South Elmsall

South Elmsall
Yorkshire West Riding
South Elmsall Market
Location
Grid reference:	SE475114
Location:	53°35’45"N, 1°16’21"W
Data
Population:	6,107  (2001)
Post town:	Pontefract
Postcode:	WF9
Dialling code:	01977
Local Government
Council:	Wakefield
Parliamentary constituency:	Hemsworth

South Elmsall is a small town to the east of Hemsworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is on the B6422 and B6474 (which leads to North Elmsall and Upton). Once a mining town, South Elmsal has declined since the pit closed in the 1990s.

The town neighbours South Kirkby, and they so run together that where one begins and the other ends cannot be told for sure and they are often grouped together as one town.

The A638 Doncaster to Wakefield road runs close to the north of the town, which leads to junction 38 of the A1(M) three miles to the south-east. It now has its own bypass which links the A1 to the Hemsworth Bypass providing excellent transport links towards Barnsley and southern Yorkshire.

South Elmsall is served by rail, the nearest stations being South Elmsall railway station itself and Moorthorpe railway station; the two stations being less than a mile apart.

Coal mining

The town is most famous for its coal-mining past; it was the site of Frickley Colliery, which was one of the largest in the whole country and a key source of union radicalism. The colliery is named after the nearby village of Frickley which continues to be the home of the Warde-Aldham family who owned the coal reseves exploited by the pit. During the Miners' Strike of 1984-1985, there were numerous disturbances in the area. It was one of the last pits to return to work after the strike, seeing as it was picketed by a group of hardliners from Kent who continued to picket Frickley even after the NUM had called off the strike. The Frickley miners refused to cross the hardliners' picket.

The colliery was closed on 26 November 1993 - following closures of nearby pits like Ferrymoor-Riddings (1985), Kinsley (1986), South Kirkby (1988) and Grimethorpe (1992). The area around Hemsworth was long one of the most depressed areas of the whole European Union, although fortunes have improved recently.

The town hosts a number of key landmarks that have a place in the wider history of the labour movement in the Britain. In addition to the coal mine, the Miner's Institute served as a nerve centre during the strikes of the 1970s and 1980s. The Moorthorpe Empire WMC played a key role in the exchange of ideas, the maintenance of morale and the harnessing of community spirit during 1984. During this period, the Empire became a place for the celebration of unshackled unionism, internationalism, feminism, and a number of radical causes.

Several clubs in the area still bear the colliery's name. There is Frickley Colliery Brass Band, a famous football team named Frickley Athletic and a cricket club named "Frickley".

Churches

Churches in the town include:

• Church of England:
  • St Mary the Virgin
  • St Luke's
• Independent evangelical:
  • Jerusalem Christian Fellowship South Elmsall
  • New Jerusalem Christian Fellowship
• Methodist: Trinity Methodist Church
• Pentecostal: The Oasis
• Roman Catholic: St Joseph's

Frickley Country Park

The local councils have organized the landscaping of the former Frickley Colliery site into a country park. A large amount of money from the National Coalfield Programme has enabled this work to go ahead. This park officially opened in September 2009, however changes had to be made to many of the entrances since the builders measured the gates wrong which meant a cyclist was not able to fit their cycle through, which was a bit of a let down after so much money had been ploughed into the scheme. The site will offer walks and play areas for local inhabitants as well as space for new housing developments when the current economic downturn begins to lift.

Local economy

The market is a central feature of the village; it is currently undergoing renovations. The market plays host to approximately 105 trading stalls which is remarkable for a provincial market. South Elmsall has a railway station on the Wakefield line. Towards South Kirkby is Moorthorpe railway station on the line to Sheffield and Rotherham.

There is also the High Street (Barnsley Road) which includes many common high street names and also many other individual shops.

Also present on the Dale Lane industrial estate are four Next Distribution warehouses (Stadium Way One, Stadium Way Two, Elmsall Way and Elmsall Drive), Superdrug, Del Monte and Finlays. The estate itself reflects the changing fortunes of the area being one of the key expansion areas since the closure of the local collieries.

Sports

• Cycling: South Elmsall Social Cycling Club, founded in 1934
• Football:
  • Frickley Athletic Football Club
  • South Elmsall United
  • Empire Colts Football Club
• Swimming: Minsthorpe Marlins Swimming club

Outside links

• The Community Care Network
• Frickley Colliery Brass Band
• Frickley Athletic FC
• Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express
• Minsthorpe Community College
• St Luke's Church
• S.E.S.K.U. Boxing Academy
• Jerusalem South Elmsall Christian Fellowship
• South Elmsall Parish Church