Birkenshaw is a 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 ...

in the county of

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 lies at the crossroads between the A58

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 ...

to Halifax road and the A651

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the Kirklees district, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is in the Spen Valley parliamentary constituency ...

road. At the 2011 census, the village was located in the ward of Birstall and Birkenshaw, which had a population 16,298. Birkenshaw forms part of the

Heavy Woollen District The Heavy Woollen District is a region of textile-focused industrial development in West Yorkshire, England. It acquired the name because of the heavyweight cloth manufactured there from the early 19th century. The district is made up of parts o ...

. It is the site of the headquarters of the

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service The West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is administered by a joint authority of 22 people who are appointed ann ...

History

The name of the village derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

and means "Birch Wood". Birkenshaw 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 Birstall, in 1894 Birkenshaw became an

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

, on 31 December 1894 Birkenshaw 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 the part of the parish of

Gomersal Gomersal is a town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, south west of Leeds. east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District ...

in Birkenshaw Urban District, on 1 April 1937 the district was abolished to form the

Municipal Borough of Spenborough Spenborough was, from 1915 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Yorkshire, West Riding, England. Spenborough was created as an urban district in 1915 by the merger of Cleckheaton, Gomersal and Liversedge urban ...

. On 1 April 1937 the parish was also abolished and merged with Gomersal. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2816.

Transportation

The village used to have a railway station () on the former

Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway The Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway (LB&HJR) was an English railway company. It built a line between Bradford and Leeds, and had running powers over the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway to Halifax. It opened its main line in 1854 ...

. It was closed to passengers in 1953 and closed completely in 1964.

Facilities

There are two schools in the village, Birkenshaw Primary School and

BBG Academy BBG Academy (formerly Birkenshaw Middle School) is a mixed secondary school located in Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire, England. Birkenshaw Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary sc ...

, a church and two playgrounds. The village has three

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s - ''The Golden Fleece'', ''The Halfway House'' and ''The George IV'' – and one social club, Birkenshaw Liberal Club. There are two restaurants, The Grand Cru. and Heath-field Farm. This village also has some sporting teams such as the Birkenshaw Bluedogs (rugby league) and the Birkenshaw Bells (netball).

Location grid

Notable people

People from Birkenshaw: * Benjamin Lister (1850–1919), cricketer * Michael McGowan (born 1940), politician * Emanuel Scott (1834–1898), cricketer * Harry Turner (1879–1939), cricketer

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire Geography of Kirklees