Hartshead Moor services

Last updated

Hartshead Moor services
Hartshead Moor Services.jpg
The westbound service area
West Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Hartshead Moor services
Location in West Yorkshire, England
UK motorways map (pale lines).svg
Red pog.svg
Hartshead Moor services
Location on the UK motorway network
Information
County West Yorkshire
Road M62 Motorway
Coordinates: 53°42′48.3″N01°44′43.9″W / 53.713417°N 1.745528°W / 53.713417; -1.745528
Operator Welcome Break
Previous operator(s)Ross[ citation needed ]
Date opened5 July 1973[ citation needed ]
Website welcomebreak.co.uk/locations/hartshead-moor/

Hartshead Moor services is a motorway service station on the M62 near Brighouse, West Yorkshire. It is the highest service station in the United Kingdom. [1]

Contents

History

Construction

The service area was built from March 1972 by Shepherd Construction, for Ross Motorway Services, [2] after Leicester Forest East, and with Membury services. [3] Construction was to begin in December 1971. Cooperation would be with Huddersfield Polytechnic for training staff. 250 staff would be needed in the summer, and 225 in the winter. Each side would be 16 acres, with no restaurant. There would be a cafeteria on each side, with a movable partition for the transport cafeteria. [4]

In February 1973, 46 year old Richard Clark was appointed as general manager. He had been catering manager of Washington Service Area, for Esso, and general manager of Leigh Delamere services, when it opened on the M4. He was married, with a policeman son. [5] It opened on Thursday 5 July 1973, when the motorway section opened. [6]

The 7.5 mile M62 section from Ainley Top to the Chain Bar (M606 motorway) was opened at the service station by Keith Speed on Thursday 5 July 1973. The motorway section should have opened in December 1972, but there was a report into box girder bridges by Sir Alec Merrison. It was the first permanently-lit section of motorway in Yorkshire, with five hundred 40-foot-high lights, and 46 miles of cable. [7] In the summer of 1972, there was also a strike by the National Federation of Building Trades Operatives. [8]

1974 coach bombing

On 4 February 1974, a bomb was detonated on a coach ferrying British Army and Royal Air Force personnel from and to the bases at Catterick and Darlington during a period of industrial strike action on the trains. The incident occurred between junctions 26 and 27, shortly after midnight while most of those aboard were sleeping. [9] Twelve people died and more than fifty were injured.

A memorial plaque was installed in memory of those who were killed, situated in the entrance hall of the westbound section of the service area, which was used as a first aid station for those wounded in the blast. [10] A memorial service was held at the service area in February 2004. [11] In 2009, a new memorial was created outside the service area at the wishes of the relatives of those killed. [12]

Incidents

In December 2005, the RSPCA working with the BBC filmed the sale of an African puff adder at the service area, exploiting a legal loophole to sell on the snake. [13] It was discovered in April 2006 that the service area's toilets were frequently being used for homosexual activity. [14]

Alpine Cleaning Services, who successfully pitched for investment on the television show Dragons' Den , opened one of their first truck-washing facilities at the service area in August 2006. [15]

Mural

The service station is one of fourteen for which large murals were commissioned from artist David Fisher in the 1990s, designed to reflect the local area and history. [16]

Location

The services are located between junctions 25 and 26 of the M62.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Yorkshire</span> County of England

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire to the south, Greater Manchester to the south-west, and Lancashire to the west. The city of Leeds is the largest settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighouse</span> Town in West Yorkshire, England

Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the town centre is a mooring basin on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The United Kingdom Census 2001 gave the Brighouse / Rastrick subdivision of the West Yorkshire Urban Area a population of 32,360. The Brighouse ward of Calderdale Council gave a population of 11,195 at the 2011 Census. Brighouse has a HD6 postcode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elland</span> Town in West Yorkshire, England

Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is situated south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Elland was recorded as Elant in the Domesday Book of 1086. It had a population in 2001 of 14,554, with the ward being measured at 11,676 in the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirklees</span> Metropolitan borough in England

Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It is governed by Kirklees Council. Kirklees had a population of 422,500 in 2011; it is the third-largest metropolitan district in England by area, behind Doncaster and Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartshead Moor Top</span> Human settlement in England

Hartshead Moor Top is a hamlet in the county of West Yorkshire, England, halfway between Brighouse and Cleckheaton on the A643. It is close to the Hartshead Moor services on the M62 motorway. In 1974 the service station was near the scene of a Provisional Irish Republican Army attack on a coach carrying soldiers and their children, killing twelve. There is a plaque in the entrance to the west-bound section commemorating those who died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calderdale</span> Metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England

Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the upper river flows, while the actual landform is known as the Calder Valley. Several small valleys contain tributaries of the River Calder. The main towns of the borough are Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M62 motorway</span> Motorway in the United Kingdom

The M62 is a 107-mile-long (172 km) west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; 7 miles (11 km) of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A63 road</span> Road in Yorkshire, England

The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England between Leeds and Kingston upon Hull. A section between North Cave and Hull forms the eastward continuation of the M62 motorway and is part of the unsigned Euroroute E20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M62 coach bombing</span> 1974 IRA attack in northern England

The M62 coach bombing, sometimes referred to as the M62 Massacre, occurred on 4 February 1974 on the M62 motorway in northern England, when a 25-pound (11 kg) Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb hidden inside the luggage locker of a coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members exploded, killing twelve people and injuring thirty-eight others aboard the vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Membury services</span>

Membury services is a motorway service station on the M4 motorway, located on the original site of RAF Membury in the civil parish of Lambourn in the English county of Berkshire, close to the boundary with Wiltshire, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Junction 14. It is owned by Welcome Break and is situated adjacent to the Membury Radio Mast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolley Edge services</span> Motorway service station on the M1 in Yorkshire, England

Woolley Edge services is a motorway service station on the M1 motorway within the borough of the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It lies between junctions 38 and 39 close to West Bretton and west of the village of Woolley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ainley Top</span> Human settlement in England

Ainley Top is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire in England. It is situated approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north west of Huddersfield on the A629 to Elland and Halifax. It is situated on a hill with the M62 motorway to the north, and junction 24 of the motorway adjacent to the village. It is in the Elland ward of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council with 419 registered electors in 248 properties in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A629 road</span> Primary A road in Yorkshire, England

The A629 road is an intra-Yorkshire road that runs from Skipton to Rotherham through Keighley, Halifax, Huddersfield and Chapeltown in Yorkshire, England. The road runs through North, West and South Yorkshire, but before 1974, the entire length of the road was wholly within the boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is designated as a primary route through most of its length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service</span> County-wide, statutory emergency service

The West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is administered by a joint authority of 22 people who are appointed annually from the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire, known as the Fire & Rescue Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A643 road</span> Road in England

The A643 is a main road between Leeds and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Its eastern end is at the Armley Gyratory roundabout on the western edge of Leeds City Centre. The road then goes through:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Moor railway station</span> Railway station in West Yorkshire, England

Low Moor railway station serves the villages of Low Moor and Oakenshaw in the south of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The station is situated on the Calder Valley Line between Bradford Interchange and Halifax.

W. & C. French, also known just as French, was a civil engineering company based at Buckhurst Hill in south-west Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scammonden Bridge</span> Bridge in Kirklees

Scammonden Bridge, also known locally as the Brown Cow Bridge, spans the Deanhead cutting carrying the B6114 Elland to Buckstones road over the M62 motorway in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. The bridge and Scammonden Reservoir to the west are named after Scammonden, the village that was flooded to accommodate the reservoir whose dam carries the motorway. On opening, the bridge was the longest concrete arch bridge in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birch Services</span> Motorway service area near Manchester, England

Birch Services is a motorway service station located on the M62 motorway between Junction 18 (M60) and Junction 19 Heywood, close to Rochdale and Bury. There are two sides to the service station, the Eastbound services being quite old and the Westbound services being more modern. The services opened in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spen Valley Line</span> Disused railway line in West Yorkshire, England

The Spen Valley Line was a railway that connected Mirfield with Low Moor through the Spen Valley in West Yorkshire, England. Opened up by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847, with full opening to Low Moor in 1848, the line served a busy industrial and textile area and allowed a connection for trains between Huddersfield and Bradford. The line was absorbed by the London & North Western Railway, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and British Railways on Nationalisation. A separate link between Heckmondwike Central and Thornhill that opened later and was known as the Ravensthorpe Branch, allowed through running to Wakefield and beyond. The line was closed down to passengers in 1965 with freight continuing sporadically until 1981. A Spur onto the former Leeds New Line from the Ravensthorpe Branch kept the very southern end open until the late 1980s. The majority of the route is now the Spen Valley Greenway cycle path.

References

  1. ↑ Mason, Virginia. "12,000 portions of fish and chips and 140,000 cups of tea: A revolution is taking place at Hartshead Moor services – Halifax Today". Halifax Courier. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  2. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Friday 24 March 1972, page 5
  3. ↑ Leicester Daily Mercury Tuesday 19 January 1971, page 35
  4. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Friday 30 April 1971, page 17
  5. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Wednesday 21 February 1973, page 5
  6. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Wednesday 4 July 1973, page 1
  7. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Thursday 5 July 1973 page 1
  8. ↑ Huddersfield Examiner Thursday 17 August 1972, page 1
  9. ↑ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 4 | 1974: Soldiers and children killed in coach bombing". BBC News. 4 February 1974. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  10. ↑ "Bradford and West Yorkshire – Places – Tragedy on the M62". BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  11. ↑ "England | Manchester | Coach bomb victims remembered". BBC News. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  12. ↑ Ryder, Gemma. "Fitting tribute to IRA coach bomb victims". Spenborough Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  13. ↑ "Deadly snakes for sale on M62 – Halifax Today". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  14. ↑ "Gay sex at M62 toilets – Halifax Today". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  15. ↑ "Cleaning company opens up on M62". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  16. ↑ "David Fisher ~ Somerset Artist". Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  17. ↑ "Loo of the Year 2007 Results Brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.