| Featherstone | |
Station Lane |
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Featherstone
Featherstone shown within West Yorkshire |
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| Population | 14,175 (2001) |
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| Parish | Featherstone |
| Metropolitan borough | Wakefield |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PONTEFRACT |
| Postcode district | WF7 |
| Dialling code | 01977 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Hemsworth |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Featherstone is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It lies south-west of Pontefract and has a population of 14,175.[1]
Featherstone railway station is on the Pontefract Line.
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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. 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.
Like many surrounding areas, Featherstone grew around coal mining, and was the site of a miners' strike in 1893.[2] During the strike the town came to national attention when soldiers fired on striking miners, killing two. 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.
Despite most population growth taking place around the Industrial Revolution, Featherstone traces its history back much further than this. It is thought that a local public house, the Traveller's Rest, can trace its origins to the 17th century whilst the Jubilee Hotel is a listed building which once provided a resting place for wealthy Victorians and their horses.
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.
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.
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.[3]
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 3 Labour Councillors on Wakefield Council: Dick Taylor, Graham Isherwood and Kay Binnersley.[4] Featherstone Town Council is also controlled by Labour.
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.
Featherstone has a railway station on the Pontefract line. There are also bus services operated by Arriva Yorkshire. The M62 lies close by.
The town has two secondary schools: Featherstone Technology College* and St Wilfrid's Catholic High School and Language College. Formerly known as Featherstone High School, the college* was awarded specialist technology status after recognition of the departments high attainment. A complete internal re-build of the main building gave the school the best facilities in technology and science in the area. A new £3 million sports centre was built after the old one was destroyed in a fire. Featherstone Technology College has recently benefited from new vocational courses which include construction, motor vehicle maintenance, beauty and hairdressing along with state-of-the-art facilities in which to teach these new subjects. The new principal has been appointed, Mr W. Parkes.
Primary and infant schools include, St. Thomas' Junior School, Girnhill Infants' School, Purston Infants' School, North Featherstone Junior and Infants' School and All Saints Junior and Infants' School.
Featherstone has a number of churches: St Thomas' Church (Anglican) – built from traditional Yorkshire sandstone, St Thomas' Church and the adjacent vicarage were built in the 1870s. Due to a lack of funding the church has no bell tower, and instead the bell hangs outside on the church’s south wall. The vicarage is now a private residence. All Saints' Church (Anglican), the Methodist church, and the South Featherstone 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's Roman Catholic Church was closed in the summer of 2008 – meaning Catholics would have to travel to Pontefract to attend services.[5]
The town's sport scene is dominated by local rugby league club, Featherstone Rovers, who have won the Challenge Cup on three occasions most recently on 7 May 1983 and won the League Championship in 1976-77. Originally made up of local miners, the club was formed in the Railway Hotel in 1902, then re-formed in 1906.[6] They are currently in the Championship, after being promoted in 2007, beating Oldham in the Play-Offs final. In the 2010 season, Rovers finished first in the league table with a 100% away record and claimed the League Leader's Shield. They reached the Championship Grand Final by beating Halifax 46-16 in the Semi-Final, only to be defeated by Halifax in the final on a golden point (22–23).[7]
The Featherstone Rovers stadium (traditionally known as Post Office Road) was renamed in January 2010 to "The Bigfellas Stadium", following the completion of a sponsorship deal with Pontefract night club Bigfellas.[8]
The amateur side Featherstone Lions also hails from the town and currently play in the National Conference League.
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