Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Holmfirth was a centre for pioneering film-making by Bamforth & Co., which later switched to the production of saucy seaside postcards.

Between 1973 and 2010, Holmfirth and the Holme Valley became well known as the filming location of the BBC's situation comedy Last of the Summer Wine.

Three hundred years later Holmfirth expanded rapidly as the growing cloth trade grew, and the production of stone and slates from the surrounding quarries increased.

The most severe flood occurred early on the morning of 5 February 1852, when the embankment of the Bilberry Reservoir collapsed causing the deaths of 81 people.

Following a severe storm in 1777 the River Holme burst its banks, sweeping away people and property with the loss of three lives; the stone church built in 1476, was also swept away.

Holmfirth (and the surrounding countryside) is the setting for the BBC's long-running comedy Last of the Summer Wine.

The former Lodge's supermarket building had been sitting empty in the heart of the town since the Co-op moved to new premises in Crown Bottom.

It was opened by Radio 1 DJ Tony Blackburn and occupied an unusual location over the River Holme beside the town's small bus station.

Lodge's was bought in the 1990s by Co-operative Retail Services who eventually closed the store down in 1997, after investing in a brand new £2 million supermarket for the town.

The building has since been converted into several smaller shops, including a Sainsbury's Local, with some accommodation on the top floor.

A 2013 youth survey[16] identified reducing opportunities for young adults in the area and an intention to leave to find employment.

The station was presided over and maintained by a groundskeeper, Cecil Walker, between the years 1850 and 1879, when he retired and maintenance responsibilities were transferred to the council.

Additional routes connect the town with Barnsley, Sheffield, Wakefield, Denby Dale, Penistone, Slaithwaite and Honley.

Acts such as Adam Ant, Bad Manners, Buzzcocks, Evile, Fish, Half Man Half Biscuit, Hawkwind, John Martyn, Ocean Colour Scene, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Ron Sexsmith, Saxon, Suzi Quatro and the Beat have performed.

[30][31][32][33][34] Holmfirth Art Week, with its July exhibition in the Civic Hall, raises money for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

[38] Actress Jessica Gunning, who won an Emmy Award for her role in Baby Reindeer,[39] was born in Holmfirth in 1986.

These neighbouring settlements are often collectively referred to as "Holmfirth", and include: Austonley, Arrunden, Burnlee, Cinderhills, Cliff, Deanhouse, Netherthong, Gully, Flushhouse, Hade Edge, Thongsbridge, Upperthong and Washpit.

Other villages and hamlets within the Holmfirth post town include: Brockholes, Fulstone, Jackson Bridge, Hepworth, Holme, Holmbridge, Honley, Meltham, Netherthong, New Mill, Scholes, Totties, Thongsbridge, Upperthong, Longley, Hade Edge, Underbank and Wooldale.