Huddersfield, West Yorkshire (confluence point)

felix

Geography Cat is delighted to receive this postcard from one of his fellow felines, Felix. As you may know, Felix is Senior Pest Controller at Huddersfield Railway Station. She is well loved by hundreds of thousands of fans across the world for her beauty and grace of course, but also for her wit and wisdom. Felix is a published author and does much work for charity. She is an inspiration! You can find out more about Felix the Huddersfeild Station Cat vis her Facebook page.

Huddersfield is a hidden gem, tucked into the confluence of the Rivers Holme and Colne, in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. Geography Cat’s human assistant lived, studied and worked there for many years and is rightly fond of the town.

 

hudds
Statue of Hudderfield-born former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, in front of Huddersfield railway station, proudly bedecked by Huddersfield Town FC  (Photo: Footy Headlines)

 

A confluence is the point at which two rivers meet. Industrial and market towns have frequently developed at confluence points because of the ample supply of water for transport, industry and human use. One of Geography Cat’s favourite confluence points is the confluence of the Rio Solimões with the Rio Negro (two tributaries of the River Amazon). Notice in the picture below how the sediment carried by each of those two rivers is different in colour and how they very slowly mingle together as the rivers join:

 

amazon negro
Photo from Awesci

 

Huddersfield is known for its role during the Industrial Revolution. Luddites, who began in Geography Cat’s home town of Nottingham, became involved with industrial disputes across the country, including the assassination of a Hudderfield mill owner, William Horsfall.

 

preston-clash
Credit linked here

 

Now, Huddersfield is an example of what is called a “former mill-town”; some of the mill buildings remain but the jobs associated with the textile trade have mostly disappeared. The mills themselves are sometimes converted into offices or apartments. This is making a new use for a brownfield site, one that was previously used and is now disused, or even derelict. See this example, Titanic Mill:

 

titanic mill
Credit: Historic England

 

Thanks again to Felix for putting her paw print on Geography Cat’s Project Postcard map.

 

 

8 Replies to “Huddersfield, West Yorkshire (confluence point)”

  1. Loved your write up of historic Huddersfield and fellow feline, Felix.
    Best not let that human rely too heavily on spellcheck, though; assignation is a word, but definitely not the one you dictated. 🙂

    1. She’s always in a rush! Thanks for letting me know, I’ll have a word with her 🐾

  2. Glad to see you are friendly with your fellow feline, Felix! And what a connection to Huddersfield!
    You’re doing great work Geography Cat!

    1. Thank you so much 🐾 Just trying to spread a love of geography 🌏🐾💚❤️

    1. Just pop it in the post addressed to Geography Cat, P.O. Box 10716, Nottingham, NG5 0JW
      Thank you 🌏🐾💚❤️

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