Birdsedge (or Birds Edge) is a small 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 ...

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, on the edge of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

's Pennine Hills, standing just below above sea level. It is approximately south-east from

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and about north-west from

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 13,270 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in ...

, between the villages of Shepley and

Upper Cumberworth Upper Cumberworth is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Denby Dale and the Diocese of Wakefield. It is between the villages of Denby Dale and Shepley, above the village of Lower Cumberworth. It occupies a ru ...

and is linked with the neighbouring hamlet of High Flatts, a former

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

settlement (and still home to a

Friends Meeting House A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...

). Though originally an area of upland farms, woollen weaving and stone quarries, it is now a dormitory village for nearby towns and cities of Huddersfield,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Although the village has no industry it hosts Birdsedge First School, Birdsedge Wesleyan Reform Church and Birdsedge Village Hall. A mill operates in the village, part of the Z Hinchliffe mill complex located in the nearby village of

Denby Dale Denby Dale is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is 8 miles north-west of Barnsley and 10 miles south-east of Huddersfield. The village is the main village in the Denby Dale civ ...

Name

Multiple spellings of the village's name exist. Local residents tend to spell it as Birdsedge, while Kirklees (local authorities) spell it as 'Birds Edge'. Until the 1980s, the road sign at the north end of the village proclaimed ''Birds Edge'', while approaching from the south, although there was no village sign, the road sign on the A629 proclaimed ''Birdsedge''. In the village Post Office's guide: 'Postal Addresses and Index to Postcode Directories' of May 1983, it is listed as Birdsedge.

History

Until the 17th century, the village was mostly isolated farms. A group of Quakers founded a

Meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

in High Flatts, renovating a barn and building several houses nearby. The Dickinsons lived in the area of High Flatts and Ingbirchworth until around 1900, when some residents moved to nearby towns to find work outside of the textile trade. The Dickinson family prospered and the community developed under the Quakers for 200 years. Around 1880, James Dickinson (born 1867), son of Joseph Dickinson (born 1837), moved to Brampton Bierlow to work in the

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

s and farms. By that time, the mill at Birdsedge was a major employer in the area. The majority of 19th century stone cottages housed workers who had moved from outlying areas to find employment. By this time several shops, including a post office, and two or three pubs had opened. The school (then in the building that became the village hall) was founded in the 1870s by the Quakers. It was replaced by the New Council School (now the First School) in 1911. Today the village has about 170 houses and a population of 350.

Culture

Birdsedge hosts an annual festival on the first Saturday in July, featuring family entertainment, music and dance performances from the national and international folk scene. It has hosted folk concerts in the Village Hall since 1983.

References

External links

Community website
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Denby Dale