unconsecrated burials 500 entries 1902-1906 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Heckmondwike Cemetery Consecrated burials 500 entries 1888-1895 added (15 Jan 2026)

• Completed Heckmondwike Upper Chapel baptisms 300 entries 1823-1837 added (15 Jan 2026)

• New Tales from the Past - Tales from the Grave: Lost at Sea added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Liversedge 1871 Census ED17-ED20 (selected entries only) added (15 Jan 2026)

• New Cleckheaton 1881 Census ED13 (part of Scholes) 691 individuals added (15 Jan 2026)

• Updated Through the Keyhole Wilton House new page added (22 Nov 2025)

• New Trade Directory Pigot & Co. National & Commercial Directory 1841 added (20 Nov 2025)