Mankinholes

Mankinholes
Yorkshire West Riding
Mankinholes
Location
Grid reference:	SD960235
Location:	53°42’30"N, 2°3’43"W
Data
Local Government
Council:	Calderdale

Mankinholes is a hamlet in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the Pennines. The nearest town is Todmorden, through which slices the Lancashire border.

The hamlet has a YHA hostel, managed by the larger hostel at nearby Haworth. This is the starting point for the popular trek up Stoodley Pike, which hill is surmounted by a 19th-century obelisk, 120 feet high, also known as "Stoodley Pike", commemorating the end of the Crimean War.

Name

There is no agreement on the origin of the name 'Mankinholes' Some say that "Mankin" is Celtic in origin. The surname 'Mankin' is found in parish records of the township of Langfield and the parish of Halifax, so it may simply be named from a household of that family. One theory is that the name derives from an area of caverns, inhabited by 'mankins', whatever they may be. Another theory is that the name means "Mancan's Hollow", with Mancan being an Irish clan name, suggesting Irish-Viking settlers.

History

Mankinholes was an early centre of Wesleyan Methodism: groups met in farmhouses as early as the late 18th century and the first chapel was built in 1814. This was enlarged in 1870 and rebuilt in 1911. An adjacent Sunday School was built in 1833. Mankinholes Methodist Church closed on 1 July 1979, when the congregation joined with that of Lumbutts Methodist Church, situated midway between the villages of Mankinholes and Lumbutts. The Mankinholes Sunday School building still stands and is now a private house, surrounded by a large graveyard.

Mankinholes and Lumbutts

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Mankinholes)

References

• Mitchell, E.: 'History of Mankinholes' (1909)
• Wilkinson, R.:
  • 'Methodism in Mankinholes' (1964)
  • 'Unto the Hills' (1987)