Upton is a village in the

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 ...

Upton and North Elmsall Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire * Upton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire * Upton, ...

, 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 ...

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 parish had a population of 3,541 in the 2001 census. It is situated south of Badsworth and north of

North Elmsall North Elmsall ( ) is a village in the civil parish of Upton and North Elmsall, in the City of Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 4,093 in 2001 and 3,873 in 2011. Until 1974 it was part of Hemsworth R ...

and is part of the SESKU (

South Elmsall South Elmsall ( ) is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. South Elmsall lies to the east of Hemsworth. The town had a population in 2001 of 6,107, increasing to 6,519 at the 2011 Census. History The tow ...

South Kirkby South Kirkby is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England which is governed locally by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. The town forms half of the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe. The parish has a populatio ...

, Upton) area. The village is also in the WF9 postal area (

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

) and very close to the

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

boundary. Until 1974 it was in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

History

The village is mentioned in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, where it is noted as having a church. The name literally means ''Higher Town'' and is recorded as ''Uptune'', ''Uptone'' and ''Opton'' in old documents. Historically, the village was in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

of Osgoldcross. Upton was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of Badsworth, in 1866 Upton became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 2023 the parish was abolished to form "Upton and North Elmsall". In 1885, the

Hull and Barnsley Railway The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company (HB&WRJR&DCo.) was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The ...

opened 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 ...

at the south end of the village, which also served the community of North Elmsall. In 1924,

Upton Colliery Upton Colliery was a coal mine near to the village of Upton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site was north west of Doncaster and north east of Barnsley. Coal was transhipped from the colliery by the former Hull and Barnsley Rail ...

was opened to the south east of the village, but was closed in 1964 due to geological faulting and a serious explosion which required the shafts to be sealed. A former coal mining community, regeneration is in progress as a housing overflow for the more expensive areas of

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 Pontefract.

Sport

The village was home to Upton Colliery F.C. who appeared in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and featured Charlie Williams as a player. A short-lived

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

track was opened near the village by the Carters' Knottingley Brewery Co Ltd. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body, the

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...

) and was thus known as a "flapping track", which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The lease was granted in 1933 to the tenant of the Greenfield Hotel, who wanted to attract the local mining community. The Greenfield Hotel and track are believed to have closed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with the six-acre site being made available for housing in 1947. The Carters' Knottingley Brewery Co Ltd also leased out greyhound tracks at Great Houghton and

Notable people

Recent recognised villagers include playwright

John Godber John Harry Godber (born 18 May 1956) is an English playwright, known mainly for observational comedy, observational comedies. The ''Plays and Players Yearbook'' of 1993 rated him the third most performed playwright in the UK after William Shak ...

, and Ada Mason (formerly the oldest living woman in England).

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Geography of the City of Wakefield Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire

History

Sport

Notable people

See also

References

External links