Holy Trinity Church in Holmfirth

This is the view of Holy Trinity Church that we most often see in the British TV show “Last of the Summer Wine.”  Our favorite characters, Norman Clegg, Compo Simmonite, and Foggy Dewhurst, walk along a road that climbs the hill, and in the background, we see the familiar blue clock face on the Church tower.  Or, alternatively, we see the white clock face.  (They don’t discriminate on clock face colors in Holmfirth). 

What I hadn’t realized was that this church was located adjacent to Sid’s Café, where Sid and Ivy, along with their occasional helpers, served our favorite characters their usual cup of tea.  The exterior shots never revealed this, and the church windows shown through the windows in the studio interiors for the café never revealed this.  So it was that when we visited Holmfirth last year, we discovered Holy Trinity, and after taking tea at Sid’s, stepped inside to see the church.

We spoke with a nice woman in the foyer, who related several anecdotes about the filming of the television series.  She was used to being asked questions by those who had made the pilgrimage, from all over the world, to see her town.  She also said that someday she’d like to visit the United States.  The place she’d most like to visit?  Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.

Those days in May were cold, but every night we retired to our warm, second floor room in the Old Bridge Hotel, and as darkness descended, the church clock faces would begin to glow.  We didn’t get to attend a service in Holy Trinity that weekend, as we had so little time to see the town.  I wish we’d been able to squeeze one in. But that’s a joy that will have to wait until we can return to Holmfirth.

Ironically, I saw the Doctor yesterday.  With his mop of dark hair, and his youthful inquisitiveness, he always brings a smile to my face.  I’d met his friend Jamie before, and the two introduced me to Victoria, a young girl who’s traveling with them after the death of her father.  Apparently, they’d read my post “Mummies, Yetis, and Zombies, Oh My!” and the three told me about their own encounter with the Yeti.  When I mentioned that I was missing Holmfirth, the Doctor offered to take me there for a quick visit.  Unfortunately, his TARDIS is a little erratic.  I might end up instead on the planet Skaro, on a space station hundreds of years in the future, or even on the moon.  Sure, I'd have an exciting adventure, but I also might not return home for a year or two.

Needless to say, my wife would not be amused.

Dragon Dave