What's On in Hebden Bridge
and the surrounding area - 2025
Exhibition: 185 Years of Train Travel
To celebrate Railway 200 the Friends of Hebden Bridge Station have organised an exhibition during November at the Town Hall, "185 Years of Train Travel". There also will be some railway-themed children's activities in the half term at Hebden Bridge Library which will have a display in the upper room.
Phoenix Brass at Wadsworth Community Centre
Doors open at 6.45pm and the concert starts at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £10 and are available by contacting:
Ian: 07533 758112
Derek: 07890 205980
The bar will be open and cask ales, pie and peas and curries will be available to purchase.
All proceeds go towards the Old Town Bowling Club fund to purchase a new storage shed for bowling and greenkeeping equipment.
Todmorden Book Festival
Celebrate stories, ideas and imagination at Todmorden Book Festival. Over nine days this November, find acclaimed authors, journalists, poets, activists, and artists for a vibrant programme of talks, workshops, and performances.
This year's line-up features Denise Mina, John Harris, Bobby Joseph, Kate Evans and many more, alongside fresh new voices and local talent. From gripping crime fiction and powerful memoir to poetry, graphic novels, history, and outdoors – there's something for every reader.
The festival also includes creative workshops, free community events, and a schools programme inspiring the next generation of writers and readers.
Wadsworth Walking Market
Join us for the Wadsworth Walking Market on Sunday 9th November 11-4
- Wainsgate Chapel
- Wadsworth Community Centre
- Old Town Cricket Club
- Old Town Primary School
There is no ATM up here in Old Town and with the Mobile Network Outage we are experiencing in the local area, our stall holder will not be able to rely on their card readers. Wi-Fi and reception on the hillside can be intermittent at the best of times, so it is advisable to bring plenty of cash to ensure you can make your purchases and avoid disappointment.
We will be collecting £1 per adult on the door, to buy a wristband that allows you entry to all 4 venues. Admission for children is free. The monies raised on entry will be donated to a local charity.
Remembrance Sunday at
Pecket Well Memorial Garden
This year Wadsworth Parish Council's remembrance service will be taking place at 2pm at Pecket Well Memorial Garden, above Hebden Bridge, on Sunday 9 November. Cllr Fowler will read a poem and the Chair of the Council, Cllr Kimber, will lay the wreath.
Earlier in the day a memorial wreath will have been placed at Smeekin Hill War Memorial, and parishioners are encouraged to take a walk to the memorial if they so wish.
Wadsworth Parish Council has once again taken the decision to use more sustainable wreathes, with natural foliage, moss and fabric poppies.
The council will be providing tea and coffee at the Robin Hood Inn in Pecket Well after the service. All Wadsworth residents are warmly welcomed.
XGENERATIONX
at The Trades Club with Generation X drummer Mark Laff
Legendary punk musician Mark Laff is set to make an electrifying comeback in 2025 with his new project, XGENERATIONX, performing the songs of Generation X that he played such a key role in creating with Billy Idol.
Mark Laff's return to the live music scene has been highly anticipated by punk rock fans across the globe.
Generation X were an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976. They were the musical starting point of the career of their frontman Billy Idol and issued six singles that made the UK singles chart and two albums that reached the UK Albums Chart. The band's UK hit singles include Your Generation, Ready Steady Go, King Rocker and Valley of the Dolls.
XGENERATIONX is poised to capture the spirit of Generation X and its songs while pushing the boundaries of their sound in exciting new directions.
Joining Mark Laff and Elizabeth Westwood on this explosive tour is legendary multi-instrumentalist Steve Norman from Spandau Ballet.
More info: www.xgenerationx.com
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Echoes from the Meadows:
a history of High Hirst Farm
AGM followed by talk
Speaker: Paul Knights
High Hirst was a grand, 16th-century farm that once loomed over Hebden Bridge from the hilltop which is now home to the Dodnaze Estate. This talk will trace the generations of farmers who stewarded its fields, revealing rich stories of agricultural life, changing land use and the interwoven lives of those who lived and worked there. With the recent revival of traditional scything in High Hirst's meadows, this is an opportunity to hear the stories of a vanished farm that the land still remembers.
Paul Knights has spent the 16 years he has lived in Hebden Bridge exploring the deep relationship between people, place and nature in the upper Calder Valley. Through writing and photography, guided walks and community projects, he examines how people have shaped – and are shaped by – this remarkable landscape.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Dark Matter presents
Billy Mahonie
Instrumental rock outfit & John Peel favourites return to the stage after 24 years.
With a.P.A.t.T. - Avant garde acid punk
& DJ Sie Norfolk
Golden Lion Todmorden
8pm
Tickets via Skiddle
Film Festival launch
This year's launch event will feature a special screening of "Come See Me in the Good Light" on Saturday 15 November 2025 at 7pm at the Hebden Bridge Picture House, followed by a Q&A in conversation with Hebden Bridge Film Festival Director Louise Wadley.
Read more on this HebWeb news page.
Free Women's Filmmaking Workshops begin
The Hebden Bridge Film Festival is delighted to announce the return of its popular free filmmaking workshops for women, taking place this November and December at the Todmorden Learning Centre.
The workshop dates are: Group 1 - November 16th & 23rd, and Group 2 - December 7th & 14th, with a final joint session taking place on January 18th, 2026. Open to all experience levels, these sessions will offer participants the chance to collaborate, learn hands-on skills, and develop their own short films in a warm and welcoming space.
More info on this HebWeb news item.
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe is on at St Michael's Church Hall HX7 5DS
1pm to 4pm
We mend electricals, garments, bikes and will have a go at most things! Repairs by donation only.
Refreshments and our famous cakes!
All welcome.
Textile Craft Social
Thread Collective brings people together through creativity. Our socials are inclusive, friendly spaces for like-minded people to be creative together. Bring your own projects to work on; we welcome every kind of textile craft from embroidery and knitting to needle-felting and weaving. Come and join our creative community!
Our venue, The Albert, has delicious drinks and sweet treats available to fuel your crafting. Whether you're an experienced maker or picking up a craft for the first time, you're very welcome to our collective.
Our next social will be Wednesday 19th November from 5:30 til 7:30pm at The Albert.
Tickets are available here
Find out more about us on Instagram
The impact of the Industrial Revolution on the Ordinary Person
A talk by Bob Hayter
u3a Meeting at the Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub on Thursday, 20th November 2025 at 2pm
History tells us much about kings, queens and nobility but what about 'the man in the street' did he even live near a street? Bob will look at everyday life in rural England away from the few towns that existed. He will then examine how their lives changed with the industrial revolution.
The talk will consider where people lived, what they ate and what limitations and constraints they were under before asking if it was all really worth the benefit to 'ordinary people'
The Meeting starts at 2pm at Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub (Tod College) and is open to paid up members of the Todmorden u3a, but if you would like to attend you can enquire by going to www.u3atod.org.uk or by contacting membership@u3atod.org.uk
The Savages
After their triumphant appearance at Mytholmroyd Music Festival's Drive and Jive event in July, The Savages return to Mytholmroyd Community Centre by popular demand.
Expect an explosive set of monster rock n roll and rockabilly hits - these guys leave absolutely everything on the stage!
Ticket announcement coming soon - contact events@mycc.org.uk
Friday, 21st November, 7pm-11pm
Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre
Caldene Avenue, Mytholmroyd HX7 6LN
Dark Matter presents
Sly & the Family Drone + Lands and Body
Neo Jazz performed in the round
St Mary's Church Todmorden OL14 7BD
8pm
Tickets via Skiddle
Light up the Valley
Mytholmroyd 12 noon - 7pm
- Christmas Lights Switch-on
- Santa
- 50 Stall Festive Market
- Live Entertainment
- Food & Drink
- Children's Rides
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Archaeology from the Staffordshire Hoard to Hebden Bridge: a talk of two halves
Speaker: Stephen Dean
Work on the Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme offers an opportunity to uncover items that shed light on the history of Hebden Bridge. As a senior archaeologist with the Environment Agency, Stephen is keen to engage with local groups, keeping us up to date with what is going on.
The second half of the talk will be about some of the important items uncovered elsewhere, among the gold and silver that makes up the Staffordshire Hoard. What does this hoard tell us about tensions in society in the 7th century?
Stephen Dean has an academic and professional background in archaeology, having worked for Staffordshire County Council as an archaeologist for 13 years, involved in numerous projects including the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard.
As a Senior Archaeologist with the Environment Agency he has advised on flood defence schemes in Kendal, Carlisle and now Hebden Bridge.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Light up the Valley
Hebden Bridge 12 noon - 7pm
- Christmas Lights Switch-on
- Santa
- 50 Stall Festive Market
- Live Entertainment
- Food & Drink
- Children's Rides
Hebden Bridge to host Freedom to Roam conference
Town Hall, 2-5.30pm
The conference will provide an occasion to consider how a Labour government can be persuaded to fill in the gaps in countryside access that still remain in England and Wales, even with the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.
The programme will include contributions from some of those most engaged in leading the battle for improved access rights. Organisers will be welcoming author and activist Amy-Jane Beer from the Right to Roam campaign, Kate Ashbrook of the Open Spaces Society (who's been a lifelong thorn in the side of those who would like to keep our countryside private!), and Jack Cornish from the Ramblers, the organisation which for generations has led the access movement and which helped bring the Countryside and Rights of Way Act to the statute book.
We'll also be welcoming the Labour MP Phil Brickell from across the Pennine moors in Lancashire and his colleague Andy Macnae, both active in the recently established All-Party Parliamentary Committee for outdoor recreation and access.
Read more on this HebWeb news item
Hebden Bridge Literary and Scientific Society
Dr Anthony Arak: The Insect Crisis
Insect Armageddon? Fact or Fear.
Insects are disappearing — worldwide and here at home. What does this mean for humanity? Could this crisis be more damaging than climate change, or is the threat being exaggerated?
Anthony will explore what the decline in insect populations really means for us. He is uniquely qualified to guide us. He studied Zoology at Oxford, gained his PhD and post-doctoral experience at Cambridge, taught ethology at Stockholm University, and is now Chair of Halifax Scientific Society. He has studied many groups of animals, but moths remain his great love — and they will play a starring role in this talk.
Location: Hebden Bridge Town Hall
Time: 7.30 – 9.00 pm
(bar open from 6.30pm)
Multi-Mic
In the historic Octagonal Chapel on Northgate in Heptonstall. This will be a 'Multi-Mic' event with lots of different performers doing short sets while lunch, tea and cake plus Christmas gifts will be on offer through the afternoon.
Map making workshop with cartographer Christopher Goddard
Venue: The Local Motive Station building, Hebden Bridge, HX7 5DU
Time: 1pm - 4pm
A 3.5 mile walk around Broadhead Clough with cartographer Christopher Goddard. There will be various mapping exercises on route to get you thinking about how you experience the landscape and might represent that in map form. Please bring your own notebook and pens, and wear suitable outdoor clothing.
The event is suitable for people aged 16+
Book here
Stepping Back from the Brink
Open Meeting
Caroline Lucas (online), Vice-President CND & former Green MP
Steve Barwick, Chair of Nuclear Education Trust.
In an increasingly insecure, conflicted and militaristic world, how can we work together to get back on a path towards global security, peace and disarmament.
Organised by Calder Valley CND for Peace & Justice
Dark Matter presents
GNOD
Popular psychedelic noise rockers stop in for show in their home town on their tour
With support from Portuguese drummer, percussionist and cymbal maker Joao Pais Filipe and DJ Red Tin Dave.
The Mill - Walsden, Todmorden
Hebden Makes Christmas
December Open Studios and Art & Craft Fair
From Friday 5 - Sunday 7 December more than 80 artists and craftspeople will take part in Hebden Makes Christmas, organised by Hebden Bridge Open Studios across Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge.
Pick up a leaflet with map and listings of all the artists who are opening their studios to the public, for sales, a look behind the scenes and conversation. As part of the event we're also hosting three art and craft fairs, for those local artists whose studios are not central to Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge to come together and share their creativity with you.
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
The Making of Sowerby Bridge
Speaker: Julian Carr
The story of how a few small hamlets strung along the River Calder grew into a milltown that was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in West Yorkshire. It was ahead of Halifax, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Hand-in-hand with its industries, the hamlets evolved into a complex Georgian community. Skipping a century and a half, the story will be brought up-to-date with the testimony of a few of the last mill-workers.
Julian Carr is a local historian living in the Ryburn Valley and the author of three books. The first focused on a mill and its people in Ripponden; the second ventured further afield to explore the mills of the Ryburn Valley. In his latest book Julian looks to the big valley and the mills and people of Sowerby Bridge.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Your chance to shine...... Hebden Royd Christian Aid presents the:
Big Christmas Sing
7pm. St Michael's Church, Mytholmroyd, HX7 5DS
Enjoy the voices of S'MAJIC choir and join with renowned organist David Baker to
- Sing your favourite Christmas carols
- Find out about the work done by Christian Aid
- Enjoy Festive fayre
All money raised will go to Christian Aid to help families survive violence and poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Please check Hebden Royd Christian Aid Group Facebook page for up to date information about this event
Dark Matter presents
Smote
'Head-down psych conjuring'
With Slow Knife + DJ Sie Norfolk
Golden Lion Todmorden
8pm
Tickets via Skiddle
Magician Ordinaire to the u3a
A Talk by Steven Price
Todmorden u3a at the Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub on Thursday, 18th December 2025 at 2pm
Steven became a full time performer in 2005 and loves to make people happy by using the formula of Comedy and Magic The talk includes a unique mix of magic, comedy and sleight of hand to amaze and amuse audiences all around the globe.
The meeting starts at 2pm at Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub (Tod College) and is open to paid up members of Todmorden u3a but if you would like to attend you can enquire by going to www.u3atod.org.uk or by contracting the membership@u3atod.org.uk
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Sam Hill of Soyland
Speaker: Anne Kirker
Sam Hill is probably our best known and most successful eighteenth century textile manufacturer, thanks to evidence from the extensive collection of his business documents held in Calderdale Archives. However, this talk aims to show him in a much broader light: as family man, a neighbour and man of property There was more to Sam than being merely a man of business.
Anne Kirker has been a regular speaker at Hebden Bridge and this talk revisits one given several years ago. Sam Hill retains his fascination. As a volunteer for Calderdale Heritage Walks, Anne has devised guided walks around Sam Hill's properties in Soyland. She has also published articles in the Transactions of Halifax Antiquarian Society. Anne is a volunteer with Calderdale Industrial Museum and has a keen interest in the history, buildings and people of Calderdale.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe is on at St Michael's Church Hall HX7 5DS
1pm to 4pm
We mend electricals, garments, bikes and will have a go at most things! Repairs by donation only.
Refreshments and our famous cakes!
All welcome.
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
From Westerman to Website: a story of Pennine Horizons Digital Archive
Speaker: Ann Kilbey
A well-illustrated presentation that tells how a mill worker started a photographic business that lasted for 100 years, and how it led to the setting up of a digital archive that is preserving the photographic heritage of the area, an archive that is gaining interest not just locally but world-wide.
Ann Kilbey's interest in local history started when she began working for Tourist Information 50 years ago in 1975! She is a longstanding member of the Local History Society, for at least 25 years, contributing hugely in many roles. She became involved with the Alice Longstaff Collection soon after Alice died in 1992, and this presentation tells the story of what happened after that.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Did he leave me anything? The history and traditions of will making
Speaker: Anne Mealia
Wills have always caused controversy and while many are straightforward others can give an insight into complex family relationships and the customs and laws of the time. This talk explores the history of will making from mediaeval to more recent times, some of the customs and the process of making and proving a will. It looks at how people ensured their loved ones received their inheritance and those out of favour didn't, using examples of loving and not so loving families.
Anne Mealia is a professional genealogist and historical researcher and runs her own business, Evergreen Ancestry. She is a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) She has carried out research for Who Do You Think You Are and was Archives Researcher for the Channel 4 documentary The Queen's Lost Family. She is a guide with Calderdale Heritage Walks and regularly leads walks in the Todmorden area.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Dark Matter presents
The Cromagnon Band + The Brackish
Moog and Rhodes heavy psych-funk + Thrillingly unique instrumental post-punk psych band with alumni of This is the Kit, Zun Zun Egui
Golden Lion Todmorden
8pm
Tickets via Skiddle
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
The Wainstall Waifs
Speaker: Kim Pearson
From 1876 more than 250 young girls came from the depths of the Liverpool Workhouse to Wainstalls Mills, more than a thousand feet above Halifax, to find employment, friendships, love and a future. This talk explores the context and the human story of this mass migration.
Kim Pearson describes herself as 'born, bred and buttered' in Halifax. Having lived for forty years in Wainstalls she felt a compulsion to know more about the story of these girls. This led to twenty years of research and an intimate knowledge of the girls that made them feel like family. Kim feels she is just a conduit for their real story.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Murder at Snow Booth:
Gender and Justice between the wars
Speaker: Matilda Wilding
What can the story of a local 1933 murder tell us about gender and justice between the wars? What might it reveal about those same themes in the modern day?
It's midsummer. Hill top farmers above Hebden Bridge are taking in the hay. Evening is falling. The final act of a cruel and brutal marriage is about to play out.
Matilda Wilding is the creator of Yorkshire: A Murderous History a podcast in which historical homicides (and sinister mysteries) are investigated for the illumination of the past and insights into our present day. The often untold stories of Yorkshire's working class women are front and centre of her work.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe is on at St Michael's Church Hall HX7 5DS
1pm to 4pm
We mend electricals, garments, bikes and will have a go at most things! Repairs by donation only.
Refreshments and our famous cakes!
All welcome.
Film Festival 2026
The 6th edition of the Hebden Bridge Film Festival will take place from 20-22 March 2025
Hebden Bridge Local History Society
Lawless Ladies: a thousand years
of female criminals
Speaker: Trish Colton with Diane Holloway
For more than a millennium women have been committing a range of crimes, including piracy, highway robbery, witchcraft and religious crimes. Some of these women were from Yorkshire, a few even from Calderdale. This talk describes the times, the women involved and the punishments they received.
Trish Colton and Diane Holloway are sisters who have lived in Yorkshire for many years and now retired. They write non-fiction books on historical themes, and enjoy having the time to carry out the research. Lawless Ladies is the second book that Trish and Diane have co-authored.
Methodist Church, Market Street. Hebden Bridge. 7.30pm, free to members; £4 for visitors
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe is on at St Michael's Church Hall HX7 5DS
1pm to 4pm
We mend electricals, garments, bikes and will have a go at most things! Repairs by donation only.
Refreshments and our famous cakes!
All welcome.
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe
Mytholmroyd Repair Cafe is on at St Michael's Church Hall HX7 5DS
1pm to 4pm
We mend electricals, garments, bikes and will have a go at most things! Repairs by donation only.
Refreshments and our famous cakes!
All welcome.