Flockton

History

Flockton grew in a coal mining area, Flockton Collieries are closed. Locals could find mining jobs at nearby collieries such as Bullhouse, Shuttle Eye, Emley Moor, or Caphouse Colliery when the local pits were closed due to their inability to compete pricewise with collieries that were connected to the railways.

Governance

Flockton was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Thornhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire and from 1866 Flockton was a civil parish and in 1894 an urban district. In 1938 the urban district was abolished and Flockton was added to Kirkburton.

Geography

Flockton contains the once separate areas of Over and Nether Flockton and Flockton Green. The village is about 6 mi east of Huddersfield and the same distance south-west of Wakefield. The village extends along the A637 Grange Moor to Barnsley road. At Flockton Green, at the eastern end of the village, there is a junction with the road from Overton. To the west is Flockton Moor, a rural area containing mainly farmhouses. Parkside is an area of council housing. In contrast there are stone-built private developments. House prices are above average for the area. Flockton is a commuter village because of its proximity to the M1 motorway, which brings with it a large amount of traffic.

It had a population of 800 in 1809. At the 1951 census (the last before the abolition of the parish), Flockton had a population of 1,318.

Amenities

St James the Great Church is on Barnsley Road next to Flockton C of E (C) First School.

Flockton has a newsagent/convenience store, a working men's club, and a motorcycle shop. There used to be a hairdressing salon and a fish and chips shop, however both have closed. The Dartmouth Arms public house was replaced by an Indian restaurant in October 2007 and has also since closed. The George and Dragon at Flockton Green is one of the oldest public houses in England, dating from 1485. This is now The Arc. The other pub in the village is The Sun.

New Hall Prison

New Hall Prison is in New Hall Wood, 1 km east of Flockton. The prison holds female adults, juveniles and young offenders.

Sport

Flockton has a cricket team that plays in the Huddersfield Cricket League. The village football teams play in Huddersfield and District Association Football League leagues.

References

References

1. (23 May 2011). "Kirkburton Parish Council map". Kirklees Council.
2. "E01011193 Flockton / Grange Moor".
3. (1960). "The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names". Oxford University Press.
4. (28 November 2005). "FLOCKTON - Pits, Pubs and a Prison". Huddersfield Examiner.
5. "History of Flockton, in Kirklees and West Riding". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
6. "Relationships and changes Flockton Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
7. "Flockton West Riding". A Vision of Britain through Time.
8. (13 January 2010). "Grange Moor and Flockton, West Yorkshire". Yorkshire Life.
9. Langdale, Thomas. (1809). "A Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire". J. Langdale, 1809.
10. "Population statistics Flockton Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
11. "St. James the Great Church, Flockton, in the Benefice of Lepton, Emley and Flockton with Denby Grange".
12. "Flockton C of E (C) First School - Home".
13. "Restaurant Review: The George & Dragon Flockton". Huddersfield Examiner.
14. (2016). "Sheffield & Huddersfield". Ordnance Survey.
15. "New Hall Prison and Young Offender Institute".