Brockholes is a small village in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, in the administrative area of

Kirklees Metropolitan Council Kirklees Council is the local authority providing most local government services for the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council and one of five constituent councils of the West Yorkshire Combined Aut ...

and Holme Valley Parish Council. The village of

Honley __NOTOC__ Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. According to the 2011 ...

borders to the immediate north of the village and

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...

lies to the south. Brockholes is within the

Postal district A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

Community

According to the 2001 census, Brockholes had a resident population of 1,861 in 764 households. Central to the village is a small green set back from the A616 behind terraced housing, and overlooked by a church, a chapel and the village hall, formerly the village school. The village hall on Brockholes Lane was built in 1837 and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Further Grade II structures are the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

St George's

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

, built in 1861, the 17th- or early 18th-century Bank End farmhouse and barn on Bank End Knoll at the south-east of the village, and a late 18th- to early 19th-century single-span bridge over the River Holme on Smithy Place Lane. A more modern primary school, Brockholes C of E Junior and Infants School for 4 to 11 year olds, is on Brockholes Lane, south from the village

Railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The station has a direct link between

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

on the

Penistone Line The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards ( ...

. Brockholes contains two

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, The Rock Inn and the Travellers Rest, a range of village shops, and a post office. The A616 route between

and

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...

passes directly through the village and the A628 Woodhead Road passes down the valley on its westward side.

Economy

Brockholes is a semi-rural area, mostly consisting of farms with a large housing area, some of which has been built on the former premises of Rock Mills, which was only one of several large

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

s. There was also a spinning works, shoddy mill, and a textile machinery engineering works, though now only the latter still exists. A number of larger businesses were established in the industrial units of the old Rock Mill site, including a tyre fitting and repair company, an electrical wholesalers, a steel fabrication company, and a car registration plate business. More recently the local petrol station was bought out by a national chain and refurbished to include a mini supermarket. Brook (Electric) Motors, founded in 1904 by Ernest Brook by its 50th anniversary in 1954 it employed more than 2,000 people and, with Ernest's sons Frank and Jack in charge, was the largest exclusive producer of AC motors in the world, and had a turnover of £4,500,000. By 1954 Brook Motors Ltd operated 10 factories in Huddersfield, its biggest being Empress Works on St Thomas's Road, and had just opened one at Barugh Green, Barnsley along with their site in Honley which sits firmly between the road to Holmfirth and the road to Brockholes. Brook Motors was one of the more enlightened employers in Huddersfield. Ernest Brook himself installed a profit-sharing scheme, and to mark the 1954 jubilee celebrations a gratuity, or independent pension, scheme was introduced. Management insisted on clean, well-lit, hygienic premises with the most up-to-date machinery. At its height, Brook Motors was producing more than 70% of the world's electric motors. It went through numerous mergers, though the name still survives in the 2010 company, Invensys Brook Crompton. Production ceased in Huddersfield in 2000 and was moved to Poland. The Honley factory has now closed and the buildings have been divided into smaller units. Other former businesses include Ben Shaws, a soft drinks manufacturers, the old K&M Candle factory, taken over by shoe polish manufacturer

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

, and eventually closed, and Norton Scientific Instruments.

Gallery

Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), Hand Operated Candle Machines 01.jpg, K&M Candles Hand operated Candle Making Machine 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), Hand Operated Candle Machines 02.jpg, K&M Candles Hand operated Candle Making Machine 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), Hand Operated Candle Machines 03.jpg, K&M Candles Hand operated Candle Making Machine 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), Staff Packing Candles.jpg, K&M Staff packing candles into boxes 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), KIWI Shoe Polish Canning Machine 01.jpg, K&M Kiwi Shoe Polish canning machine empty tins being loaded 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), KIWI Shoe Polish Canning Machine 02.jpg, K&M Kiwi Shoe Polish canning machine, full tins from machine 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), KIWI Shoe Polish Production Line.jpg, K&M, KIWI Shoe Polish production Line, putting lids on tins by hand 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), KIWI Shoe Polish Staff Packing Tins.jpg, K&M Staff packing KIWI Shoe Polish into boxes 1972 Image:K&M Candles Brockholes UK, 1972 (RLH), KIWI Shoe Polish Warehouse Storage.jpg, K&M, KIWI Shoe Polish boxes Warehouse Storage 1972 Image:Brockholes, West Yorkshire UK 1978, Smithy Place 'Shoddy 'Mills.jpg, Entry To Smithy Place Shoddy Mill in 1978

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of Holmfirth Holme Valley Towns and villages of the Peak District