Fitzwilliam is a small village on the edge 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, in the

City of Wakefield Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a Local government in England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status and a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settl ...

district. The village falls within the Hemsworth ward of Wakefield City Council.

Governance

It is part of the town of

Hemsworth Hemsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire and had a population of 13,311 at the 2001 census, ...

and local government is in the hands of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, with the Hemsworth Town Council as a mainly consultative body. However, the Post Office recognises it as a separate settlement from the town of Hemsworth.

History

It was built as a

pit village A pit village, colliery village or mining village is a settlement built by colliery owners to house their workers. The villages were built on the coalfields of Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution where new coal mines were developed in ...

. It has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the Wakefield Line, providing it with connections to

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 ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. The railway station closed in 1967, reopened in 1982 and the line was electrified in 1989. The village provided housing for miners at the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. 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 extra ...

originally named "Fitzwilliam Main". The name was taken from the family name of the colliery's proprietor. In 1905, a bitter industrial dispute led to all the miners being expelled from their homes, which were owned by the

Fitzwilliam family Fitzwilliam may refer to: People * Fitzwilliam (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Fitzwilliam, a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain * Viscount FitzWilliam, a title in the Peerage of Ireland Pl ...

; this became known as the "

Kinsley eviction Kinsley can refer to: People * Kinsley (given name) * Billy Kinsley (born 1946), musician * Colin Kinsley, mayor of Prince George, British Columbia (1996–2008) * Craig Kinsley (born 1989), American Olympic javelin thrower * Jessie Catherine ...

". The mine later changed its name to Hemsworth Colliery which closed in 1969. Kinsley Drift Mine was opened on the site of the old Hemsworth Colliery in 1977. In the long-running

miners' strike The following is a list of miners' strikes. Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes *History of coal mining in the United States References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miners' strikes Miners' labor disputes, ...

of 1984 to 1985, a riot took place in Fitzwilliam on 9 July 1984, and nine people ("The Fitzwilliam Nine") were convicted of public order offences as a result. Kinsley and nearby Nostell Pit were closed in 1986 and 1987 respectively. South Kirkby Colliery closed in 1988. As a result, there was a high level of unemployment in the locality and migration led to it being labelled as a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. Between 2003 and 2006, part of the village was demolished, including the whole of the "City estate", to clear derelict properties. In response, Fitzwilliam was included in the Hemsworth Coalfield regeneration area and has received special funding to aid its recovery. The economy improved much in the first decade of the 21st century and unemployment in the Hemsworth seat fell to 3% in 2007, although there are no statistics specifically for Fitzwilliam. Kinsley Greyhound Stadium - geograph

Notable residents

Geoffrey Boycott Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...

, cricketer *

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

and Peter Knowles, footballers * Sir Albert Lamb commonly known as Larry Lamb, newspaper editorOxford Dictionary of National Biography, Bernard Shrimsley 2004, on-line version accessed 17 June 2012
/ref> The band

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

recorded a song named after the village, which described its painful decline following the 1984–1985 miners' strike. The village also plays a large role in the crime novel '' Nineteen Seventy Four'', in which it is introduced in a list of "hard towns for hard men" and then later referred to as "a dirty brown mining town" and "where the night comes early and nowt othingfeels right, where the kids kill cats and the men kill kids".

References

External links

The Fitzwilliam Archive Online
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Hemsworth