Barkisland
| Barkisland | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 Barkisland Mills | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE054200 |
| Location: | 53°40’38"N, 1°55’8"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Halifax |
| Postcode: | HX4 |
| Dialling code: | 01422 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Calderdale |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Calder Valley |
Barkisland is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is a mile east of Ripponden, two miles south of Sowerby Bridge and four miles south-west of Halifax town centre. Barkisland has one school, a church, a post office and a local cricket club which play in the Huddersfield League.[1] There are two pubs in Barkisland, the Fleece and the Griffin.
History
A ten-thousand-year-old axe has been discovered near Ringstone Reservoir, providing evidence of human activity in the area now known as Barkisland dating back to the Stone Age.[2] The origin of the name is in dispute. In a book of place names printed in 1944 it was stated that Barkisland derived from it being a settlement ('land') of a chieftain called 'Barkis'. While much earlier, in 1789, the Rev. John Watson, vicar of Ripponden church between 1754 and 1769, theorised that "Barsey or Barkesey are Anglo-Saxon words meaning low-lying enclosures where birches grow. It also is the Anglo-Saxon for a district where there are wolves."[3]
Barkisland originates as a township of the ancient parish of Halifax. A civil parish existed from 1866 to 1937, when it was merged with that of Ripponden.
Industry
Bower's Mill was built in the 18th century as a water-powered fulling mill.[4] it has also been used as a corn mill, a worsted mill and a woolen mill. Textiles manufacturer J. & S. Taylor Ltd occupied the mill from 1882 to 1991 before moving production to Sowerby Bridge.[5] The mill has now been converted for smaller businesses.[4]
Barkisland Mills is a 6-storey building which was used for textile production in the 19th and 20th centuries. At the start of the 21st century it was converted into residential flats.[4] There was also a Bottomley's Mill in Barkisland. Its presence as a cotton mill was recorded when a fire broke out there on 13 January 1871.[4]
Geography
Barkisland is situated on a hilltop that gently rises from Greetland in the north-east and declines westwards to Ripponden and eastwards to Stainland. The hill continues to climb southwards towards Scammonden.
Landmarks
A surviving historic landmark of Barkisland are the original stocks. They are located on Stainland Road roughly 550 yards east of the post office and are a Grade-II listed building.[6]
Part of the Anglican Diocese of Wakefield, Christ Church is Barkisland's only church and is linked with the nearby school.[7]
Barkisland Hall is a Grade-I listed country house built for John Gledhill in 1638, constructed in stone in three storeys to an F-shaped floor plan. It was bought in 1967 by Lord Kagan to provide accommodation for his textile company (makers of the Gannex raincoat).[8]
Education
Barkisland Primary School is a Church of England junior and infant school.[9]
Barkisland School Association (BSA) is a parent-teacher organisation supporting the school by organising events and fundraising.[10]
References
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Barkisland) |
- ↑ "Barkisland Cricket Club". barkislandcricketclub.co.uk/. http://barkislandcricketclub.co.uk/. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ A Rinder. "The Early Inhabitants of Barkisland". dawtrina.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140502154840/http://www.dawtrina.com/personal/barkisland/early.html. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ "The Etymology of Barkisland". dawtrina.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140502141026/http://www.dawtrina.com/personal/barkisland/etymology.html. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Mills & Mines – B". Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion. http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~calderdalecompanion/m408_b.html. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ "History". Taylors Direct. http://www.taylorsdirect.co.uk/history/. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ "View of the stocks at Barkisland, West Yorkshire". calderdale.gov.uk. http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/wtw/search/controlservlet?PageId=Detail&DocId=101800. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ "Barkisland Christ Church". A Church Near You. http://www.achurchnearyou.com/barkisland-christ-church/. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1276881: Barkisland Hall
- ↑ "Barkisland CofE VA Primary School Inspection report". Ofsted. 10 May 2011. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/files/1971125/urn/107552.pdf. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ "Barkisland School Association". barkislandcofeschool. http://barkislandcofeschool.org.uk/?q=bsa/bsa. Retrieved 1 November 2016.