Slaithwaite, locally Slawit, is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies in the Colne Valley, lying across the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, approximately 5mi southwest of Huddersfield.HistoryThe village was part of the Earl of Dartmouth estates, a chapelry, in the parishes of Huddersfield and Almondbury, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and included the township of 'Lingarths' (Lingards) and the Township of Slaithwaite.In the early 19th century a local spring was discovered to contain sulphurous properties and minerals, similar to those found in Harrogate. Sometime after 1820 a bathing facility was built, along with a gardens and pleasure ground, with some visitor cottages. A free school was founded in 1721 and rebuilt twice: first in 1744, and again in 1842.In the 1848 edition of 'A Topographical Dictionary of England', Samuel Lewis (the editor) wrote:- "the lands are in meadow and pasture, with a small portion of arable; the scenery is bold and romantic. In the quarries of the district are found vegetable fossils, especially firs and other mountain trees. The village is beautifully seated in the valley of the river Colne; the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the woollen manufacture, in the spinning of cotton and silk, and in silk-weaving"
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