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Heptonstall, a village perched above Hebden Bridge, is often seen on TV, usually standing in for other locations. Despite changes in its residents’ wealth, the village’s aesthetic remains largely unchanged from 200 years ago, making it a popular choice for TV and film producers.
Most recently, it was used in The Gallows Pole, where it represented Cragg Vale on the opposite side of the Calder Valley. Unlike the real Cragg Vale, which has a large main road running through it, Heptonstall features a cobbled main street with restricted vehicular access. It also boasts a definite ‘village centre’, packed with buildings dating back to the Middle Ages, unlike Cragg Vale.
The village was chosen by top director Shane Meadows for The Gallows Pole, a biopic loosely based on the Cragg Vale Coiners. But this isn’t the first time Heptonstall has appeared on screen.
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In 1993, it stood in for 1830s Lancashire in the drama Mr Wroe’s Virgins, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Minnie Driver. In 2010, it featured in the sitcom The Gemma Factor, starring Claire King.
Furthermore, the extended cemetery of St Thomas Becket’s Church and other locations around the village appear in Sally Wainwright’s hit crime drama Happy Valley.
One of the first things that strikes visitors to Heptonstall is its strong sense of community. Even as traditional villages are increasingly filled with newcomers and B&Bs, they still manage to retain a sense of community spirit.
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However, in Heptonstall, this feeling is even more pronounced. The DIY ethos of Hebden Bridge spread to Heptonstall decades ago, resulting in an impressive amount of activity for a village of around 1,500 residents.
The village boasts the Heptonstall Museum, which also serves as a community centre, a Post Office, and two pubs – The White Lion and The Cross Inn. Having two pubs in such a small village is something of a rarity in post-smoking ban Britain.
Things to do in Heptonstall.
(Image: Dave Himelfield)
Visit the two churches.
Aside from the Methodist Chapel, Heptonstall has two St Thomas Becket churches: a ruined one with sections dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries, and its 1854 replacement on the other side of the graveyard.
See the Coiners’ grave.
The leaders of the Cragg Vale Coiners, ‘King’ David Hartley and his brother and deputy Isaac Hartley, are buried in the graveyard between the two churches.
Visit Sylvia Plath’s grave.
In the graveyard behind the newer St Thomas Becket church lies the gravestone of American poet Sylvia Plath. Plath, who penned famous works like The Bell Jar, was married to author Ted Hughes, who was born down the valley in Mytholmroyd.
Plath, who battled severe depression and had made multiple suicide attempts, took her own life at her London flat in 1963. It’s been suggested that Hughes, who passed away in 1998, was abusive towards Plath, which could explain why the Hughes part of her name has been repeatedly scratched off the headstone.
The graveyard is featured in Happy Valley.
(Image: Dave Himelfield)
Heptonstall Museum.
This building, originally a warehouse dating back to around 1600, now serves as a museum and community centre. Fans of The Gallows Pole might recognise it as Barb’s pub.
The Cross Inn.
Run by the team behind Todmorden’s renowned Golden Lion, this pub and guesthouse also plays a role in the Coiners’ tale. Upon entering, you’ll find a bar room on the left with a fireplace, where an informer met a gruesome end at the hands of two Coiner thugs.
Today, visitors can enjoy excellent ale, delicious Thai food and classic old school dance tunes.
(Image: Dave Himelfield)
(Image: Element Pictures (GP) Limited/Objective Feedback LLC/Dean Rogers)
