Mankinholes is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, 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 situated in the Pennines and the nearest town is

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax. In 2011 it had a population of 15,481. Todm ...

. The hamlet is part of Calder Ward in Calderdale Parish Council. It has a YHA hostel, managed by the larger hostel at nearby

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages inc ...

. Mankinholes is the starting point for the popular trek up Stoodley Pike (pike being a North-country term for a mountain or large hill). The hill is surmounted by a 19th-century

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

, high, also known as "Stoodley Pike", commemorating the end of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. The name "Mankin" is believed to have Celtic origins, with the

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

recording its first meaning as "fierce wild man". The surname Mankin is found in parish records of the township of Langfield and the parish of Halifax. One theory is that the name derives from an area of caverns, inhabited by mankins. A second theory is that the name means "Mancan's Hollow", with Mancan being an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

surname, suggesting Irish-Viking settlers.Lumbutts & Mankinholes Conservation Area Character Appraisal
Calderdale Borough Council, April 2008 Mankinholes was an early centre of

Wesleyan Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. Groups met in farmhouses as early as the late 18th century and the first chapel was built in 1814. This was enlarged in 1870 and rebuilt in 1911. An adjacent Sunday School was built in 1833. Mankinholes Methodist Church closed on 1 July 1979, when the congregation joined with that of Lumbutts Methodist Church, situated midway between the villages of Mankinholes and Lumbutts. The Mankinholes Sunday School building still stands and is now a private house, surrounded by a large graveyard. Mankinholes 2020

References

Other sources

*Mitchell, E., ''History of Mankinholes'', 1909 *Wilkinson, R., ''Methodism in Mankinholes'', 1964 *Wilkinson, R., ''Unto the Hills'', 1987

External links

Villages in West Yorkshire Todmorden {{WestYorkshire-geo-stub