The newly refurbished Heptonstall Methodist Chapel is hosting a concert by two local choirs, the Three Valleys Gospel Choir and Zarebi, on Saturday 24 March.
Tickets are £7 or £5 concessions (including under-26s) and are available from Tony’s Post Office.
Unfortunately, the Cross pub is closed until further notice. A sign has been put on the door by bailiffs saying they have taken possession of the property.
For further updates see the facebook page .
Meanwhile, the events planned for the Cross, particularly the open mic night on Friday 22 December at 8.30pm, will be held in the White Lion.
This Friday sees the return of the Open Mic to the White Lion pub, Heptonstall.
All are welcome to play, sing, cavort, or just watch and marvel.
The fun starts at 8.30pm on Friday, 23 June. Don’t miss it!
The annual Methodist chapel sponsored walk starts at 1.00pm on Sat 13th May from St Thomas’ Church, as the chapel is closed for refurbishment.
It is about 10 miles with a stop for crisps and orange juice at half- way and the chance of a ride back if it has got too much. We also finish at St Thomas’ where there will be the usual “Sunday School” tea. It will probably take about 4 hours.
The new Friends of Heptonstall Chapel and Sunday School has received a grant of £3,000 towards a feasibility study of conversion of the Sunday School from Calderdale Council, plus a further £1,000 from Heptonstall Parish Council.
Although this is not sufficient for a full feasibility study, it is a very good starting point towards the kind of level of detail that would be required for a large Heritage Lottery Grant application. A full study would cost about £6,000, and the group is looking at additional sources of funding.
The Friends group will be spending part of this money on financial projections for a holiday let on the lower floor and public hall upstairs in the Sunday School, and on architect’s sketches for creating this with disabled access to both floors. When these are available they will be made public for comment.
The Friends group is also looking at ways of forging stronger links between the Chapel and community. To this end, with the Church Council’s support, three local textile artists will display their work as part of the Hebden Bridge Open Studios event in July.If the Chapel renovations are not completed by then, they will use the Sunday School.
The group is also hoping to organise a Gala production of an unusual version of Handel’s Messiah to be performed in the Chapel in Spring 2018. This will incorporate Easter sections of the piece not often performed and use young local soloists for a brighter sound than the traditional Christmas version.
Another of the popular open mic evenings will be held at the White Lion on Friday, March 24th.
Everyone is welcome to join in whether you are a singer, musician, juggler or performance poet; or just come and watch.
Test test test
Come and bag a bargain at Blackshaw Head chapel on 11 February from 1pm to 4pm.
Bric-a-brac, books, good-as-new, etc, with refreshments in Pat’s Pantry.
All in aid of Cancer Research UK!
The second set of Heptonstall’s advent windows. All photos by Christine.
Heptonstall locals produce real advent calendar windows throughout the village. Here are the first few days, all pictures by local photographer Christine.
The Family day on Saturday, February 26, has been moved to St Thomas’ Church and the Bowling Club. Due to forecasts of poor weather, there will be no events in Weavers Square. Some alterations to the timetables have been made. New timetables below. More details including bus times on the Family Day page.
Towngate is due to be closed to traffic between Hepton Drive and Valley View Road from 5th to 11th April whilst Yorkshire Water/Morrison Utility Services replace a water hydrant opposite No. 19. During the closure the official diversion for traffic in and out of the Village will be via Lee Wood Road/Draper Corner/Smithwell Lane but local traffic is likely to divert via Hepton Drive, Longfield and Valley View Road. During the period of closure there is thus likely to be heavier traffic than usual on the Hepton Drive/Longfield/Valley View Road circuit. Thanks to John Scarborough for the information.
A vintage bus will be picking up in Hebden and driving round the village all day on Saturday 26 March, delivering passengers to the family fun day events, see below for timetable.
The annual fete at the chapel and field opposite will have a full programme of events including a dog show, Punch and Judy, adults and children’s produce competitions and much more on Saturday, September 5.
The fete will start at 1.30pm, and the fell race at 2pm. The Punch and Judy show is at 2pm followed by children’s games and dog agility at 2.30pm. The magic show is at 3.30pm and the tug of war at 4pm.
Produce, including cakes, jam, vegetables, etc, must be entered in the morning. See below for the full programme.
Don’t forget tomorrow’s family picnic at Popples Common to help find out local people’s views on the future of the Slack Baptist Chapel. The Big Picnic will take place from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, 12 July. Bring your own food and blanket, find out more about ideas for the future of the building, and share your own thoughts.
The chapel was sold by the Baptists several years ago and is currently owned by an evangelical Christian group, however services have had to be moved because of problems renovating the building. Suggestions to use it as a halfway house for those recovering from drug abuse were dropped after objections from local residents. Could the chapel become a community centre, or could there be other uses for the building? All are welcome to this picnic to talk and find out more.
A family picnic is to be held on Popples Common to help find out local people’s views on the future of the Slack Baptist Chapel. The Big Picnic will take place from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, 12 July. Bring your own food and blanket, find out more about ideas for the future of the building, and share your own thoughts.
The chapel was sold by the Baptists several years ago and is currently owned by an evangelical Christian group, however services have had to be moved because of problems renovating the building. Suggestions to use it as a halfway house for those recovering from drug abuse were dropped after objections from local residents. Could the chapel become a community centre, or could there be other uses for the building? All are welcome to this picnic to talk and find out more.
Can anyone please donate old jam jars, ice-cream tubs or any unwanted soft toys or teddies for game stalls in the Bowling Club at the Heptonstall Festival? If so, please could you drop off to the reception of Heptonstall School or give me a call Beth Hardman to organise collection 07796 265027
The 200th anniversary of Blackshaw Head Methodist Chapel will be celebrated on Sunday 14 June, and all are welcome to attend.
There will be an informal service at 4.30pm for all the family, followed by refreshments and a chance to look at a display of old photographs.
The chapel was originally built on the site of a bull baiting ring, and is in a classic Georgian style. A Sunday School wing was added in 1838, and within five years had 240 scholars and 66 teachers. It is still well used by community groups.
For more information, RSVP Roger on 01422 844214, or email blackshawhead.chapel@me.com or visit www.blackshawhead-chapel.net
Call out for help with stalls!
Older children are wanted to help out manning the stalls at the children’s events at the Bowling Club.
Youngsters earn £10 for 6 hours work on festival day plus a sweetie bag, or alternatively £1 a hour if you can’t spare all day! Please contact Beth Hardman for more information: 07796 265027.
Lots of exciting things are happening on festival day Saturday July 4 for children as part of the Children’s Programme of events down at the Bowling Club.
There will be story telling with the ever-popular Ursula Holden Gill, and many summer fair type activities including Splat the rat, Teddy Tombola and guess the number of sweets in the jar, and test your strength. Why not try your luck at target practice – water bombing Nigel Farage, Ed Miliband and David Cameron!
There will also be woodland workshops and a bouncy castle, a pop up photo booth and lots of lovely food, drinks and cake, including a candy floss machine!
Roald Dahl themed costume making workshops are being held in the Bowling Club on 11th, 12th, 25th and 26th June 4-6pm to make costumes and props in preparation for the Children’s parade.
The workshops are being led by Beth Hardman. It’s a great way to meet mums and children from Heptonstall village, Colden and Heptonstall schools. A light tea will be provided. Come along and join in the fun!
A sponsored walk and tea will be held on Saturday, 6 June 2015, starting at 1.15pm. The annual Heptonstall Methodists walk finishes with a tea at the Sunday School.
The walkers’ reward
This year, the walk falls on the same day as the first sponsored walk, so we would like to invite anyone with pictures or memories of the walks to share them at a display and on our website. If you have any pictures, please get in touch with Amy Binns at abinns@uclan.ac.uk.
This year’s Pace Egg play was a rip-roaring success as usual, this year captured on film by videographer and local resident Paul Cooke. As well as excerpts from the show, you can also hear St George, Hector and the rest of the motley crew try and explain what it’s all about, while the Doctor, played by Dave Burnop, tells us how the play was revived for the village:
The Ceilidh at the Bowling Club, with local band Three Men and a Box, is less than a fortnight away on Saturday, 7 March, from 6.30pm.
The band appeared at the Heptonstall Festival last September and at the Burns Supper Night last month. Justin, Mark and Daz came together last year to form the band. They play a wide selection of music from Reggae, folk and their own compositions.
Mark plays guitars, Daz plays bass and Justin plays piano accordion. Mark has played with other bands over the years as has Daz who currently plays in a number of different bands. Justin has played with mostly Scottish ceilidh bands over the years and still competes at national level.
Everyone of all ages is welcome, with or without children. The lights will go down and the music will turn up a notch from 9pm.
Don’t worry if you’ve never tried ceilidh dancing before, the band have secured the services of a ‘caller’ for this night, so those of you who want to take a turn on the dance floor, bring your dancing shoes!
Tickets will be £5 (children free) and there will also be a good value supper food, home-made potato and meat pie, or potato, cheese and onion pie, with either baked beans or peas, for £2.50.
Gail King, event organiser, said: “Please support this event, as it is a valuable venue for us all in Heptonstall, and it would be good to get the place swinging.”
Tickets from Tony at the Post Office, or on the night on the door. The event will benefit Heptonstall Village Team, which organises events for older members of the community.
Heptonstall Parish Website 