Staincross is a village in

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 ...

, England, on the border with

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 ...

. Historically part of 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 ...

, it formed part of the defunct

Barnsley West and Penistone Barnsley West and Penistone was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in South Yorkshire which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Hou ...

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

, following the Boundary Commission for England's report on South Yorkshire's Parliamentary constituencies in 2004 and the subsequent inquiry in 2005, it is now part of the

Barnsley Central Barnsley Central was a constituency in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons from 1983 until 2024. This constituency covered parts of the town of Barnsley. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster cons ...

borough constituency. The population now falls within the Darton East ward of the

Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Wombwell, Worsbrough, Penistone and Hoyland. The borough is bisected by the M1 mo ...

. The village also gave its name to 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. It is situated about from Barnsley, and from Wakefield.

Geography

Staincross lies off the

A61 road The A61 is a major trunk road in England connecting Derby and Thirsk in North Yorkshire by way of Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon. The road is closely paralleled by the M1 motorway ...

, about three miles north-west 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 ...

. It is located at approximately , and at an elevation of around 410 feet (125 m) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The section of the A61 between Staincross and

Newmillerdam Newmillerdam is a village and suburb of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. The name refers to the lake and country park adjacent to the village. The park is a local nature reserve. Formerly known as Thurstonhaigh, the village is currently ...

is rated in the top three most dangerous roads in Britain according to a survey conducted by The

AA Motoring Trust The Institute Of Advanced Motorists Limited, trading as IAM RoadSmart, is a charity based in the United Kingdom, whose objective is to improve car driving standards, motorcycle riding standards, and enhance road safety by using the British pol ...

History

The name is believed to be derived from a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

stone cross ('stane cross') that until the 18th century occupied a position on the junction of Staincross Common - which in itself is an ancient trackway - and Greenside. The stone, now lost, may have been the remains of a rural shrine. Alternatively, those remains may have been from a typical wapentake meeting cross, now partially reconstructed in Cawthorne parish church grounds a short distance from Ailric's local power base.

Postal recognition

After a prolonged campaign (backed by former Test cricket umpire,

Dickie Bird Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933) is an English former cricketer and retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence ...

, a resident of Staincross), a ballot was held in January 2003 to determine whether the residents of Staincross wanted their mail to include the name of the village. Before the ballot, Staincross mail bore the name of a neighbouring village, either

Mapplewell Mapplewell is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Formerly part of the now defunct Barnsley West and Penistone borough constituency, following the Boundary Commission for England's report on South ...

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton War ...

. Indeed, it is unclear where the boundaries between the three villages lie. Villagers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal by 966 to 199 and

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

implemented changes to officially recognise the village.

References

External links

Staincross Working Men's Club

Staincross Parish Church

Staincross Methodist Church
Villages in South Yorkshire Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley {{SouthYorkshire-geo-stub