Copley, West Yorkshire

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Copley, West Yorkshire is a small rural village in Northern England, situated just south of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is widely recognized as one of the snowiest permanent settlements in England, and falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees.

Key moments

Settlement naming origin traces back to Old English terms meaning "hilltop clearing or wooded area", following standard Pennine region toponym conventions
Local community established a dedicated outdoor ski centre to take advantage of its unusually high annual natural snowfall, catering to regional winter recreation visitors

Unique Climatic Niche

Copley's elevated Pennine fringe location creates a local microclimate that delivers far higher snow accumulation than nearly all other populated areas in lowland England, eliminating the need for many local winter sports enthusiasts to travel long distances to Scotland or continental European Alpine resorts for casual winter activity.

Regional Rural Identity

As a small unspoiled Pennine village, Copley retains the tight-knit, community-focused character typical of West Yorkshire's rural settlements, with a local economy heavily tied to agricultural activity, low-impact tourism, and small local service businesses rather than large-scale urban or industrial development.

country	England
official name	Copley
static image name	Copley-by-Humphrey-Bolton.jpg
static image caption	Copley from Greetland
coordinates	53.698°N, -1.871°W
pushpin map	United Kingdom Calderdale
population	1,541
metropolitan borough	Calderdale

metropolitan county	West Yorkshire

region	Yorkshire and the Humber

constituency westminster	Halifax

post town	HALIFAX

postcode district	HX3

postcode area	HX

dial code	01422

os grid reference	SE0822

Copley is a village in the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Halifax and east of Sowerby Bridge. It is situated by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation canal.

Facilities

It was served by Copley railway station from 1856 to 1931.[1]

Today the village has a hairdressers,[2] a health spa, a garage, Land Rover and Camper Van dealerships[3] and one pub, The Volunteer Arms.[4] St Stephens Church, built in 1861-1865 by Colonel Edward Akroyd for the workers at his textile mill is an early work of the local architect William Henry Crossland.[5]

The village has two sports clubs, Copley Cricket Club who play in the Halifax Cricket League and the Old Rishworthian rugby team. Both clubs are well established and Old Rishworthians currently play in Yorkshire 1 (level 7) of the RFU National League structure. Both clubs are located in picturesque settings with the Calder and Hebble Navigation to the north and the River Calder to the south. The main Leeds to Manchester railway line is near both grounds. Sporting events are held at both locations, as well as various other special functions throughout the year.

One of the key computer data centres for Lloyds Banking Group is located a few miles outside the village. This was formerly the main data centre for HBOS before the merger between Lloyds and HBOS.[6][7]

Education

Copley Primary School is situated on Wakefield Road in Copley[8] which sits within the catchment area for Ryburn Valley High School.[9]

Notable people

Christina Marshall Colville (1852–1936), temperance leader[10]

External links

References

Neil Burgess. The lost railways of Yorkshire's West Riding. The central section : Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield Stenlake, 2014^
Copley Cutz Halifax Yell.co.uk, retrieved 26 March 2020^
Stonelake of Halifax Stonelake of Halifax, retrieved 26 March 2020^