Arch said:
I think it's a great name.
I'm intrigued by how Hebden Bridge got a large lesbian population though. How does a thing like that happen? And while I know nothing of Hebden Bridge, I have to say it wouldn't have been my first port of call if I was looking for a lesbian. Although now I know, I'll know where to look if I need one.
Hebden Bridge hardly existed in the middle of the 19th century, but then came industrialisation. The Calder Valley had plenty of water available so mills sprang up everywhere, and towns for the workers. My little terraced house was built about that time. I moved in when it was 100 years old, at the end of the 1980s. So, for a time there was a lot of money about and all was fine.
Eventually, however, the global economy changed and textile jobs went to Asia. Mills started closing and the town began a long slow death. Young people couldn't find work and cleared off to more exciting places like Manchester and Leeds, maybe even London. House prices dropped. Properties were left empty and started to decay. Few people wanted to be here, despite the fact that it is a very pretty little town.
Then, something interesting happened... Groups of disgruntled hippies, artists and musicians from the big Northern cities found out about the place and how cheap it had become to buy property here. You could buy a house on a hilltop for less than £1,000 then They started coming here in increasing numbers in the late 60s and early 70s. The word got around and the town started to come back to life. It became a very trendy northern town. More Joss Sticks and Tarot Readings per hectare than almost anywhere else in the UK!
The changes to the local population gave it a nice 'feel'. There was an air of openness and tolerance. Obviously, there were gay and lesbian residents here at the time just as in any population. The thing is, it became a much gentler place to be 'out'. When gay/lesbian friends visited those living here, they noticed how much easier it was for them walking about holding hands, and so forth. So, following on the heels of the arty/hippy influx of 40 years ago, there was a later lesbian influx. I get the impression that it didn't quite happen to the same extent for gay men though for some reason. I could be wrong, but you see a lot of lesbian couples wandering about the town but I can't recall seeing many men walking about holding hands.
We've got a new invasion now - yuppies! The town is completely rejuvenated and house prices have rocketed. My house cost me £25k but is worth about £125k now. Once again young people are being forced out of the town. These are the children and grandchildren of those artists and hippies. So the town is going up-market and I think that it is a shame. From a cycling point of view it isn't good at all because of lot of the yuppies have jobs in Manchester and Leeds. There is only one road through the valley - the A646 - and that gets very busy for long periods during the day.
It is very interesting how these population changes develop. It seems that there are
Tipping Points at work. Enough mills = prosperity. Shut down mills = deprivation. Cheap housing and pretty surroundings = a new type of town dweller. New type of town dweller = more hospitable to lesbians. More lesbians = even more lesbians. Popular town = rising house prices. Rising house prices = more desirable properties. Expensive properties = young people move out.
