| The late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes was born in the West Yorkshire village of Mytholmroyd on 17 August 1930. The house where he was born still stands and is currently owned by globetrotting editor Sarah Champion. |  |
Ted Hughes birthplace is just a couple of miles from the Heptonstall graveyard where his troubled wife Sylvia Plath was buried after her suicide. Visitors from as far away as Japan and East Germany, including academics and TV crews, turn up from time to time to explore how his birthplace in the Pennines contributed to his work.
Ted Hughes’ house in Mytholmroyd was not just where he was born, but where he lived until he was eight years old. He wrote several times about his childhood in this terraced house in his works. He described looking out of his bedroom window on to the Zion Chapel. Sadly the imposing Zion Chapel is long gone although the roads around keep the Biblical feel with names like Zion Terrace a reminder of more God-fearing times. Meanwhile in The Rock, an autobiographical piece about his early childhood, he describes Scout Rock which dominates the Mytholmroyd landscape.
Mytholmroyd continued to be a powerful source of inspiration in Ted Hughes' poetry long after he moved South. In his classic The Remains of Elmet he suggested the Calder Valley was originally the kingdom of Elmet, the last Celtic land to fall to the Anglo-Saxons.
And just as Mytholmroyd made a permanent impression on Ted Hughes, so the great poet has left his mark on the village. In Elaine Feinstein’s biography The Life of a Poet she says he left behind his mark in the form of a skull and crossbones outlined in mustard paint on the brickwork of the house where he was born. Meanwhile, there are plans to honour Mytholmroyd's most famous son by opening a Ted Hughes museum and library in the former railway station buildings in the centre of the village.
The house where Ted Hughes was born stands just a few feet from the Rochdale Canal, where he would fish as a boy. It's a scenic stroll or cycle along the towpath the infamous town of Hebden Bridge with its canal boats, organic cafes and funky little shops. After this unique and vibrant former mill town fell into many decades of decline, it was given a new lease of life after hippies from Manchester moved there in the 1970s.
In the zeros, Hebden Bridge is seeing a fresh boom as the town’s quirky architecture, affordable housing and scenic setting attract a fresh wave of "incomers". This time many are Manchester and Leeds media professionals. The town particularly appeals to outdoor lovers and environmentalists. According to newspaper articles it has also been statistically proven to be the lesbian capital of Britain.
Read about the BBC documentary on Ted Hughes and Mytholmroyd
The Times of London announces Sarah's move!
Read an extract from The Life of a Poet about Ted Hughes' childhood in Mytholmroyd...
Earth & Moon: a website dedicated to Ted Hughes life and work.
