Birdsedge in 1982. Dawing by Birdsedge artist, Ivo (Fred) Heinzel, included here
by permission of his widow, Shirley.
A little village with big ideas. To find out more, click on the links:
Birdsedge is a tiny rural village, coupled with the adjacent hamlet of High Flatts. The villages are set high on the edge of the Yorkshire Pennines, almost a thousand feet above sea level, in England's rugged north. There are 150 or so houses, about 350 people, a school, a village hall, a Wesleyan Reform Church, a Friends Meeting House, a mill (Hinchliffe's) which is a small part of a bigger complex in nearby Denby Dale, one farm shop and (sadly) no pub in either village. The good news is that Birdsedge Village Hall now has a bar licence.
There's an active community offering a varied season of events from quiz night socials to top-name folk concerts, and an annual community and arts festival. Birdsedge even has its own newsletter, Village Voice, produced six times a year.
Birdsedge and High Flatts are right on the outer edge of Kirklees local authority (Huddersfield). The nearest towns are Huddersfield and Barnsley and the nearest cities are Wakefield, Leeds, Sheffield and (just over the Pennines) Manchester.
Find out what's happening in the villages by clicking on the links to the left.