Kirkburton

Kirkburton is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, lying five miles southeast of Huddersfield. It comprises the two villages of Kirkburton and Highburton together with several hamlets including, Thorncliffe, Burton Royd, Riley, Dogley Lane, Common Side and Linfit Lane.

In the Middle Ages the township formed part of the Manor of Wakefield and Kirkburton church was at the head of a 16000 acre Parish which extended as far west as the Holme Valley.

The Manufacture of woollen cloth was well established here by the time of the first Queen Elizabeth. It expanded rapidly after the late 18th century. The first textile mill was built at Dogley about 1787 and used waterpower to prepare wool for spinning and for fulling the finished cloth. About 1800 another mill opened at Linfit, which used steam power to carry out the same activities. Both mills gradually took on other processes and developed into substantial businesses under the Kenyon and Hey families. By 1880 there were about eight mills at work in the township.

The tanning of leather and exploitation of local coal deposits made valuable contributions to the economy of Kirkburton for several centuries. The last tannery closed in the 1830's. Coal mining grew in importance with the increased use of steam in the mills and by 1850 there were no fewer than 20 small pits in the township. The last colliery closed about seventy years ago.

One old established industry, which has only recently moved from the village, is the manufacture of edge tools and shovels, which was introduced in the mid eighteenth century.

The population of the township increased rapidly with the growth of the textile trades. By 1800 the population was about 1400: sixty years later it was approaching 3700. After this, better job opportunities elsewhere led to a general decline in the population and for nearly a century the figure settled around the 3000 mark. By 1971 there were 2800 inhabitants but following housing development at Highburton the estimated population is now nearer 4000.

Kirkburton has a Rapier Dance Team (http://homepages.force9.net/stringfellow/kirkburton/), who perform traditiona longsword dances each New Years Day at pubs in the villages of Kirkburton and Highburton.

Rapier dancing was a tradition in the village up to the beginning of the 20th century, and was revived in 1974.

Places of Interest

PARISH CHURCH: Dedicated to All Hallows, most of the church is thirteenth century although parts have been rebuilt. Fifteenth century tower and late medieval nave ceiling, Elizabethan and Jacobean Pews. A small window in the chancel may have opened from the cell of a hermit. Restored tenth century stone crucifix.

SALVATION ARMY CITADEL: The first Salvation Army Corps were established in the village in 1885. Their present headquarters were opened in 1964.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, Slant Gate: Converted into a private house in 1973, the oldest part dates from 1832. A school, now demolished, was built in 1899 and the chapel was enlarged in 1926.

HIGHBURTON CROSS: Marking the site of the medieval market, the steps at the base probably date from the fourteenth century, the shaft and ball from the eighteenth or nineteenth.

MANOR MILL, Linfit Lane: One of three former corn mills in the township, the others being at Dogley Bar and Smithy Hill. Dating from about 1832 this mill had one of the largest water wheels in the country, with a diameter of fifty feet: it was removed for scrap during the second world war.

SPRINGFIELD MILL: The oldest part was built as a warehouse about 1830. The main building, in a similar style but larger, was added for spinning in 1834 and the weaving sheds opposite in 1849. After the church this is perhaps the most important piece of architecture in the village.

TOWN HALL: The owners of the nearby mill built Springfield House in the 1830’s. It was bought by Kirkburton Urban District Council in 1935 and taken over as a Town Hall three years later. The council sold it in 1982

BURTON VILLAGE HALL: Formerly Highburton School, the Village Hall was extensively renovated in 1999 with funds raised by the local community and a grant from the National Lottery Fund.

COAL MINING: Coal mining was formerly an important industry in this part of Yorkshire. The remains of a number of mines and bell pits can still be seen, including the former St Helen’s Colliery on Moor Lane in Highburton. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, there were over 30 pits operating around Kirkburton employing over 300 men.

IRON MAKING: Recent archaeological excavations in Myers Wood (http://www.lhi.org.uk/projects_directory/projects_by_region/yorkshire_the_humber/kirklees/the_myers_wood_project/) have uncovered the most complete iron working site in the North of England. The Cistercian monastic iron working site was in operation from the 12th to 14th century, using advanced techniques and water power for smelting and smithing iron.

Kirkburton is also the home to Kirkburton First (http://www.kirkburtonfirst.org.uk/), Turnshaws School and Kirkburton Middle school, where the headteacher is Mr Parker. Highburton is home to Highburton First School (http://www.highburtonfirst.org.uk/).