The Present Day

Post war years saw a decline in the textile trade and Wilsden gradually took on a new role as a place to live for a growing number of people who did not work in the village. Its attractive setting and the good reputation of the village school and the secondary schools it feeds have led to considerable growth. The population decline that started in the second half of the nineteenth century was reversed with numbers exceeding the 1851 figure in the second half of the twentieth century.

Fortunately, the shape of the valley and a certain amount of vigilance have enabled much of the character of this independent community to survive this second wave of growth. Although the railway fell victim to the Beeching cuts with the last passenger train leaving in May 1955 the track has recently been reopened as a community trail.