Yorkshire's Calder Valley Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lancashire

Todmorden Town Hall in the centre of town straddles Walsden Water a tributary to the Calder, and prior to 1888 this stream marked the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire. The building was presented to the town by the Fielden family in 1875. Before the boundary change it was possible to dance across the floor of the Town Hall Ballroom between the two counties.

Answer: Hebden Bridge

Hebden Bridge lies at the confluence of Hebden Water and the Calder and was formerly a small mill town producing wool and woollen goods but by the end of the 1960s the industry was in decline. During the '70s and '80s a mixture of artists, writers, musicians and New Age activists moved to the town to take advantage of the cheap housing and stunning scenery.

The town has an eclectic mix of independent shops, organic cafes and is host to a number of arts and music festivals throughout the year. Smithy Bridge is found in Greater Manchester, Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire and Bason Bridge in Somerset.

Answer: Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes was born on the 30th August 1930 and lived in the Calder Valley until the age of seven when his family moved to Mexborough in South Yorkshire. The area was, though, still a source of inspiration for his later works. "The Remains of Elmet" and "The Rock" are based on his childhood experiences in the valley.

In 1969 Ted Hughes bought Lumb Bank an 18th century mill-owner's house standing in woodland overlooking Hebden Bridge, and since 1975 the house has been run as a creative writing centre.

His first wife Sylvia Plath author of "The Bell Jar" and "Ariel" committed suicide in 1963 and is buried in the churchyard at Heptonstall, a small village close to his former home at Lumb Bank.

Answer: Branwell

Closed in 1962 Luddendenfoot Railway Station was situated on the Manchester to Leeds line. Branwell was clerk in charge at the station from 1st April 1841 to 31st March 1842 and often drank with friends at the Lord Nelson pub in Luddenden village. He was later dismissed from his job for a discrepancy in the station accounts, something which was later attributed more to Branwell's incompetency than dishonesty.

A talented poet and artist Branwell never achieved the success of his more illustrious sisters and died from tuberculosis in 1848. Today his time in Luddendenfoot is remembered by a small wooden statue situated on the Rochdale Canal close to his former workplace.

Answer: Rochdale

The Rochdale Canal opened in 1804 was the first of three trans-Pennine canals to be built and linked Sowerby Bridge with Manchester, however because of the advent of the railways and roads all traffic had ceased by 1937 and by the 1960s the canal was virtually abandoned.

In 1974 the Rochdale Canal Society was formed with the aim of reopening the canal. They faced many obstacles over the years as in places the canal had been culverted and blocked by the construction of new roads. Sowerby Bridge proved particularly problematic at the Tuel Lane junction and involved the construction of a tunnel and a new set of locks which at 19 feet 8.5 inches (6 metres) are the deepest on the UK canal network.

The canal finally reopened in 2002 and is used primarily for pleasure craft.

Answer: Robin Hood

Kirklees Estate lies on land north of the Calder and was the original site of a Priory of the same name. Constructed in the 12th century, Kirklees Priory was a Cistercian nunnery that was dissolved, along with other Yorkshire monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539.

The Old Gatehouse is one of the few buildings that still remain and it is from an upper room that Robin is alleged to have shot his last arrow with the request that he was to be buried where the arrow fell. The grave lies some 650 yards from the Gatehouse in a wooded area above the main A644 Wakefield Road though there is much scepticism that a dying man could have fired an arrow such a distance.

Answer: Sir Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart was born on 13 July 1940 at 17 Camm Lane. After leaving school he spent a short spell working as a reporter for the Mirfield & District Reporter before his editor gave him the ultimatum of choosing between acting and journalism. Until 1987 he was best known for his stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company but all that changed when he signed up for the role that would bring him worldwide recognition, the part of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Sir Patrick still retains links with the area and is currently Chancellor and Professor of Performing Arts at Huddersfield University. Sir Ben Kingsley was born in Scarborough in 1943, James Mason in Huddersfield in 1909 and Malcolm McDowell in Leeds in 1943 - along with Sir Patrick all have stars on Hollywood Boulevard's "Walk of Fame".

Answer: Shoddy and Mungo

The Shoddy and Mungo industry was centred on the towns of Dewsbury, Batley, Morley and Ossett and involved the shredding and grinding down of scraps of woollen rags into fibres and then mixing them with small amounts of new wool in order to produce a cheap cloth.

It was first manufactured by Benjamin Law in 1813 and by the 1860s was a huge industry in the area. Nowadays the word shoddy has come to mean "cheap and nasty" or "poor quality" largely in part to the substandard uniforms that were manufactured by the "shoddy" millionaires in America during the Civil War, which often fell to pieces after a few days' wear and afforded little protection against the elements.

Answer: Rhubarb

The Rhubarb Triangle is a nine mile square triangle between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell that once produced 90% of the world's winter forced rhubarb. Before World War II there were more than 200 growers the area, though that has been greatly reduced.

The old methods are still used, one of which is harvesting by candlelight. During February the Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb is held and celebrates the traditional links with rhubarb growing in the area.

Answer: Castleford

Castleford is home to the Rugby league team the Castleford Tigers who were one of the founding members of the Super League in 1996. Originally a Roman settlement known as Legioleum, it was an important crossing on the River Aire with a military fort which in later years gave the town the name by which it is known.

Henry Moore was born in Castleford in 1898 the son of a coal miner, he became well-known through his marble and bronze sculptures. Many of his works have been exhibited at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park an open-air gallery situated south of Wakefield.