Huddersfield
Textile capital: 284 mills by 1961, water-softened wool made finest worsted. Rugby league born here 1895 (George Hotel). Cummins, David Brown now. Yorkshire textile heritage survives in premium markets.
Huddersfield made the world's finest worsted cloth—and invented rugby league in the process. The town's location in the Colne and Holme valleys provided what textile production needed: soft water enriched by millstone grit from the Pennines, perfect for washing raw wool. By 1911, 22,000 people worked in Huddersfield textiles—one-third of all men and two-thirds of all women.
The mills multiplied. By 1961, 284 registered mills operated in the Kirklees area, 95 in Huddersfield town center alone. The vast majority still stand—renovated into apartments, offices, or sitting empty. Competition from overseas manufacturers offering cheaper products dulled the industry through the mid-to-late 20th century.
But quality survives. Yorkshire remains Britain's textile heartland; Leeds and Huddersfield host innovative mills that compete globally on technical excellence. The soft water and local expertise still make Huddersfield wool and worsted fabrics desirable for premium fashion and interiors.
Rugby league was born here. On August 29, 1895, representatives of 21 northern rugby clubs met at the George Hotel in Huddersfield and broke from the Rugby Football Union to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. The split was about money: working-class players needed payment to compensate for lost wages. The Huddersfield Giants, founded that day, still play in the Super League.
By 2026, Huddersfield balances textile heritage, engineering (Cummins Turbo Technologies, David Brown Gear systems), and service industries—a post-industrial town that remembers when it clothed the world.