Dewsbury Trail

Dewsbury is a minster and market town on the River Calder, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Deusberie, which translates as Dewi’s fort, although the exact origins of the town’s name are unclear. It is art of West Yorkshire’s former “Heavy Woollen District” (of which it is the largest town), reflecting the growth it experienced due to the textile industry in the nineteenth century. Immigration during the nineteen sixties had a big impact on the town’s demographic, with a population that is now very ethnically diverse, and this diversity is reflected in the town’s market, which continues to be popular. Many of the town’s historic buildings have survived decades of change and a period of post-industrial decline, including, most notably, its minster.

Dewsbury Trail Google Map

Dewsbury Railway Station opened in 1848, was renamed Dewsbury Wellington Road in 1924, and regained its original (and current) name in 1969. The handsome station building is Grade II-listed. Leave the station via the main entrance to reach Dewsbury Ring Road. Cross over and bear right down Wellington Street, passing the Reporter Building on the corner. Follow the street until it ends at Daisy Hill, then turn left, passing the former Central Methodist Church (now Dewsbury Elim Pentecostal Church) on the corner. Before turning left into Grove Street, take a short detour down School Street on the right, to view the former Church of England School.

Follow Grove Street to Bond Street, looking out for Number 4 on the right hand side of the road, which was originally built as an auction house. Turn left along Bond Street to return to Dewsbury Ring Road, then turn right. Immediately turn right again along Croft Street. At the end of the road, turn left along Branch Road, then right down a cobbled lane to Halifax Road, passing the impressive Dewsbury Pioneers Building on the left.

Cross Halifax Road and turn left along Northgate, then turn right into Foundry Street. Turn left again along Whitehall Way, passing the former Cloth Hall Mills on the left. Turn right and walk through Dewsbury Market to reach the Victorian Market Hall. Bear right to Corporation Street, then turn left and follow the road as it bends left and becomes Crackenedge Way. Follow this round the back of the Market Hall, then cross over and bear right, passing the façade of the former Dewsbury Central Station, which is incorporated into a viaduct. This station opened in 1874 and closed in 1964; the line serving the station closed the following year.

Turn right in front of the station façade and follow an alleyway to Dewsbury Baptist Church. Bear to the left of this, then turn right and follow Wakefield Old Road to Longcauseway, passing Dewsbury Town Hall on the left. The Grade II-listed town hall was built from 1886-1889.

Dewsbury Town Hall.

Cross the road and walk straight ahead across Market Place, then turn left and follow Northgate. Stay on Northgate as it becomes Westgate, passing the historic Wellington Tavern on the left. Just after the road bends left and becomes Church Street, turn left and follow Tithe Barn Street. When the road turns left, turn right and walk between buildings, then bear left to reach Longcauseway, passing Longcauseway United Reform Church on the left.

Turn right and walk to Vicarage Road. Cross this and turn right, shortly reaching Dewsbury Minster, formally the Minster Church of All Saints. This Grade II*-listed building dates from the thirteenth century, although it was rebuilt in 1895.

Dewsbury Minster.

Turn left past the Minster to reach Wilton Street and follow this to the road bridge over the River Calder. Do not cross the bridge, but instead turn right and follow a path running close to the river to Aldams Road. Turn left and follow the road to Mill Street West, then cross straight over this and proceed along a path and cycle track that follows the edge of the river for a while before turning right away from it to follow the Calder flood relief channel. Continue along this to reach Thornhill Road, then left and follow the road bridge over the channel before turning right and following Island View alongside the channel.

On reaching the River Calder again, follow the path as it turns right and crosses a footbridge over the wall separating the flood relief channel from the Calder. The path continues to follow the river, shortly passing under a railway viaduct, before leaving it to join the end of Backravenswarf Road. Follow this to Huddersfield Road, then turn left, cross over, and walk up a path that joins the Spen Valley Greenway, which we encountered on the Ravensthorpe walk.

Follow the Greenway to a crossroads of paths, then turn right to reach the end of Burgh Mill Lane.  Follow this to Ravenshouse Road, then turn right again, before crossing over and turning left to enter Dewsbury Cemetery. Follow the path straight ahead through the cemetery, eventually climbing steps and passing between two Grade II-listed but derelict cemetery chapels to leave on the end of Cemetery Road. Follow this to Heckmondwike Road, then turn left.

Turn right and enter Crow Nest Park. This park opened to the public in 1893 and occupies what were the grounds of a country house estate dating from the sixteenth century. Take a detour to the right to view the Temple (a stone-built summer house) and visit the lake; otherwise continue straight ahead, passing the Grade II-listed Crow Nest House (which dates from the early eighteenth century) on the left. Walk to the South African War memorial statue and then turn left, following a path uphill to a large war memorial near to the park’s top entrance. Do not leave the park, but instead turn right, following a path next to a rugby pitch, then bearing left to leave the park on Boothroyd Lane.

Turn right and follow the road as it becomes Moorland Road. Just after the junction with Moorlands Avenue on the left, turn left and follow an alleyway that runs between houses to reach the end of Northfield Street. Follow this, then bear right across a grassy, open space to reach Halifax Road. Turn right and follow this, passing the former Dewsbury Infirmary building and the Bath Hotel on the left. Just before the road passes under a railway viaduct, Sprinkwell Mill (now converted into flats) can be seen on the left; turn right opposite this and follow Eightlands Road, which eventually bends left and becomes Milton Walk (look left here to see the former County Court Building. Finally, continue to follow Milton Walk as it bends right, then turn left to enter the rear entrance to Dewsbury Railway Station.

From Dewsbury, there is one more stop to make along the Huddersfield Line before it enters the City of Leeds, as we visit another of Kirklees’ ten towns…