Netherton, Wakefield

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Netherton is a small village in the Wakefield metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It lies about 4 miles south-west of Wakefield, 3 miles south of Ossett, 1 mile south of Horbury. The village was originally named "Nether Shitlington", but this was changed sometime after 1855.^[1]

The village was once home to two collieries - Denby Grange and Bullcliffe Wood. The latter was one of the leading pits behind the UK Miners' Strike (1984-1985). Following the end of the strike, the two pits merged together with Caphouse Colliery to form an amalgamated colliery at Denby Grange, which finally closed in 1991. Netherton may not seem like a typical pit village to a visitor: there are no mementos to the pits and most locals do not consider coal mining to be a large part of their heritage. This is probably due to the fact that many of the miners at the two pits commuted in from nearby Ossett and Horbury.