Birkenshaw is a village in the borough of
Kirklees
Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It ...
in the county of
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England. It lies at the crossroads between the
A58 Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
to
Halifax road and the A651
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
to
Heckmondwike road. At the
2011 census, the village was located in the ward of Birstall and Birkenshaw, which had a population 16,298. Birkenshaw forms part of the
Heavy Woollen District.
It is the site of the headquarters of the
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
History
The name of the village derives from
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
and means "Birch Wood".
Birkenshaw was formerly a
chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century.
Status
A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
in the parish of
Birstall, in 1894 Birkenshaw became an
urban district, on 31 December 1894 Birkenshaw became a
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, being formed from the part of the parish of
Gomersal in Birkenshaw Urban District, on 1 April 1937 the district was abolished to form the
Municipal Borough of Spenborough. On 1 April 1937 the parish was also abolished and merged with Gomersal. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2816.
Transportation
The village used to have a railway station () on the former
Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway. It was closed to passengers in 1953 and closed completely in 1964.
Facilities
There are two schools in the village, Birkenshaw Primary School and
BBG Academy, a church and two playgrounds.
The village has three
pubs - ''The Golden Fleece'', ''The Halfway House'' and ''The George IV'' – and one social club, Birkenshaw Liberal Club.
There are two restaurants, The Grand Cru.
and Heath-field Farm.
This village also has some sporting teams such as the Birkenshaw Bluedogs (rugby league) and the Birkenshaw Bells (netball).
Location grid
Notable people
People from Birkenshaw:
*
Benjamin Lister (1850–1919), cricketer
*
Michael McGowan (born 1940), politician
*
Emanuel Scott (1834–1898), cricketer
*
Harry Turner (1879–1939), cricketer
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in West Yorkshire
Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire
Geography of Kirklees