__NOTOC__ Honley is a large 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.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, it is situated near to

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 ...

and

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 on the banks of the

River Holme The Holme of the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England is a tributary of the River Colne, West Yorkshire. The source is via Digley Reservoir, fed firstly by the run-off from Brownhill Reservoir, then by Dobbs Dike. Banks along the upper vall ...

in the

Holme Valley Holme Valley is a large civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 25,049 (2001 census), increasing to 34,680 for the two wards in the 2011 Census. Its administrative centre is in H ...

. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 6,474, a growth of 577 from the 2001 Census

Community

The annual Honley Agricultural Show takes place on the second Saturday of June. The show has used farmland between Honley and

Meltham Meltham is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Holme Valley, below Wessenden Moor, four and a half miles south-west of Huddersfield on the edge of the Peak District Na ...

, and more recently farmland in

Farnley Tyas Farnley Tyas is a small village in West Yorkshire, England south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley. It is mostly rural and farmland with private housing and some local a ...

. Honley has both female and male voice choirs. There are three schools in the village. Honley Infant and Nursery School for ages 3–7, Honley Junior School for ages 7–11 and

Honley High School Honley High School is a coeducational secondary school situated on the edge of the village of Honley in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England. The catchment area includes the neighbouring villages of Brockholes, Honley, Meltham and Netherto ...

which after abolishing its sixth form college is now for ages 11–16.

Transport

Rail

Honley railway station Honley railway station serves the village of Honley in the Holme Valley of West Yorkshire, England. Honley station lies approximately from on the Penistone Line operated by Northern Trains. The station was opened by the Huddersfield & Sheffie ...

opened on 1 July 1850, 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 ( ...

. It connects the village to

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 ...

with an hourly service.

Bus

There are regular bus services to

and

. Most bus services are operated by the

First West Yorkshire First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...

and

Team Pennine Team Pennine operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. History Sta ...

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

is St Mary's, a Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

mostly Victorian church, constructed in 1843 by

Robert Dennis Chantrell Robert Dennis Chantrell ( Newington, Surrey 14 January 1793 – Norwood, 4 January 1872) was an English church architect, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church, now Leeds Minster. Early life Chantrell was born in Newington, Sou ...

, with later additions in 1888 and 1909. The church was built on the remains of an earlier church, known as 'Old Peg' built in 1759. It is surrounded by a burial ground containing inscribed tombstones with remnants of a set of village

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

. Though an earlier building was possibly constructed in 1503.

Sport

Honley F.C. fields junior teams at under-6 level to under-17 levels. The teams play in the Huddersfield Junior Football League, and play competitive seven-a-side matches from under-7s to under-10s and eleven-a-side matches from under-11s to under-17s. An adult side with three teams plays in the

Huddersfield and District Association Football League The Huddersfield and District Association League is a football competition based in the area of Huddersfield, England. It was founded in 1898. The league has a total of four senior divisions and four reserve divisions. The highest senior divisio ...

. The 'A' team is in the second division, the 'B' team in reserve division one, and the 'C' team in reserve division three. Honley also has teams in the

Huddersfield Cricket League The Huddersfield Cricket League is the premier cricket competition in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The league has been in existence since 1891 with teams representing suburbs of Huddersfield and villages in the Huddersfield district a ...

. On 6 July 2014, Stage 2 of the 2014

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

from York to Sheffield, passed through the village.

Notable people

* General Sir

Clement Armitage General Sir (Charles) Clement Armitage, (12 December 1881 – 15 December 1973) was a British Army officer who commanded 1st Division during the 1930s. Early life The son of Charles Ingram Armitage, Armitage was born in Honley, West Yorkshire ...

, General Officer Commanding 1st Infantry Division *

Biff Byford Peter Rodney "Biff" Byford (born 15 January 1951) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Saxon. Early life Byford was born in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire, the youngest of four children to Ernest Ch ...

, singer with heavy metal band

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. *

Alonzo Drake Alonzo Robson Drake (16 April 1884 – 14 February 1919) was an English footballer and first-class cricketer. Born in Rotherham, Drake was a good all-round sportsman but initially focused on his football career. Starting out with Doncaster Rov ...

, Yorkshire County Cricketer, born c.1885, d. 14 February 1919. Buried in Honley Cemetery. * John Dyson (1913–1991), first-class cricketer *Mary A Jagger, (1849-1936), author of ''The History of Honley'', published in 1914. She was also the first woman Postmistress in England. * France Littlewood (1863–1941), a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

activist. * Captain Sydney Liversedge (1897–1979),

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, was born in Honley. *

Dora Thewlis Dora Thewlis (1890–1976) was a British suffragette whose arrest picture made the front page of the ''Daily Mirror'' and other press. Early life Dora was born on 15 May 1890, at Shady Row in Meltham Mills, near Huddersfield in the West Ridi ...

(1880–1976), suffragette, was born in Honley. *

David Bintley Sir David Julian Bintley (born 17 September 1957) is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company. Early life Bintley was born ...

, Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Japan. Born in Honley and former head of Maths at

. *

Jon Stead Jonathan Graeme Stead (born 7 April 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He currently is an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in USL Championship, the American second division. Stead played for H ...

, ex-professional footballer

Gallery

File:Honley, Huddersfield.jpg, Village viewed from the railway line to Brockholes File:Honley Viewed from Oldfield Road (RLH).JPG, Honley viewed from Oldfield Road. Castle Hill is seen top right with Huddersfield in the distance. Central to the picture is Berry Brow & Newsome File:Honley stocks 312.jpg, Remains of village stocks in St Mary's Churchyard File:Honley (29214442034).jpg, St Mary's Church, peeping above the houses on Church St, Honley