AFTER 200 years of fighting technology, the Luddites are online!

Staff at the University of Huddersfield have built a website that probes a violent and troubling chapter of the town’s history.

It will help mark the bi-centenary of the Luddite uprising – one of the most violent, dramatic and thought-provoking episodes of English history.

It included the brutal murder of Marsden mill owner William Horsfall, who was ambushed and killed at Crosland Moor.

The university has played a key role in preparing the ground for commemorations in the area that was the epicentre of Luddism.

Newly online is The Luddite Link, a website that has a wealth of information about the events of 1812.

It will be constantly updated with news of performances, exhibitions and sources of information about Luddism.

The university contributed £3,000 from its Collaborative Ventures Fund and the new website was developed by a team headed by Dr Janette Martin, of the history department.

Marsden-based web designer Bob Lockwood designed the site, which is launched in partnership with Kirklees Museums and Galleries plus the Mikron Theatre Company and Huddersfield’s Lawrence Batley Theatre, both of which will be developing projects and mounting plays about the Luddite saga.

Earlier this year, the LBT won £55,197 from the People’s Jubilee Millions, after a televised vote in the annual grants programme run by the Big Lottery Fund in partnership with ITV.

The cash will be used for a project named Cloth, Culture and Communities.