The Secrets of the Grave

Calderdale is a beautiful place yet, it holds dark secrets

Situated in the heart of the Pennine Hills and bounded by Bradford, to the east, the moors of Bronteland to the north and Lancashire to the west, the southern boundary is formed by the M62; linking the international airports of Leeds Bradford and Manchester.

Despite its reputation as part of the industrial north, Calderdale is largely rural with large tracts of moorland and upland pasture, intersected by the river Calder and its tributaries and steep sided woodland valleys.

This combination helped, in the past, to create the conditions for the growth of the historic textile industry, though in recent years this has been superceded by tourism as the borough's main source of income.

The council have capitalized on many local attractions, such as the Piece Hall and Hardcastle Craggs at Hebden Bridge and local links with the Bronte sisters, who visited the area frequently from nearby Howarth.

The Calderdale Way  has been developed along with the Pennine Way, which crossed through Calderdale, while the restoration of the Rochdale Canal and other waterways has made boating a popular way of visiting the beautiful countryside.

Why then, one might wonder, is Calderdale so reluctant to make the most what could be its biggest and most famous tourist attraction?

Why is a site of great historical importance omitted from maps of the area, produced by Brighouse Civic Trust; and why do tourism officers, when contacted, deny all knowledge of this place?

In this book, the enigma of Robin Hoods Grave is explored. Few people know of its existence within the heart of Calderdale, hidden as it is beneath centuries of dense woodland undergrowth; fewer still have visited the ruined shrine on the hillside of Kirklees, or have ventured into the priory gatehouse where the famous outlaw was gruesomely murdered by his kinswoman, the evil prioress.

Now, at last, after fifteen years of research, the author can shed light upon this dark mystery and finally expose the 'Secrets of the Grave'.

"Tread lightly o'er the earth, and speak no word,

Till the Great Spirit doth unloose your tongues

For where those Yew trees nod their funeral plumes,

Upon the highest platform of the hill

Lies gentle Robin Hood, his mighty heart,

All muffled up in dust, and his bright eyes,

Quenched in eternal darkness. Never more,

Shall the woods echo to his bugle horn,

Or his unerring arrow strike the deer,

Swift flying, till it hits the bloody grass."

GEORGE SEARLE PHILLIPS (1848)