Huddersfield (England)

Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district, in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into the similar-sized Colne is to the south of the town centre, which then flows into the Calder in the north-eastern outskirts of the town. The rivers around the town provided soft water required for textile treatment in large weaving sheds; this made it a prominent mill town with an economic boom in the early part of the Victorian era Industrial Revolution. The town centre has much neoclassical Victorian architecture; an example is its railway station, a Grade I listed building described by John Betjeman as "the most splendid station façade in England." It won the Europa Nostra award for architecture. The town hosts the University of Huddersfield and three colleges: Greenhead College, Kirklees College and Huddersfield New College. It is the birthplace of rugby league with the local team, Huddersfield Giants, playing in the Super League. It also has a professional football team, Huddersfield Town, that currently competes in the EFL League One, as well as two Rugby Union clubs: Huddersfield R.U.F.C. and Huddersfield YM RUFC. Notable people include Labour former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and film star James Mason. The town has been classed under Yorkshire, the West Riding of Yorkshire and West Yorkshire for statistics throughout its history. The town's population in 1961 was 130,652 with an increase to 162,949 at the 2011 census; it is in the West Yorkshire Built-up Area. The town is 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Leeds, 12 miles (19 km) west of Wakefield, 23 miles (37 km) north-west of Sheffield and 24 miles (39 km) north-east of Manchester.