Hartshead

Village in West Yorkshire, England

Human settlement in England

Kirklees

Metropolitan county

West Yorkshire

Region

Yorkshire and the Humber

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPoliceWest YorkshireFire West Yorkshire AmbulanceYorkshire

List of places: UK; England; Yorkshire

53°41′53″N 1°43′30″W / 53.698°N 1.725°W / 53.698; -1.725

Hartshead is a village in the Kirklees district of West Yorkshire, England, 3.7 miles (6 km) west of Dewsbury^[1] and near to Hartshead Moor.^[2]

The village has pre-Norman Conquest origins; the Walton Cross is believed to be dated from the 11th century.^[3]

The name Hartshead is derived from Herteshevet or Herteshede which is Scandinavian in origin and means Hill of Heort, Heort meaning Hart in modern English.^[4]

Patrick Brontë served as curate of St Peter's Church in Hartshead between 1811 and 1815,^[5] in which time he met his wife, Maria Branwell (although they met in Rawdon, some dozen or so miles away from Hartshead).^[6] They were married in Guiseley and became the parents of Anne, Branwell, Charlotte and Emily Brontë.^[7]

Kirklees Hall is between Hartshead and the nearby village of Clifton.

Robin Hood is reputed to have been buried near Hartshead^[8] or in the grounds of the nearby Kirklees Hall.^[9] The exact place is not known, as the gravestone has been moved at least 3 times.

Governance

Hartshead was historically a chapelry in the parish of Dewsbury, becoming a civil parish in 1866.^[10]^[11] In 1931 the parish had a population of 849.^[12] On 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished, with most of the area, including the village, being added to the parish of Liversedge in the urban district of Spenborough (which became a borough in 1955). The remainder was added to Brighouse.^[13] Spenborough Urban District was abolished in 1974 when Kirklees was created. No successor parish was created for the borough and it became an unparished area.^[14]

References

^ "GENUKI: Dewsbury Supplementary". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
^ "288" (Map). Bradford & Huddersfield. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 9780319244852.
^ Historic England. "Walton Cross, 100 yards north of Walton Cross Farmhouse (Grade II*) (1313305)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
^ "Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion : Foldout". www.calderdalecompanion.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^ "Brontë, Patrick". Clergy of the Church of England Database. King's College London. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ Juliet Barker The Brontes
^ "Reverend Patrick Brontë | Brontë Parsonage Museum". www.bronte.org.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
^ "History of Hartshead, in Kirklees and West Riding | Map and description". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
^ "New book explores myths surrounding Robin Hood's grave at Kirklees Estate". Huddersfield Examiner. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
^ "History of Hartshead, in Kirklees and West Riding". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ "Relationships and changes Hartshead Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ "Population statistics Hartshead Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ "Halifax Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ Local Government Act 1972