Outwood is a district to the north of

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 ...

, in

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. The district is centred on the A61 Leeds Road south of Lofthouse. It grew up as a pit village and was only a small settlement until the 1970s, when construction of new houses caused it to grow and merge with neighbouring settlements such as Wrenthorpe and Stanley. In 2001, it had a population of 7,623.

History

Not recorded in

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, it is possible the settlement of Outwood gets its earliest literary mention in around 1400 in "The Lyttle Gest of Robyn Hode". Transcribed from at least a century of oral renditions telling the stories of Robin Hood and published in print form a century later in 1500, the prominent work features a mention of the name or phrase 'Outwoods'. This is quite possibly the earliest mention in any work of literature of one of England's greatest national myths alongside King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea. Outwood was the site of a pit disaster on 4 March 1879, when 21 people were killed in an explosion at Deep Drop Colliery. In 1905, the miners left homeless by the Kinsley evictions camped at Outwood Hall Farm, off Victoria Street, until they were able to return to their homes in Kinsley. The area near the railway station was once the site of Lofthouse pit, that is known for the

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

in March 1973 that claimed the lives of several miners. The coal mine closed in 1981, and many of the coal miners subsequently took transfers to the new Selby Coalfield and left the village. The site of the mine is now a golf course, now closed, and housing estate. The Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate is also situated near to Outwood. The parish church St Mary Magdalene was dedicated in 1858. Outwood 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 Wakefield, on 31 December 1894 Outwood 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 part of Stanley cum Wrenthorpe, on 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and Wakefield. In 1931 the parish had a population of 9254.

Transport

Outwood railway station Outwood railway station is situated in the Outwood, West Yorkshire, Outwood district of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Outwood is the first stop on the Wakefield Line after Leeds railway station, Leeds for trains going towards Wakefiel ...

is an unmanned station, served by Northern, offering rail services towards

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 ...

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 A61 (Leeds Road) runs through the middle of Outwood, connecting towards Leeds to the north and Wakefield to the south. Junction 41 of the M1 is also close-by.

Education

Outwood is home to Outwood Grange Academy, one of the largest secondary schools in the UK with over 2,100 students. The local primary schools are Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane (headteacher Rachael Skirrow) and Rooks Nest Academy (headteacher Kimberley Dawson).

Sport and recreation

Outwood is home to one park. Outwood Park has facilities for football, 5 a side, crown green bowling and a children's play area. Outwood is also home to two other playing fields and another play area. Local teams include Nightingale Football Club and Outwood Rangers Junior Football Club.

Local agriculture

Outwood is located within the Rhubarb Triangle. Because of its mining history Outwood has good supplies of soot and ash to condition its soil, which provide good conditions for the plant to grow.

Economy

CCE Wakefield is a main factory, with the rest of the Wakefield 41 industrial estate.

References

External links

* *
Historical photos of Outwood Community Video
{{Wakefield, West Yorkshire Suburbs of Wakefield Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire