Hebden Bridge Brass Band

By the second half of the nineteenth century brass bands were an integral feature of the cultural landscape of the Calder Valley. Playing at public events and participating in local and national competitions was the stuff of ‘banding’. However, it was not until the Edwardian period that the Hebden Bridge Brass Band emerged as a major force in the highly competitive world of brass bands. Its greatest achievement was winning the English Brass Band Championship at Belle Vue, Manchester in September, 1911. The news that the band had carried off the ‘Brass Band Derby’ spread quickly through the valley and the band found cheering crowds when they arrived back at Hebden Bridge Station in the evening. Memorable scenes followed with the cup being paraded around the streets and an impromptu concert was given at West End beside the triumphal arch which had been erected for the Coronation of George V. The photograph taken in 1912 shows the victorious band in front of the Secondary School in Holme Street. Text from Looking Back at Hebden Bridge By Frank Horsfall & Terry Wyke