HUDDERSFIELD, a parliamentary borough and important manufacturing and market town of England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is situated in the midst of a fertile district, on an acclivity rising from the left bank of the Colne, 16 m. s.w. of Leeds and about 23 in. me. of Manchester. It is remarkably regular, is well built and drained, and very healthy. Upon the Holm and the Colne, which unite in the town, numerous mills have been erected for the manufacture of woolen fabrics, and for fulling and washing the goods manufactured. Huddersfield stands in the center of a district rich in coal, and its natural advantages are enhanced through its direct connection with the principal seats of manufacture in the n. of England, by means of the London and North-western, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln shire railways. Among its churches, several are noteworthy in an architectural view.
It has a proprietary college, now in connection with the London university; a collegiate school, and many other educational institutions; a circular cloth-hall, 2,640 ft. in cir cumference, in which a market is held for woolen goods every Tuesday, and for gen eral produce every Saturday; an infirmary; and in the vicinity of the Lockwood Spa baths, where the water is strongly sulphureous. Huddersfield is the chief scat in the n. of England of what is called the "fancy trade," comprising shawls, waistcoatings, flushings, etc., of the most elegant patterns and the finest fabric; it also carries on extensive manufactures of narrow and broad woolen fabrics, cassimeres, serges, and cords. It is connected by canals with the Mersey and the Humber. The parliamentary borough sends one member to the house of commons. Pop. '71, 74,353.