Amongst The Ghosts of Years Gone By....

A historic and attractive village set in the Pennine hills high above the tourist hotspot of Hebden Bridge, Heptonstall has often been overlooked but has recently been attracting an increasing number of visitors in its own right. I took a trip over there last weekend to have a look around this fascinating place where fact and fiction and truth and legend are often intertwined. And of course, whilst I was there I checked out the local pubs too....

Heptonstall is not so much steeped in history as completely drenched in it. Take a walk around the steep, cobbled streets between the solid gritstone buildings with their mullioned windows and the ruined church of St Thomas Becket and its historic graveyard with its worn and weathered gravestones, and you feel surrounded by the ghosts of years gone by. And whilst vehicles are allowed in the village on an access-only basis, with the 596 bus able to pass through on its way to other hilltop settlements nearby, the lack of much traffic makes it a pleasant place to walk around. Like several of the settlements that dot the hills around the Calder Valley, Heptonstall was originally a centre for hand loom weaving using wool from the sheep that lived on the surrounding hillsides. The evangelist John Wesley was a regular visitor to the village, where he preached at the distinctive octagonal Methodist church which had been completed in 1764, and whilst these days it isn't used every week, it still holds several services a year plus weddings, baptisms, and funerals, and is believed to be the oldest Methodist church in the country that is in continuous use.

Heptonstall

I have always thought that Heptonstall is a lot more attractive than the tourist hotspot of Haworth, a few miles across the moors to the north, and locally more visitors have gone to its near neighbour in the valley below, Hebden Bridge. However, interest in this historical village has stepped up in recent weeks with the BBC TV screening of The Gallows Pole, Shane Meadows' adaption of Benjamin Myers' book of the same name. The book itself is a fictionalised story of the Coiners, a real-life 18th century gang of counterfeiters, who clipped the edges of gold coins and used the clippings to mint new 'coins' which provoked the fear that they would undermine the value of the currency and consequently the stability of the country. The gang were based in the valley of Cragg Vale a few miles away from Heptonstall, but they have connections here and indeed their leader, 'King' David Hartley, is buried in the graveyard there beside the ruined church along with members of his family, with modern-day coins scattered over the gravestone. Meanwhile, there are additional points of interest as in the part of the graveyard next to the 'new' parish church of St Thomas the Apostle, the American poet Sylvia Plath is buried, having been married to former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, who was born nearby in Mytholmroyd. There is a museum in the village which gives further insights into the history of this fascinating little village. And as it happens, the museum was also used as the exterior of the Barb's pub featured in the TV adaption of The Gallow's Pole. Barb's is an abbreviation of Barbary's, which is the name of the bar in present day Mytholmroyd, named after the pub where the Coiners regularly drank.

The graveyard of 'King' David Hartley, Heptonstall

Heptonstall has a couple of pubs in the village, both of which I had last visited several years ago, and whilst neither have troubled the Good Beer Guide in recent years, they both serve real ale.  After I'd had a wander around the village, on another hot and sunny afternoon, I was more than ready for some refreshment, and as I walked into the White Lion, the higher up of two pubs, the cool air within this attractive stone-walled pub was most welcome. I walked in the room featuring the bar, there was a further room to the right, whilst to the rear was a beer garden, but I decided to stay inside and by the bar. There were 3 handpumps featuring two beers from Harrogate Brewery and Golden Salamander from Stubbee. I decided to try a half of the Harlow Blonde, which was a refreshing and pleasant NBSS 3. Back in the 1970's this had been a Whitbread pub, which meant that it was devoid of any real ale. It seems that these days gin is a big thing here with over 170  different varieties stocked and apparently they have a couple of gin festivals here every year. It was fairly quiet for a while with just a few people dotted around both rooms. Suddenly there was an invasion and a large group of visitors entered disturbing the erstwhile calm as they peered around the bar as they ordered their drinks. Duly satisfied, they headed off out back with their drinks and calm was restored. It is well worth popping in here if you are in the village.

On the bar at the White Lion

It was a short walk down Towngate to number 46 for the second of Heptonstall's pubs. The Cross Inn dates from 1617 and was originally known as the Stocks Inn, then later became the Union Cross, before its name was shortened to the current one. Over the years it has taken over and incorporated a number of neighbouring cottages which means the pub these days sprawls over several rooms, as well as having a number of rooms to stay upstairs. It was for many years a Timothy Taylor's tied house, and still was the last time I had called in, but it was sold off a few years ago and is now a free house offering a range of beers which on this visit included Taylors Landlord, Thornbridge Jaipur, and Saltaire Cascade, which is what I went for (a bit early in the day for Jaipur, I thought). I sat down to drink my pint and check my phone. The Cascade was a solid enough NBSS 3 and as I drank it I sat there and enjoyed the vibe created by the friendly team behind the bar and a few lads sat beside it.

The Cross is now overseen by Matthanee aka Gig, who also runs the famous Golden Lion in Todmorden. The pub features food from her native Thailand, and despite being a hotel, still very much retains the atmosphere of a traditional pub. The place had been smartened up since I last called in, with the familiar shade of brewer's duck egg much in evidence. A previous owner had stripped back the paintwork and decor and exposed flags and an ancient stone fireplace which in another flashback to the Coiners had been the scene of a gruesome murder as depicted in The Gallows Pole, back in the Union Cross days, when a suspected informant of their activities to the authorities had been thrust into the fire and had burning coals shoved down his trousers. Today the nearby tables were set up neatly ready for diners, who would no doubt enjoy their Pad Thai or Kra Tiem Prik Thai, most of them totally unaware that such a grisly deed had once happened only a few feet away....

The Cross Inn, Heptonstall, and THAT fireplace....

I left The Cross, which is definitely worth a visit, undecided whether to walk or catch the bus back down the hill to Hebden Bridge. However, as I walked down the hill I spotted a small queue that had formed beside the bus stop, and decided on expediency grounds to join it. And sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the 596 appeared from around the corner, and a few minutes later, having made the descent to the floor of the Calder Valley, I had got off and was heading towards the iconic Fox and Goose which lies beside the road junction with the A646 at the bottom of the steep hill up to Heptonstall.

The Fox and Goose was the first community-run pub in Yorkshire. It is a serial award winner, and was Halifax & Calderdale CAMRA Pub of the Year as recently as 2022. With a quirky nature and sprawling area which extends over several rooms and a terraced beer garden above the pub on the steep hillside, it is a must-visit if you are in Hebden Bridge. There was a plank of wood resting on a couple of barrels to form a bench outside at the front of the pub but probably due to the heat, there were no takers. The bar is directly facing you as you walk into the pub. There are 6 hand pumps on the bar, with the 3.8% Brewers Gold from Pictish Brewery on permanently, with 5 guest ales on the others, which generally are from local breweries. I ordered a pint of the Brewers Gold as I hadn't drunk it for ages. Pictish are one of these somewhat unsung breweries who quietly get on with it, and have been doing so since they were formed in Rochdale in 2000. The fact that pubs like the Fox and Goose and, for example, the Star in Huddersfield, pubs renowned for the quality of their ales, use Brewers Gold as their permanent beer speaks volumes for the beer's consistency. And I enjoyed my reunion with this refreshing and well-balanced session ale (NBSS 3).

I'd taken my beer into the room to the left of the bar, where a couple were just getting up to leave, so for a few minutes I was on my own. A few walkers came in and sat at the table opposite, the introductions amongst themselves ("I'm Roy", "Jane, nice to meet you") suggesting that they were part of an organised walking group. Then another couple came in, then another. The odd dog. More followed, I shuffled up once, then again so I was on my own in a corner, and whilst I can't say that they were in any way unfriendly, I suddenly felt an outsider. I finished my pint, and had already decided to sit elsewhere when I got my second pint. I went back to the bar and ordered a Pheasant Plucker, one of two beers on the bar from Bowland Brewery, and had a look in the small room to the right of the bar for somewhere to sit, but ended up at a table in the main bar where I could keep an eye on the comings and goings in this friendly and characterful pub. My beer was most enjoyable, at 3.7% it is a well-rounded bitter with plenty of flavour (NBSS 3.5). Plenty were going upstairs to the beer garden, but I was pleased to have a break from the sun. The Fox & Goose never fails to please these days, and is an essential place to call in if you have the opportunity.

The bar in the Fox & Goose, Hebden Bridge

I finished my pint, took my glass back to the bar, and thanked the pleasant team who were working. It was then two minutes' walk back to the bus stop, and after a few minutes the 592 bus pulled up and I was on my way back to Halifax. I'd had a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting afternoon in a fascinating historic village and called in three excellent pubs along the way....

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