Woolley is a village and
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 ...
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 ...
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. It had a population of 575 in 2001, which increased to 1,339 at the 2011 Census.
It is north of
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
, and south 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 ...
.
History
Historically
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
Woolley, mentioned as "Weludai" 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 ...
'', was part of the
Staincross Wapentake
Staincross was a Wapentake, which was an administrative division (or ancient district), in the historic county of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It consisted of seven parishes, and included the towns of Barnsley, Wombwell, Penistone, Hoyland, Wo ...
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 ...
. In the late 19th century it was part of the Royston parish. By 1881 it had become a civil parish in its own right, which covered an area of about .
Until 1974 it formed part of the
rural district
A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...
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 ...
.
Geography
No major roads pass through the village. The
A61 runs about east of it, the
M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
about west.
West of the village is the
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
known as Woolley Edge, which has given its name to the nearby
Woolley Edge service station on the
M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
.
Two miles (3 km) to the south west is
Woolley Colliery
Woolley Colliery is a village in Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, England. The village is near the border with South Yorkshire. The former colliery was in the Wakefield Rural Ward in West Yorkshire. The village is known locally as Mucky ...
village and the site of the pit is occupied by Woolley Grange, a residential development.
The
River Dearne
The River Dearne in South Yorkshire, England flows roughly east for more than , from its source just inside West Yorkshire. It flows through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, South Yorkshire, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolto ...
is the boundary between West and South Yorkshire south of the village.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Woolley, West Yorkshire
*
Woolley Hall
References
External links
*
Villages in West Yorkshire
Civil parishes in West Yorkshire
Geography of the City of Wakefield
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