Castle Hill is an iconic historical monument overlooking the town of Huddersfield
The textile boroughs of Dewsbury and Batley and the picturesque town of Holmfirth in the foothills of the Pennines, along with many surrounding villages and hamlets, are also part of the area administered since 1974 by Kirklees Council and covering a current population of more than 430,000. Get back to your roots Our society, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017, has its own thriving research room, the Root Cellar, based in Meltham, some five miles from the centre of Huddersfield. Despite its unusual name, which dates back to its origins in the cellars of a local town hall, it is located in modern premises, staffed entirely by volunteers and open to both members and the general public six days a week; see our website at www.hdfhs.org.uk for opening times.
With a new bank of computers visitors can work on the subscription websites, Ancestry and Findmypast, as well as accessing the society’s own database of transcribed baptisms, marriages and burials. Publications transcribed by volunteers now exceed well over 700 and most Church of England and Non-conformist churches are covered, all of which can be purchased via our website or in person. We have a team of transcribers working on memorial inscriptions and a number of booklets making visits to the UK to trace their ancestors. In 2018 the society welcomed four sets of visitors from Australia, Canada and the USA for whom bespoke research was provided and an accompanied itinerary created where they were able to visit places their ancestors had lived and worked.