East Hardwick is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district with the status of a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of ...
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. It has a population of 191,
reducing to 173 at the 2011 Census.
Until 1974 it was part of
Osgoldcross Rural District
Osgoldcross Rural District was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was created in 1938, from 19 remaining parishes of the disbanded Pontefract Rural District after three-quarters of its population (but only a small frac ...
.
History
The name 'East Hardwick' has its origins in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
. The 'East' distinguishes it from
West Hardwick
West Hardwick is a village and civil parish in the City of Wakefield 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 eastw ...
, and 'Hardwick' comes from the Old English phrase ''heorde-wīc'', meaning a herd farm or a farm for livestock. It adjoins the line of the Roman Great North Road now linking Pontefract to the North with the
A1 and Doncaster in the south.
The
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
does not record the village, but documents from 1120 refer to a Herdwica, and in 1296 as Herdwyk. The name means herd farm, an area used for livestock instead of arable farming. The version spelled as East Hardwick first appeared in 1424.
The township, later civil parish of East Hardwick, lies in the ecclesiastical parish of Pontefract. It became an independent parish in 1871 and its church record dates from 1874.
It is south of Pontefract, and east of Wakefield.
The earliest map dates from 1800 when the open fields were being enclosed. Two farms: Manor Farm and Norman's farm extended over 150 acres and records show cattle farming as well as wheat, oats, barley, potatoes and pea production.
In 1820, the Leeds to Barnsdale Bar turnpike opened through East Hardwick. This avoided traffic from Leeds having to travel through Garforth and Ferrybridge to get on the Great North Road going south. Tolls were collected until 1878.
Today East Hardwick consists of three main areas: the Kennels, around Doncaster Road, the hamlet of Hundhill, and the main part of the village located along Darrington road, a small winding road leading to the what is known locally as 'the Moor'. The village is still based around farming, although it is now a mixed community of residents.
The
A639 road
List of A roads in Great Britain, A roads in List of A roads zones in Great Britain, zone 6 in Great Britain starting east of the A6 road (Great Britain), A6 and A7 road (Great Britain), A7 roads, and west of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 (ro ...
cuts through the western portion of the village, linking the settlement with
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...
to the north and the
A1 and
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
to the south-east.
There is also a small church, St Stephen's, and a village hall.
Governance
Until 1974 the village was part of Osgoldcross Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is now part of Wakefield Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire. It is represented at Westminster as part of the
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Constituency.
See also
*
Listed buildings in East Hardwick
References
External links
East Hardwick Parish Council page
{{authority control
Villages in West Yorkshire
Civil parishes in West Yorkshire
Geography of the City of Wakefield