SE0020 Great Manshead

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   Text © Copyright December 2021, Humphrey Bolton; licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence.
Images also under a similar Creative Commons Licence.


Introduction


This article was revised in December 2021. New images have been added and the area covered has been expanded to include Manshead End to the south and Liberty Rush Bed to the west. The images have been arranged so as to go along the footpath from Slate Delfs, to the north, along the ridge to the highest summit at Manshead End. Images off the path to the north-east and on Liberty Rush Bed are in separate sections.

The locations of the images can be seen by clicking on them to open up the image page.

To see the browse page, the 1:25000 map in a popup window, or various other options click on 'Links for SE0020' and select the appropriate link. These include the National Library of Scotland website on which old ordnance survey maps can be viewed; note that the old-maps website is no longer available.

[map SE 00 20]

This square is almost entirely moorland, with 'right to roam'. The triangular area of fields (see 1:25000 map) is in Hebden Royd CP (Civil Parish), formerly in Sowerby CP, and later in Mytholmroyd Urban District. The moorland is in Ripponden CP, formerly in Soyland CP. The main feature of the square is Great Manshead Hill, with a summit at 404m AOD (above Ordnance datum) on which the 1850 map shows a triangulation pillar. The highest point on the hill is Manshead End, which still has a triangulation pillar at 417m AOD). The underlying rock is millstone grit, but there are no outcrops in the square, apart from a few boulders. The double pecked lines on the western side of the hill are for a track named on the 1850 six-inch map as Liberty Gate. Other tracks are marked on this map; Great Gate along the southern edge looks to have been an old route from Sowerby to Blackstone Edge and Lancashire, and a track captioned 'Foot Path' ran North-South down the centre of the square.

The path along the ridge

SE0021 : Path towards Great Manshead Hill by Stephen Craven
This is the path from Slate Delfs Hill that climbs up onto the ridge over Great Manshead to Manshead End.


SE0021 : Boundary stone, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
One of a series of stones on the old boundary between Sowerby and Soyland townships. Here the boundary leaves the wall and goes across moorland to a recumbent stone shown in the 'Moorland to the north-east' section below.


SE0020 : Boundary stone, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
The boundary is along the face of the wall, turning the corner to the next stone. It is captioned on maps and must be one of the series inscribed 'SB' on the old boundary between Sowerby and Soyland. The field on the other side is in Mytholmroyd, but was in Sowerby before 1894. Unfortunately this one has fallen onto the inscribed side and needs a very strong man to lift it back up.
by Humphrey Bolton


SE0020 : Footbridge on the approach to Great Manshead Hill by Stephen Craven
The bridge crosses a moorland stream, which was dry at the time of the photo, its course being marked by the cotton grass.
by Stephen Craven


SE0020 : The view from the northern slopes of Great Manshead Hill, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
This view shows a grassy part of the moorland and the green pasture behind the intake wall.


SE0020 : Path down to Little Manshead Hill by Bill Boaden
The path climbs up onto the ridge.


SE0020 : Cairn on the approach to Great Manshead Hill by Stephen Craven
The path is marked by occasional cairns.


SE0020 : Footpath, Great Manshead Hill by Mark Anderson
The 'permissive path' along the spine of the hill is part of the Calderdale Way. The route does not match the black pecked lines that presumably represent the actual path. The path is shown on the 1850 six-inch map and named as Manshead Gate, gate meaning a way. The vegetation is tussocky grass, with patches of heather, and rushes in the wetter parts around the hill.



SE0020 : Small cairn on Great Manshead Hill by Bill Boaden
Cairn on the summit of Great Manshead.


SD9920 : Path on Great Manshead Hill by Bill Boaden
The path between Manshead End and Great Manshead.


SD9919 : Trig point, Manshead End by Mark Anderson
The triangulation pillar on Manshead End in 2005, newly painted white.


SD9919 : Trig point on Manshead End by John Slater
The triangulation pillar on Manshead End in 2014.


SD9919 : Trig point on Manshead End by Bill Boaden
The triangulation pillar on Manshead End in 2019.


SD9919 : The bench mark on Manshead End, Soyland (Ripponden) by Humphrey Bolton
The bench mark on the triangulation pillar on Manshead End, looking very unhappy.


SD9919 : Cairn on Manshead End by Phil Champion
Top the southwest of the cairn the hill drops sharply towards old enclosures around Manshead and Greenwood Clough. Beyond the line of pylons the valley hides the main A58 road.
by Phil Champion


SD9919 : Bench with a view, Manshead End, Soyland (Ripponden) by Humphrey Bolton
Though it would have a better view if it were nearer the edge!
by Humphrey Bolton


SD9919 : On Soyland Moor with view towards Manshead End by Colin Park
View of the Manshead ridge showing the two summits.



Moorland to the north-east


SE0020 : Old Boundary Marker on Little Manshead Hill, Elland parish by Milestone Society
A recumbent boundary stone inscribed 'SB'. This stone is one of a series on the old boundary between Sowerby and Soyland townships.


SE0020 :  Channel that fed Flints Reservoir, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
This catchwater channel fed Flints Reservoir. It is overgrown, and breached in some places. There is a rough path along the eastern bank.


SE0121 : Channel and wall footings, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
The channel fed Flints Reservoir, and this part of it was accompanied by a dry-stone wall. This view is looking upstream. A path comes in from the left, and then follows the left (east) bank of the channel.
by Humphrey Bolton



Liberty Rush Bed


SE0020 : Liberty Gate by Humphrey Bolton
This track goes along the eastern edge of Liberty Rush Bed


SD9920 : Wet moorland, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
I think the predominant grass is purple moor grass, Molinia caerulea, which is difficult to walk through. There are patches of rushes, especially along the hidden streams, and here a lone clump of tormentil. The wall is the edge of access land, and the boundary between Soyland and the part of Mytholmroyd that was in Sowerby before 1894.
by Humphrey Bolton


SD9920 : Rosebay willowherb on the moor, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
Not its usual habitat but there are several patches amongst the purple moor grass and rushes.
by Humphrey Bolton


SD9920 : Stream on Liberty Rush Bed by Humphrey Bolton
This is one of the types of stream on this very wet area. The grass tussocks are surrounded by pools of water. The dead grass leaves from last year have been burnt off by a recent moorland fire, and fresh leaves are appearing. The orange colour is the scorched leaves of a plant that I have not yet identified. The grid reference and view direction are not reliable.
by Humphrey Bolton


SD9920 : Unexpected wheel tracks on Liberty Rush Bed by Humphrey Bolton
Evidently a farmer sometimes drives a vehicle on Liberty Rush Bed.


SD9920 : Boundary stone between Manshead End and Liberty Rush Bed, Soyland by Humphrey Bolton
This must be the same stone as I photographed in May 2013 SD9920 : Boundary stone on Great Manshead Hill, although its surroundings look rather different as there had been a grass fire and now the grass has recovered well and is tall enough to make the stone look shorter. My GPS reading is not quite the same as last time. The 1850 six-inch map shows a dot captioned 'Stone' in this area. Who was W.B.? Did he buy the land in 1827?
by Humphrey Bolton


SE0020 : Mr Sunderland's stone by Humphrey Bolton
Inscribed 'T Sunderland 1906', perhaps the landowner - not many tourists visit the Liberty Rush Bed!
by Humphrey Bolton



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