Leave your car at home and step back in time to medieval Heptonstall
STEEPED IN HISTORY AND HERITAGE, VILLAGE ALSO HAS AN EERIE PAST
HEPTONSTALL, a charming yet eerie village with no cars and rumours of hauntings, feels as if it’s trapped in time.
This medieval hamlet in West Yorkshire is home to fewer than 1,500 residents and has managed to withstand the post-industrial storm that has transformed many nearby villages into commuter towns. Perched above Hebden Bridge, Heptonstall still features cobbled streets, two pubs, a post office, a museum and not one, but two churches.
Cars are seldom seen here. Unless there’s a compelling reason to venture into Heptonstall’s late medieval heart, you’ll likely have to park at the bowling club on the outskirts of the newer part of the village.
The absence of cars, coupled with the preserved cobbled streets and centuries-old buildings, gives the impression of stepping back into a pre-industrial era.
However, Heptonstall is far from being stuck in the past. Its close proximity to the ultra-bohemian town of Hebden Bridge has positively influenced the village.
It boasts a welcoming atmosphere that strikes a balance between tradition and modernity.
Despite an influx of newcomers or ‘incumdens’ - as they’re known by locals - there are still families who have been living in this quaint place for hundreds of years.
Heptonstall, a village steeped in history and heritage, is home to Marguerite Eccles, a 69-year-old retired council worker who has lived there for decades. She said: “It’s a brilliant place to live and be. There’s an awful lot of heritage and history and yet it’s a living, breathing village,” she remarked.
Marguerite believes the village’s charm lies in its ability to maintain community hubs like pubs and churches.
She added: “I think it’s special because it’s managed to keep its pubs, churches and friends groups going. It’s not like a lot of villages in the country where the heart has been ripped out.”
Heptonstall is also known for its eerie past, with tales of ghostly sightings linked to its role in the English Civil War and a brutal murder connected to the Cragg Vale Coiners at The Cross Inn in 1771.
Despite this, locals like Dave Redman, a former pub DJ, wouldn’t dream of leaving. He stated simply: “I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
Jess Crook agrees, finding the village idyllic for family life: “It’s just lovely. The kids all play out. It’s gorgeous here.
I don’t have any complaints.”
Heptonstall’s first recorded existence dates back to the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1274, with its name originating from ‘stable in Hebden,’ where Hebden translates to ‘rosehip valley.’ The original St Thomas Beckett Church, now a ruin, has a history dating back to around 1260.
The original church in Heptonstall was severely damaged during a storm in 1847, which led to services being relocated to St Thomas the Apostle Church, completed in 1854.