Featherstone

Coordinates: 53°42′N 1°22′W / 53.70°N 1.37°W / 53.70; -1.37
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Yorkshire town. For other uses, see Featherstone (disambiguation).

Featherstone
West Yorkshire
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UK
England
Yorkshire
53°42′N 1°22′W / 53.70°N 1.37°W / 53.70; -1.37

Featherstone is a town and

Pontefract Line
.

History

Despite most population growth taking place around the

apartments,[3]
once provided a resting place for wealthy Victorians and their horses. Standing stone's just outside the village indicate that there is evidence of an ancient druid grove.

The original village is now known as North Featherstone (at the junction of the B6134 and the B6421 today), set around All Saints' Church and joined to today's centre by Featherstone Lane.[4] The Featherstone family lived at Ackton Hall (now demolished), in the hamlet of Ackton about a mile to the west.[4] What is now known as Featherstone was a later development (originally called South Featherstone) near to the railway station and the village of Purston Jaglin.[5]

Like many surrounding areas, Featherstone grew around coal mining. Coal had been mined at Featherstone since the 13th century and remains of bell pits can still be seen to the north of Park Lane at North Featherstone. In 1848, the opening of the Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole railway line through Featherstone provided the basis for large scale coal mining in Featherstone, by opening up new markets in the South of England and Europe. Featherstone Main Colliery was opened in 1866, followed by Ackton Hall Colliery in 1873.[6] These were closer to what is now the main part of Featherstone, which consequently expanded.

Terraced Housing on Carlton street
The Jubilee Pub

The town came to national attention during a national "lockout" of mine workers in 1893 due to low coal prices and overproduction. Soldiers fired on a crowd who were demonstrating at the colliery gates, killing two instantly.[7] (The Guardian claimed that a third man, a Mr. Tomlinson from Normanton, died the following day from injuries from being shot but only two dead are named on the town's sculpture.)[8] A distinctive sculpture marking the centenary of the Featherstone Massacre stands in the shopping precinct and a large mural depicting the town's heritage can be seen at the town's main crossroads. Ackton Hall Colliery was the first pit to close following the end of the miners' strike and this could not be contested as geological difficulties had made it impossible for the pit to continue production.

Featherstone is the subject of a study, Coal is Our Life, by the sociologist Norman Dennis, published in 1956.

Opened in the 1950s, Purston Park takes up a large area of space and offers a lake and a children's play area. There was also previously a bowling green, until being changed to a rose garden in 2004. It has been made out of the grounds of what was originally a private residence and a country estate, with the stately home formerly acting as the town hall. This building was sold to developers in 2007 and has since been converted into luxury flats.

Featherstone is undergoing continual change and as part of this a new, state-of-the-art £2.5-million community centre has been built in Station Lane. The "Pit Houses", the houses constituting a council estate which formerly belonged to the National Coal Board, have been demolished to make room for further developments.

Memorials

Photo of War Horse
War Horse - A Place of Peace to be Together, commemorating the soldiers from Featherstone who died in WWI

In 2018, a sculpture was erected called War Horse - A Place of Peace to be Together, to commemorate the soldiers from the town who died in the

First World War. It was designed by model makers and artists Cod Steaks, and funded by a grant from FCC Communities Foundation (formerly known as WREN).[9][10]

Toponymy

Like many place-names in the area, 'Featherstone' derives from Old English. The name is formed of two elements: feother, meaning 'four', and stān, meaning 'stone'. Therefore, the names means "(place at) the four stones". These 'four stones' are likely to have been some waymarker or monument by a road or other well-used route through the town. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Fredestan.[11]

Governance

Featherstone village historically formed a

Snydale.[13] In 1974 the town became part of the metropolitan borough of Wakefield; currently the borough's Featherstone ward comprises the former UD area plus Sharlston.[14]

Featherstone is currently a Labour stronghold. It is part of the Hemsworth constituency, and is represented by Labour MP Jon Trickett in the House of Commons and by three Labour Councillors on Wakefield Council: Steve Vickers, Graham Isherwood and Maureen Tennant-King.[15] Featherstone Town Council is also controlled by Labour, Cllr Maureen Tennant-King is the Mayor for the year 2023/24

Fighting decline

Starting in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the area went into an era of sharp decline in the residents' quality of life. Historians and social scientists have put forward many factors. The gradual loss of the coal industry coupled with poor housing and education. This has begun to improve in recent years with new housing developments, better schools and plans to breathe life back into the local business community via various climate friendly projects.[citation needed]

Transport

Featherstone railway station

Featherstone has a

Pontefract Line. There are also bus services operated by Arriva Yorkshire and Ross Travel. The M62
lies close by.

Education

The town has two

St Wilfrid's Catholic High School
.

Primary and infant schools include St Thomas' Junior, Girnhill Infants', Purston Infants', North Featherstone Junior and Infants' and All Saints Junior and Infants'.

Religion

All Saints' Church
The former Methodist chapel

Featherstone has a number of churches: St Thomas's Church (

Gospel Hall
are also still active churches.

A former

Methodist chapel on Wakefield Road has since been turned into an antiques salesroom and the North Featherstone Gospel Hall has been converted into a private dwelling. St Gerard Majella's Roman Catholic Church was closed in the summer of 2008.[16]

Sport

Featherstone Rovers

The town's sport scene is dominated by its local

Halifax 46–16 in the Semi-Final, only to be defeated by Halifax in the final on a golden point (22–23).[18] They went one better in 2012 beating Sheffield Eagles 44–4 in the Grand Final to become Champions. In 2021, the club won the RFL 1895 Cup.[19]

The Featherstone Rovers Women's team was launched in 2011[20] and won the Women's Challenge Cup in 2012.[21] They were one of the four teams to take part in the inaugural season of the RFL Women's Super League in 2017.[22]

Featherstone Lions

The community side Featherstone Lions also hails from the town and currently play their home games from their base, Mill Pond Stadium. Featherstone Lions have open age men's teams that play in the National Conference League Yorkshire Men's League they also have junior teams from U7-U18 both boys and girls along with a women's open age side.

Featherstone Weightlifting Club

Formed in 1958 by Allan Whitworth, who once deadlifted 600lbs, The club amalgamated in 1959 with Pontefract Weightlifting club ran by Jack Garbutt a future World Masters champion and his brother Len Garbutt who would later become a Featherstone Mayor. The club has had many international champions and medallists and British records holders including Jack Garbutt, Tony Flood, Les D'Arcy, Martyn Riley, who is a multiple time European Masters champion and only autistic international weightlifting champion. In recent times the club has developed a great reputation for coaching local children and the Featherstone Raptors. This includes 4 time British Development champion Kobain Riley and multiple time regional and national champions Lea Saka Fajic, Olivia Walker, Jack Hawkins, Wesley Riley, Kian Riley, Len Fajic, Kara Swailes, Oliver Tepper, Mackallan Whiteley, Lilly Tepper, Blake Rowlands, Chloe Hutchinson and Casey Swailes still training at the club.

Location grid

See also

References

  1. ^ "Quick Statistics – Population Density, 2011 (QS102EW): Area: Featherstone (Parish)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  2. ^ Lorenzo Padgett. Chronicles of Old Pontefract facsimile published by Old Hall Press, Leeds 1993. Original published by Oswald Holmes, "Advertiser" Office, 1905
  3. ^ "Jubilee House". Highstone HA | A fresh approach to supported housing. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b Arthur Mee (ed) (1941) The King's England: Yorkshire West Riding (Hodder & Stoughton, London) p131
  5. ^ GENUKI Featherstone
  6. ^ Paul Senior (2007) Digest Magazine 1 (3) Archived 1 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Weaving, Mining, Rioting - A History of West Yorkshire Through the Eyes of the Senior Family
  7. ^ "Featherstone massacre will not be forgotten".Pontefract and Castleford Express (28 August 2013). Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Soldiers kill three miners in Pontefract". The Guardian. UK. 9 September 1893. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  9. ^ "War Horse". Featherstone Town Council. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Featherstone War Horse". FCC Communities Foundation. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. ^ 'Oxford Dictionary of British Place-Names', A.D. Mills, Oxford University Press.
  12. ^ GENUKI. "Genuki: Featherstone". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Featherstone UD through time | Census tables with data for the Local Government District". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  14. ^ Council, Wakefield Metropolitan District. "Stats, facts and maps". www.wakefield.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  15. ^ Wakefield Council: Ward 6 – Featherstone
  16. ^ "Bishop of Leeds shuts church buildings to halt celebration of Mass". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011.
  17. ^ "History of Featherstone Rovers". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007.
  18. ^ "Featherstone Rovers 22 Halifax 23 Halifax's golden finish just too much for Rovers". The Yorkshire Post. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Featherstone Rovers win AB Sundecks 1895 Cup". Rugby-League.com. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Featherstone Rovers Women's Team". Featherstone Rovers Archive. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Featherstone win Women's Challenge Cup". Love Rugby League. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  22. ^ "These Girl Can: The Wider Impacts of the Development and Growth of Women's & Girls' Rugby League (March 2021)" (PDF). Rugby Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 12 May 2023.

External links

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