{{Short description|Village in West Yorkshire, England}} {{Other uses}} {{Use British English|date=October 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | static_image = Ovenden-railway-building-by-Betty-Longbottom.jpg | static_image_width = 240px | static_image_caption = Ovenden railway building | coordinates = {{coord|53.743241|-1.877863|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Calderdale | map_type = West Yorkshire | official_name = Ovenden | population = 12,351 | population_ref = (Ward. 2011) | metropolitan_borough = Calderdale | metropolitan_county = West Yorkshire | region = Yorkshire and the Humber | constituency_westminster = | post_town = HALIFAX | postcode_district = HX3, HX2 | postcode_area = HX | dial_code = | os_grid_reference = SE081274 }}
'''Ovenden''' is a village in West Yorkshire, England, next to Boothtown and Illingworth about a mile from Halifax town centre. It is also a Calderdale Ward whose population at the 2011 Census was 12,351.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689884&c=Ovenden&d=14&e=62&g=6370633&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1456239895531&enc=1|title=Calderdale Ward population 2011|access-date=23 February 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
The name Ovenden derives from the Old English ''Ofadenu'' meaning 'Ofa's valley'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Yorkshire%20WR/Ovenden|title=Ovenden |website=Key to English Place-Names |publisher=The Institute for Name-Studies |access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref>
The area was scattered with pockets of Victorian streets and shops and nearby mills for the residents, after the Second World War much of the rural area in-between the Victorian settlements was redeveloped with council housing, prefabricated buildings, shopping complexes, A secondary modern school, two primary schools one state run the other a Catholic one. A new Catholic Church was constructed to cater for the large Irish community that relocated to the area from West Central Halifax. The area is mainly working class although there are some affluent Victorian properties and streets mixed in with the social modern housing. {{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
Ovenden railway station on the Halifax and Ovenden Junction Railway Line closed in 1955 to passengers but the line remained open until 1960 to allow freight train to access St Paul's station on the west side of Halifax.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Armour|first1=Chris|title=Ovenden|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/ovenden/|website=Disused Stations|access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> It is now used as a garage with buildings constructed on the old rail line covering the front entrance of a tunnel that the trains used to run through. Parts of the television series ''Happy Valley'' were filmed in the Grove area of the village.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
Ovenden rugby league club competed in the National Conference League up until 2015 before having to withdraw due to a lack of players and finance.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rugby League: Ovenden pull out of National Conference League|url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-league-ovenden-pull-out-of-national-conference-league-1-7062448|access-date=5 October 2016|work=Halifax Courier|date=21 January 2015}}</ref> Similarly, Ovenden West Riding football team folded in August 2016 for the same reason of not having enough players to field a team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Prolific winners Ovenden WR fold|url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/football/prolific-winners-ovenden-wr-fold-1-8051285|access-date=5 October 2016|work=Halifax Courier|date=4 August 2016}}</ref>
The Ridings School in Ovenden gained national notoriety as one of the worst schools in the UK. It closed in 2009 and parts of it have been converted into a doctors surgery and sports centre with rest of the school leased to a not-for-profit organisation, Threeways, who plan to open a community hub with fitness, sport and entertainment facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-22741518 |title=Halifax Ridings School site in community takeover |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=15 July 2009 |access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref>
Ovenden was formerly a township in the parish of Halifax,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20395|title=History of Ovenden, in Calderdale and West Riding|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=11 October 2024}}</ref> from 1866 to 1894 Ovenden was a separate civil parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10400843|title=Relationships and changes Ovenden CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=11 October 2024}}</ref> In 1891 the parish had a population of 13,458.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10400843/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Ovenden CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=11 October 2024}}</ref>
== Champion Jack Dupree == In the 1970s and 1980s, Ovenden was the home of New Orleans blues and boogie woogie pianist Champion Jack Dupree.<ref>{{cite news|title=Story of a boxing Champion|url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/nostalgia/story-of-a-boxing-champion-1-5120398|access-date=9 April 2014|newspaper=Halifax Courier|date=15 November 2012}}</ref> A bronze plaque has been erected in his memory.<ref>{{cite news|title=Small Town Saturday Night|url=http://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/news/2012/183.html|access-date=17 April 2014|newspaper=HebWeb News|date=15 October 2012}}</ref>
==See also== *Listed buildings in Ovenden
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Ovenden}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Areas of Halifax, West Yorkshire Category:Villages in West Yorkshire Category:Wards of Calderdale Category:Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire