Our Mytholmroyd Practice and a little about the area.
Valli Opticians Mytholmroyd practice is located within the village’s medical centre.
Our resident Optometrist Russell Ramsden, and Manager Kayleigh Felstead are always on hand to help. They are ably assisted by Senior Optical Advisor Tracy Eastwood, and Stacy Moxey our Student Dispensing Optician. So if you need an eye test, new glasses, contact lenses, a repair or just some optical advice, why not pop in and see them.
The small town of Mytholmroyd lies 1.5 miles east of Hebden Bridge, and about 7 miles east of Halifax. The name is a combination of Old English words mȳthe, meaning river mouth, and rodu meaning field or clearing. Mytholm means two rivers meeting and a Royd is a clearing for a settlement. So Mytholmroyd means a clearing where the two rivers meet.
Mytholmroyd, or ‘Royd’ to the locals is the birthplace of Ted Hughes, the English Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in October 1998. Hughes was born on 17 August 1930 at 1 Aspinall Street, and his mother Edith (née Farrar) Hughes could trace her ancestry back to William de Ferrières, who came to England with William the Conqueror in the 11th century and fell in the battle of Hastings in 1066. One of her ancestors founded the religious community of Little Gidding in Cambridgeshire in 1998, explored their complex relationship and describes what happened during the three days leading up to Plath’s suicide in 1963 at the age of 30.
Former footballer and coach Eric Harrison was born in Mytholmroyd in 1938. He is probably best known for being the man behind the Manchester United youth setup that produced the group of players who became known as “The Class of ’92”, and include David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.
Mytholmroyd Community Centre hosts the annual Dock Pudding Championships in April. This was attended in 2007 by Robbie Coltrane who entered the competition and came second. Dock Pudding is a north of England delicacy produced mainly in the Calder Valley area of West Yorkshire. The main ingredients of Dock Pudding are bistort leaves (sometimes called “gentle dock” or “Passion dock), oatmeal, nettles, onion, and seasoning.
It was in the late 18th century that the valley to the south of Mytholmroyd, known as Cragg Vale was home to a band of forgers known as the Cragg Coiners. The band’s leader was a David Hartley, otherwise known as King David. He was found guilty of the murder of excise official William Dighton in 1769 and was hanged at the York Tyburn on 28 April 1770 along with two other gang members.
On 6 July 2014, Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France, from York to Sheffield, passed through the village. Locals lined the streets to cheer on the cyclists, before they headed on up to Cragg Vale and onto Sheffield.
Every year the town is part of the Valley of Lights festival and this year is no exception. This year Valli Opticians will be taking part in the Valley of Lights Lantern Parade on 1st December in Mytholmroyd, beginning at 6.30pm. The Valley of Lights is a big event to celebrate in the Upper Calder Valley for its people, its creativity, its uniqueness and its hundreds of small businesses. The festival includes the towns of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd.
If you live or work in the area and would like to book an eye test with us then visit https://www.valliopticians.co.uk/practice/valli-opticians-mytholmroyd for our contact details or book your test via https://www.valliopticians.co.uk/contact-us
