town, Kirklees metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, northern England. Huddersfield lies in the valley of the River Colne 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Leeds. It grew in the 18th century from a large village, one of several that had a domestic weaving industry, and benefited from construction of the Calder and Marsden canals. The locality's traditional textile industry, together with coal and water supplies, stimulated ancillary dyestuff, chemical, and heavy engineering industries that gradually replaced textile manufacture as the town's major employers. The choral and madrigal societies of Huddersfield are nationally known, as are its football (soccer) teams. Pop. (2001) 146,234.