Chickenley is a suburban village in the Borough of
Kirklees,
West Yorkshire, England. It is part of
Dewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...
after being originally a farming
hamlet, half-way between
Ossett and Dewsbury.
The Chickenley name could derive from a family name originating during early settlement, corrupted to "Chick" over the years, or a man who had a chicken called 'Ley' and decided to change the name to Chickenley (as the town was previously called 'Cowbob'). An old story is that when a
maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place.
The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...
was built in the Gawthorpe area of Ossett in 1840, men from Chickenley came to tear it down. Some of the early settlers to the area were a family of Italian tinkers, the Cascarinos and also of Irish origin the Taylors; these family names still exist in the area. After the
Second World War a council estate was built in the area. The estate is the largest in Dewsbury and has a doctors and shops within it.
Chickenley has no
Church of England church, although there is
St Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
Catholic Church, opposite Chickenley Community School on Chickenley Lane. Until recently the estate was linked with the Gawthorpe area of Ossett as part of a Church of England
parish. However, it is now part of the large parish of Dewsbury, which has several churches within its area. Gawthorpe's St Mary's Church C.of E. church was at the border with Ossett, but was demolished in March 2011.
"The end is nigh for abandoned church..."
Thepressnews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2011
The local elections of 4 May 2006 saw the BNP gain the "Dewsbury East" ward, which includes the estate - but the seat was regained by the Labour Party in the 5 May 2007 election.
References
Heavy Woollen District
Villages in West Yorkshire
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