34-613: South Kirkby is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire , England which is governed locally by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. The town forms half of the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe . The parish has a population of 10,979. The town retains its own town council and is represented on the district council by Wilf Benson ( Independent ), Michelle Collins ( Labour Party ) and Steve Tulley (Labour Party). The South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council motto
68-597: A Ferrybridge postmaster. There is a Bagley's Glass gallery in Pontefract Museum . Close to Knottingley is Ferrybridge Power Station , which had the largest cooling towers of their kind in Europe. Three of these towers collapsed in high winds in 1965. The remaining towers, which could be seen for miles around, were demolished between 2019 and 2022. The town was the last in the United Kingdom to have
102-577: A nature reserve." Two children's nursery rhymes with Wakefield connections are " Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush " which may have been sung by women inmates at Wakefield prison . and " The Grand Old Duke of York " which may allude to the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, referring to Richard Plantagenet , the 3rd Duke of York. The lyrics of the popular hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" were written at St Peter's Church in nearby Horbury. The area
136-489: A result of mining subsidence. In 1881, with the foundation of the South Kirkby Colliery coal mine, an increase in population caused the villages to be extended until at its largest the two settlements housed almost all of the 3,000 workers employed in the mine. In 1984, the miners' strike included the colliery's workforce but in vain. In 1988, South Kirkby Colliery along with many of the other coal mines in
170-590: A working deep coal mine, Kellingley Colliery , until it closed in December 2015. Knottingley means "the clearing of Cnotta's people", from the Old English personal name Cnotta meaning " knot ", describing a small, round man and - ingas "people of" + leāh "wood, modern lee , not the same meaning as Leah (personal name)". The name was recorded as Cnotinesleahemm in 1128. During the three Sieges of Pontefract Castle , Oliver Cromwell took residence in
204-579: Is County Hall , originally built for the West Riding County Council and acquired by Wakefield in 1989. The district is within a green belt region that extends into the surrounding counties that is in place to reduce urban sprawl , prevent the cities and towns in the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation from convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield reuse, and preserve
238-659: Is 'Friendship, Unity & Progress', and the two settlements have been twinned with Sprockhövel in the Ruhr Valley of Germany since 1981. The establishment of 'Sprockhövel International Friendship Circle' led to the same named organisation in South Kirkby & Moorthorpe. Since that time the Sprockhövel IFK and the South Kirkby & Moorthorpe IFC have organised an annual exchange visit. The town
272-573: Is served by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire received from the Emley Moor TV transmitter. The radio stations that broadcast to the area are: The area is served by the local newspaper, Wakefield Express . A decision was made, in 2004, to transfer the district's extensive council housing to Wakefield and District Housing (WDH), an 'independent' housing association, who would be more efficient with repairs and maintaining decent accommodation; as council housing represented almost 30% of
306-469: Is served by two railway stations with a distance of one mile (1.6 km) between them. Moorthorpe railway station is on line between Leeds and Sheffield with services being an hour on weekdays and Saturdays with a two-hourly service on Sundays. South Elmsall railway station is on the line between Doncaster and Leeds with also an hourly service on weekdays and Saturdays with Sunday being every two-hourly. Both stations are served by Northern . The town
340-575: Is something of an anomaly in having had an iron works . When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 there were 21 pits in the district. By the time the 1984 Strike began this had decreased to 15, however it still had more collieries than any other district in the country. At the time of privatization in November 1994, only two remained: the Prince of Wales at Pontefract, which closed in 2002, and Kellingley at Knottingley which closed in 2015 ending
374-568: Is the longest continuous horse racing circuit in Europe at 2 miles 125 yards (3,333 m; 16.57 furlongs). The ruins of Sandal Castle and its visitor centre are open to the public, overlooking the Pugneys Country Park . The National Coal Mining Museum for England (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage ), the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Nostell Priory are within
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#1732797657091408-729: Is up for election at any one time. Exceptions include by-elections and ward boundary changes. The city district is home to three professional rugby league clubs, the Wakefield Trinity , Castleford Tigers who both play in the Super League and Featherstone Rovers who play in the Kingstone Press Championship . All three have had periods of success. The city also has several amateur rugby league clubs including Featherstone Lions and Normanton Knights . Current England rugby league internationals from
442-585: The County Borough of Wakefield merged with the West Riding municipal boroughs of Castleford , Ossett and Pontefract , the urban districts of Featherstone , Hemsworth , Horbury , Knottingley , Normanton and Stanley , along with Wakefield Rural District and parts of Hemsworth Rural District and Osgoldcross Rural District . The new metropolitan district 's city status was reconfirmed by letters patent in 1974. The Council's headquarters
476-601: The County Hall . In 2010, Wakefield was named as the UK's third most musical city by PRS for Music . The economic and physical condition of several of the former mining towns and villages in Wakefield District have started to improve due to the booming economy of Leeds – and an increase in numbers of commuters to the city from the sub-region – and a recognition of undeveloped assets. For instance Castleford , to
510-675: The River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M) . Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire , it has a population of 13,503, increasing to 13,710 for the City of Wakefield ward at the 2011 Census. It makes up the majority of the Knottingley ward represented on Wakefield Council . Until 1699, it was an important inland river port but, in that year, the Aire
544-585: The 1980s, and 1990s, Wakefield District now has below-average unemployment. The "Wakefield East" ward had 4.7% unemployment in May 2005 (source: Office for National Statistics )—which was more than 1% higher than any other ward. The eastern half of the district remains considerably less prosperous than the western half, with several deprived wards The district is mainly made out of old coal-mining towns, although other industries include wool , chemicals , machine tools , glass and other forms of manufacturing. Horbury
578-497: The 19th century until as late as the 1940s, when the Australian Pottery, opened to cater to that country's needs, finally closed. Glass manufacturing continues to be important. The town had Kellingley Colliery operating until December 2015. The demand for coal was helped by the huge power station at Ferrybridge . Whilst most of the coal bound for Ferrybridge left by rail, some was transported up river using barges,
612-479: The North East of Wakefield is seeing extensive development and investment because of the natural asset of its outlook on to the River Aire , its easy access to the national motorway network and the availability of former mining land for house-building. In Ossett, house prices have risen from an average of £50,000 in 1998 to £130,000 in 2003. Although unemployment was amongst the highest in the country for most of
646-523: The Wakefield metropolitan area, as is Walton Hall , a Georgian mansion set in what was the world's first nature reserve, created by the explorer Charles Waterton ; the house is now a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sir David Attenborough has stated that "Walton Hall is an extremely important site in the history of nature conservation worldwide. It is, arguably, the first tract of land anywhere in modern times to be protected, guarded and maintained as
680-708: The area include; Tom Briscoe , Rob Burrow , Zak Hardaker , and Brett Ferres . The district is also home to two clubs in the Northern Premier League : Ossett United and Pontefract Collieries . The district has a strong heritage of cricket with former Yorkshire and England captain Geoffrey Boycott born in Fitzwilliam and former Yorkshire and England cricketer Tim Bresnan from Pontefract . Pontefract Racecourse in Pontefract ,
714-573: The countryside. It restricts inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposes stricter conditions on permitted building. Green belt surrounds the Wakefield built up area and stretches into the wider borough and outlying towns and villages. Walton , Netherton , Featherstone , South Kirkby , South Elmsall , Hemsworth , Castleford , Knottingley , and Pontefract are surrounded by it. Smaller villages, hamlets and rural areas such as Warmfield and Heath , Stanley Ferry , Newmillerdam , Snydale, Wintersett , and Chapelthorpe are included in
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#1732797657091748-408: The designation. The green belt was adopted in 1987, and in 2017 amounted to some 23,500 hectares (235 km ; 91 sq mi). The district is divided into 21 wards , each represented on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council by three councillors. Councillors are elected on a first past the post basis, usually for a four-year period which is staggered so that only one councillor per ward
782-556: The district, this was the second-largest stock transfer in British history. WDH are investing over £700 million to regenerate the District and working with partners, such as WMDC, are investing in new housing within the District. 53°40′59″N 1°29′56″W / 53.683°N 1.499°W / 53.683; -1.499 Knottingley Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire , England on
816-580: The immediate area closed and later cleared for redevelopment. These included South Kirkby-Ferrymoor Riddings Drift , Frickley Colliery (Carlton Main) , Kinsley Drift (formerly Hemsworth Colliery) , and Grimethorpe Colliery . The town is home to South Kirkby Colliery football club, who have competed in the FA Cup many times in their history. Another early football club of note in the town were South Kirkby Wednesday , who were early rivals of South Kirkby Colliery and nearby Frickley Colliery . South Kirkby
850-473: The industry that once dominated the district. Most of the district's pits had been very hardline during the 1984 strike. The former Borough of Wakefield was raised to city status by letters patent in 1888. It became a county borough in 1913, taking it out of the jurisdiction of the West Riding County Council. The present boundaries were set in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 , when
884-539: The largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of Wakefield at the 2011 Census was 325,837. The district includes the Five Towns of Castleford , Featherstone , Knottingley , Normanton and Pontefract . Other towns include Hemsworth , Horbury , Ossett , South Elmsall and South Kirkby (also forms the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe ). The city and district are governed by Wakefield Council from
918-565: The last of which was delivered in December 2002. The last miners, their families and many former miners marched from Knottingley Town Hall to the Social Club in December 2015. A short lived greyhound racing track existed from 1940 to 1946 and again during 1947. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club ) and was known as a flapping track, which
952-405: The town became an important staging place for the coach traffic on that route. Knottingley was an inland port of some note, long the last navigable point on the Aire until the Aire and Calder Navigation, built in 1704 and widened in 1826, enabled barges to make it to Leeds . Its shipyards built and maintained both inland and seagoing vessels. Pottery was a significant industry for the town from
986-530: The town of Knottingley, believed to be in Wildbore House. The house was later demolished when its land was mined as a quarry for the limestone underneath. Knottingley, inextricably linked with Ferrybridge, is a West Yorkshire town whose history is tied to river travel and industry. It has managed to retain certain elements of that industrial history as thriving enterprises today, providing employment for many of its combined population of some 17,000. It
1020-487: Was also served at one point by Hemsworth and South Kirkby railway station on the Hull and Barnsley Railway but this closed in the 1930s. Wayne Benn grew up in the town and played professional football for Bradford City . City of Wakefield Wakefield , also known as the City of Wakefield , is a local government district with city status and a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire , England. Wakefield ,
1054-552: Was first mentioned 1086 in the Domesday Book , and South Kirkby retains the site of the original Saxon settlement (Grid ref: SE434104). The foundations and part of the walls of 'All Saints Church' in South Kirkby are from the period. For many centuries, they were both simply farming villages until the start of the Industrial Revolution . Hague Hall was located in South Kirkby before it was demolished in 1910 as
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1088-410: Was made navigable as far as Leeds , which soon surpassed it. Knottingley continued as a centre for boat building into the 20th century. In the late 19th century, it started glass manufacturing. The town is served by Knottingley railway station . After 1870, the town became known for glass manufacturing. In 1887, Bagley's Glassworks purchased the rights to the first bottle-making machine, invented by
1122-477: Was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement, though the ancient monument of Ferrybridge Henge shows it had significant indigenous habitation long before then. The crossing over the Aire at Ferrybridge was of importance for many centuries. A bridge was built there in 1198, and another to replace it two centuries later. Located on the Great North Road linking London with York and Edinburgh beyond that,
1156-632: Was the nickname given to independent tracks. The venue could accommodate up to 3,000 people. The town is home to a rugby union club, who meet on Marsh Lane. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire . Television signals are received from the Emley Moor TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Leeds on 92.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Radio Aire and Ridings FM ) on 96.3 and 106.8 FM, Hits Radio West Yorkshire on 102.5 FM, Heart Yorkshire on 106.2 FM, Capital Yorkshire on 105.1 and 105.8 FM and 5 Towns FM,
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