Wrenthorpe is a village north-west of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, 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 is located in the

Rhubarb Triangle The Rhubarb Triangle is a area of West Yorkshire, England between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell famous for producing early forced rhubarb. It includes Kirkhamgate, East Ardsley, Stanley, Lofthouse and Carlton. The Rhubarb Triangle was origi ...

History

Although earlier remains, such as

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomi ...

and pottery, have been found in the area, the current settlement dates from after 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 ...

s compilation in 1086.

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

has played an important role in Wrenthorpe's history, building from the presence of a few potters in the 15th century, to a thriving

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...

that peaked in the 17th century, before declining over the course of the 18th. Such was the scale of pottery production, the village became known as "Potovens," attributed to the

kilns A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

used to fire finished pottery. Reminders of this heritage can be found in local names, such as "Potovens Lane" and the remains of pottery and clay

tobacco pipes A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very sim ...

that can be found in the soil. As the potteries declined,

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, already present on a smaller scale providing fuel for the potters' kilns, expanded to meet the needs of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. Agriculture also grew more important to the area. During the 19th and early 20th century

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

and woollen textile production joined coal and agriculture as Wrenthorpe's major industries, both disappearing over the course of the 20th century.

Rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...

forcing houses were built in Wrenthorpe, contributing to

's extensive Rhubarb growing industry.

Education

Wrenthorpe is served by two

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, Wrenthorpe Academy, and Jerry Clay Academy. Both are pyramid schools of

Outwood Grange Academy Outwood Grange Academy is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Outwood, near Wakefield, England. It has a mixed intake of both boys and girls ages 11–18, and has over 2,100 pupils on roll with a comprehensive admission ...

in nearby Outwood. There are two co-educational

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

s in the village:

Silcoates School Silcoates School is a co-educational independent school in the village of Wrenthorpe near Wakefield, England. The school was founded in 1820 as the Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House, for the board and education of the sons of Non ...

which provides an education for pupils aged 2 to 18 and Hall Cliffe Primary School, which is a specialist day school for pupils aged 5 to 13 years, based at the old Sunny Hill House School site.

Recreation and sport

Wrenthorpe Park has facilities including hard

tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

, a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

, children's

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

and car parking. Park paths connect with the neighbouring village of

Alverthorpe Alverthorpe is a suburb of, and former village in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. History After the start of the Industrial Revolution woollen and worsted yarns were spun and woollen and worsted cloth woven in the mills and factories that w ...

through Alverthorpe and Wrenthorpe Meadows, a Local Nature Reserve with managed hay

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...

and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

areas. A smaller recreation ground with a football pitch, is located in the centre of the village on Wrenthorpe Lane. Wrenthorpe Cricket Club's senior teams compete in the Central Yorkshire Cricket League. Wrenthorpe Cricket Club equalled the record of consecutive Heavy Woollen cup final victories, with four wins in a row. The feat was previously done 120 years ago by Dewsbury & Saville CC. The club has junior teams ranging from under-9s to under-17s. Wrenthorpe Rangers are a local football club with junior teams from U6 through to U18s and open age teams that compete in the Wakefield Sunday league. The New Pot Oil pub hosts an open age team which competes in the same league. The 2013–2014 season was the most successful season for Wrenthorpe Rangers as they completed the league and cup double with a penalty shootout victory in the final of the cup over local rivals, the New Pot Oil. Wrenthorpe

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Club offers both social and competitive play, with teams in the Castleford & District League and the Barnsley & District League. It also provides junior

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

for 10- to 16-year-olds.

References

External links

Wrenthorpe HistoryWrenthrope Community Website
{{Wakefield, West Yorkshire Suburbs of Wakefield

History

Education

Recreation and sport

See also

References

External links