History of Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA

Calderdale was initially covered by the original West Yorkshire branch of CAMRA. Based in Huddersfield, this was one of the first CAMRA branches to be set up. It didn’t last long, but a second West Yorkshire branch, based in Bradford, was founded in the spring of 1974. As support for CAMRA grew, branches were established around the county, including Calderdale.

A meeting in the Three Pigeons, Halifax, in May 1975, to test support, resulted in the pub being packed out. A further meeting followed at the General Rawdon (now the Coach & Horses) at Luddendenfoot. The branch was formally inaugurated at the Three Pigeons on 24 July 1975. Appropriately, the Three Pigeons belonged to Samuel Webster, the only brewery in Calderdale at the time.

With the branch established and officers elected, work began on a guide to pubs selling cask conditioned beer in Calderdale. The first guide was published in 1975/76 and covered all of West Yorkshire. In later years, several editions of “Calderale”, a guide covering just Calderdale, were produced.

To promote the wide variety of cask beer available around the country, a beer festival was held in the Drill Hall, Halifax, in the early 1980s. At that time, the choice of beer available in Calderdale’s pubs was both limited and stable. Several other festivals were held in the Drill Hall over the years, although it has since closed.  Smaller events were held at Lowfields, Elland (on a bleak, windswept day in July 1996), and Greetland Community Centre (May 2002).  More than a decade passed since the last beer festival in Halifax, with the search for a suitable venue proving unsuccessful until the Square Chapel was booked for May 2003.

Webster’s Brewery officially closed on 15 November 1996, after several, sad years of decline, although brewing had ceased earlier in the year.  The once distinctive beers had deteriorated to just another “national bland” under successive ownerships and by the end, it seemed kinder to let it die.  Several microbreweries have been set up in Calderdale and while not all survive, those that do produce a wide range of interesting, traditional ales.

The branch continues to campaign for real ale in Calderdale.  As part of CAMRA nationally, the branch is involved in many campaigns to support beer, pubs and breweries.  Many of the current activities are mentioned elsewhere on this web site, including the awards for deserving pubs, organising our own beer festival a variety of meetings and other social events as well as a range of trips to breweries and other places. 

Geoff Green

May 2003