Skelmanthorpe Village Trail
A scenic self-guided walk around the historic village of Skelmanthorpe.
Allow a couple of hours for a family stroll.
Starts from Skelmanthorpe Council Offices (near the Co-Op)
Although its origins are agricultural and, in common with the surrounding villages, go back to eighth century settlements, Skelmanthorpe owes its fortunes mainly to the making of textiles which came to dominate so much of West Yorkshire. The village history has its fair share of local colour from radical political activism to dark warnings about 'Shat ear 'oIe biters'.
The trail starts and ends in the village centre and takes in ancient trackways, old woodland and stream courses and provides several places to stop and admire attractive landscapes and historical features. The trail is approximately 3 miles long. Allow a couple of hours for a leisurely stroll. Stout footwear is advisable.
Starting point: The village car park behind the Council Offices, Commercial Road.
Next door to the Council Office is the current Co-operative store. 'The Co-operative' was one of several Friendly Societies which flourished in the village and Skelmanthorpe Co-operative Society actually pre-dates the Rochdale Pioneers, commonly thought of as the founders of the movement.
Walk up New Street and take the public footpath on the right. Pass the bowling green on your right and exit into Radcliffe Street.
As you enter the street look at the house facing you. The gable end of this old weavers cottage shows how the roof of the house was raised so that the hand loom could be fitted with a Jacquard - a special machine for weaving figured fabrics. Although starting with humble origins as makers of plain cloth, Skelmanthorpe weavers and clothiers built a highly successful textile industry on the making of fancy cloths and weaves which went all over the world.
As you walk along Radcliffe Street note the white house down the steps on the right where the Skelmanthorpe Chartist Flag was woven in 1819. The Chartist Movement had its origins in political discontent in the period following the Battle of Waterloo and the Reform Acts and ended with the development of the Co-operative movement and the repeal of the corn laws in 1846. The flag, which became a potent local symbol of reform, now rests at the Tolson Museum in Huddersfield.
At the end of Radcliffe Street you can walk up to the Parish Church. Originally Skelmanthorpe was divided between the huge Parishes of Emley and High Hoyland and inside the church is a medieval font which originated from the Church at High Hoyland which was re-built in 1804. The font was discarded during the re-building and was later discovered by Sir Waiter Stanhope of Cannon Hall serving as a cattle trough on Wheatley Hill Farm.
On the left, note the buildings which face onto the triangle. In 1800 this large house was bought by Joseph Field, a clothier. Here Field and his three sons developed Skelmanthorpe's first textile manufacturing base with weaving, dyeing and finishing all taking place on one site.
The Field family were extremely successful and went on to control all three of the main textile mills in the village at Greenside, Elm and Tentercroft. To meet changing market demands and avoid direct competition between the three family mills the Fields diversified into a wide range of textile products, from pile and fur fabrics, heavy cloths and quiltings, fancy cloths and woven shawls to high quality blazer and suit cloths and rug making. In the late 1800's the market demand for wider cloths meant that many textile mills had to re-fit and modernise. In the 1880s many new looms were built taking advantage of a good supply of reclaimed timber from Denby Dale's wooden railway viaduct which was rebuilt in stone in 1880.
Crossing Huddersfield Road turn left and then right onto Wood Street.
As you turn the next corner note Salt Pie house on the right. It is thought that pie is a corruption of the word pile and that this is a place where salt, brought by pack horse from Cheshire, would be stock piled for local distribution. Salt would have been in particular demand in Skelmanthorpe not only for preserving foodstuffs but for use in textile dyeing.
Follow Wood Street then turn left when you reach Station Road and next left onto Strike Lane.
The cottages on your left as you enter Strike Lane are weaver's cottages built in 1822 with money from the 'Golden Fleece' Friendly Society. These Societies sprang up along side the Co-operative movement as self help groups where members could be involved in mutual savings and lending schemes.
Skelmanthorpe had four such Societies; The Golden Fleece, The Weaver's Glory Lodge (the local branch of the Odd Fellows Society), The Independent Order of Recobites and The Good Templers.
Walk down the lane to the bridge over the old Clayton West branch line, now the Kirklees Light Railway.
The branch line carried coal and passengers to Shepley Junction where it joined the Huddersfield - Sheffield main line.
From the bridge you can view the hillside towards Emley Moor Mast across the site of the former coke ovens (now buried under spoil). Coal from Emley Moor colliery was brought down the hill by underground tramway to be screened, washed and despatched by road and rail from Skelmanthorpe sidings. Along with the coal came most of the spoil which was tipped in two large heaps either side of Baildon Dike.
Further on Strike Lane turns right into 'Quaker Gate’. Follow this over Baildon Dike then turn right at Baildon Place.
Quaker Gate was so named because of a Quaker family who lived at Baildon Farm. This family used the path to walk the two and a half miles to worship at a Friends Meeting House near the Sovereign cross roads at Shepley.
Follow the lane between the former pit stacks until you exit onto Park Lane. Turn left and then next right into Blacker Lane. If you wish to shorten the walk then turn right and then left into Saville Road and back into the village.
Where Baildon Dike meets Station Road it becomes Park Gate Dike and Station Road becomes Park Lane. This area, known as Park Gate, was the Parish boundary between Emley and Skelmanthorpe and the entrance to Emley Park, which is part of the Savile Estate. As you walk along Blacker Lane you can get good views back in to the village.
The big mill across the valley is Greenside Mill which was owned by Richard, one of Joseph Field's sons. It is the last remaining working textile mill in the village.
Before reaching the farm turn right and follow the path down the fieldside. Over the next stile the path bends round to the right and crosses the bridge over Park Gate Dike. At the top of the far bank bear left into Blacker Woods.
Blacker Woods is listed as semi natural ancient woodland, that is a site where records show a continuous woodland cover since they began in the 1600s. Although the wood is now a rather even aged plantation of mixed oak and sycamore it contains many species, especially spring flowering plants like bluebells, dog's mercury, celandines, wood avens and anemones which give away its ancient origins. The wood contains an excellent variety of habitats with old grassland, waterside and woodlands and is a good place for a spot of birdwatching.
As you follow the main path through the wood you are following the route of what was one of the main sewers connecting Skelmanthorpe with the old sewage works at Scissett. The sewer pipe runs above ground at the far end of the wood.
Leave the wood and keep going straight ahead. Through the next wall turn right and walk up the field side to the stile and railway underpass, then up the lane and turn right onto Pilling Lane.
As you enter onto Pilling Lane the field opposite was formerly a recreation ground created in 1930 to serve both Skelmanthorpe and Scissett. Although some way from either village the 'rec.' was well used and boasted various swings, a sand pit, a paddling pool and a full size soccer pitch. As the two villages grew demand for more local provision was met by a land swap to create the existing recreation grounds at Sunnymede in Scissett and the 'Feast Field' in Skelmanthorpe.
Pilling Lane is one of the several ancient cart roads in Skelmanthorpe. These tend to be sunken by constant wear and have a raised flagged causeway to allow pedestrians to walk free of the mud and water of the cart track. Continue to follow Pilling Lane back into the Village.
Looking back towards the wood you get good views of the railway line. As elsewhere the building of the railway brought an influx of navigationals or 'navvies' into the area and with them came occasional bouts of unrest and riotous behaviour. From Station Road in Skelmanthorpe the railway runs into a deep cutting and tunnel and local labour was taken on to break or 'shatter' rocks and work on the excavations. These unskilled labourers were referred to as Shatterers, and it is probably from this that Skelmanthorpe acquired its local name of Shat.
There are conflicting views on the exact origins of the 'ear biting' habit - was it in a fight with the navvies, or perhaps on the local rugby field, that the first ear was bitten? There have been several recorded incidents over the years though, and these have earned the local inhabitants the somewhat threatening nickname of 'Shat ear 'ole biters'.
Leave Pilling Lane past the Methodist Church and come onto Elm Street. Then take a left into Queen Street.
On the left is a row of old weavers cottages. Despite the gradual development from cottage industry to manufacturing process the textile making trade continued on hand looms in some cottages in the village right up to the mid 1900s.
Number 6, Queen Street is now preserved by local historians as a private Textile Heritage Centre, complete with hand loom and all the associated equipment. Although not able to open to the public the Centre owners are happy to take guided tours for individuals or groups of up to eight people on a pre-booked system. For further information on the centre call: Mr Robison on 01484 863474 or Mr Sheead on 01484 864001.
From the top of Queen Street, turn right onto Commercial Road and return to the starting point.
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