While Hemsworth's recent history and reputation are dominated by the coal mining industry that developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it had long existed as an agricultural village.
From the Middle Ages to Tudor times it would have seen little change to the manorial features, open fields, woods, commons, enclosed holdings, manor house, scattered farmsteads and the church, dedicated to St Helen, which dates to the eleventh or twelfth century. The present chancel was rebuilt in the fourteenth century.[5]
A grammar school and a hospital, or almshouses, founded in the mid-sixteenth century owe their existence to Robert Holgate, thought to have been born in Hemsworth, who was consecrated Archbishop of York in 1544.
The school, established in October 1546 by letters patent granted by Henry VIII, did not thrive. At times there were complaints about the masters failing in their duties, which were to teach Latin, Greek and Hebrew to the sons of husbandmen in Hemsworth, Felkirk, South Kirby, Ackworth, Royston and Wragby. There were periods in the eighteenth century when there were no pupils. A revival was attempted and a new school built and opened in January 1868. But it too failed to attract numbers and was moved to more populous Barnsley in 1888.[6] The school buildings became the Roman Catholic Church, before they themselves were replaced in the 1990s.
The Archbishop Holgate almshouses,[7] or hospital, still exist and still offer housing accommodation in a complex of 24 cottages for selected elderly people. Originally the endowment was for a master and ten poor men and ten poor women from the locality. The brothers and sisters wore gowns, were not permitted to frequent the ale-house, nor allowed out without permission later than half past nine in the summer or half past seven in the winter. A fine of twopence was levied for breaches. Being a common swearer, drunkard or brawler could lead to removal. The endowment, based on revenue from lands which Archbishop Holgate held, appeared in Holgate's will dated April 1555 and was carried into effect a year after he died in 1556. The total net assets of the modern-day charity which continues the work are £20.7million.[8]
Enclosure was brought about by an act of parliament in 1803, though it was not a revolutionary change. It ended the tithe system in kind and allocated common land to local landowners, particularly to Sir Francis Wood, and, less so, to Earl Fitzwilliam.
Economy
Hemsworth was a one-industry town, where coal mining employed the vast majority of residents, and the closure of the pits during the 1980s led to huge levels of unemployment and deprivation in the area. Hemsworth, along with nearby villages such as Ackworth, Fitzwilliam, Havercroft and Ryhill as well as the towns of South Elmsall and South Kirkby have seen much regeneration both locally and area wise.
Hemsworth is also home to Hemsworth Water Park, situated on the outskirts of the town. Hemsworth Water Park has two lakes and many recreational activities.
Politics
Hemsworth Town Council was formed under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and came into existence on 1 April 1974, succeeding the former Hemsworth Urban District Council. Five wards of Hemsworth Town Council serve the town and the villages of Fitzwilliam and Kinsley. Three councillors serve on each ward—Hemsworth East, Hemsworth South, Hemsworth West, Fitzwilliam and Kinsley.[9]
Three councillors represent Hemsworth, Ward 7, on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.[10]
Labour held the seat of Hemsworth from its creation in 1918, and from 1966 to 1974 held it with the largest majority of any party in the UK. From 1950 to 1974 Labour's share of the vote never dropped below 80 per cent. That it became a marginal seat is regarded as partly due to the disappearance of the coal mining industry, the reorganisation of Conservative-voting areas of the southern part of Wakefield into the constituency in 2010 and the prominence of Brexit as an election issue in 2019. It is estimated that 68.1 per cent of the constituency voted leave in the EU referendum of 2016.[11]
The current Member of Parliament, Jon Trickett (Labour), has represented Hemsworth since a by-election in 1996. He comfortably held the new seat of Normanton and Hemsworth in the general election of July 2024, taking 47.5 per cent of the vote.[12]
Population
Population estimates for the Hemsworth built-up-area for 2019 and 2001, broken down by age group, are:[13]
Age group
0-15
16-24
25-64
65+
Total
Population in 2019
1,692
868
4,855
2,010
9,425
Percentage of total population
18%
9%
52%
21%
100%
Age group
0-15
16-24
25-64
65+
Total
Population in 2001
1,884
980
4,809
1,403
9,076
Percentage of total population
21%
11%
53%
15%
100%
In May 2005, the Office for National Statistics estimated that unemployment in Hemsworth was just 2.8%. This marks progress from periods in the previous two decades when it could reach as high as 50%.
Hemsworth lies at the crossing point of the Barnsley to Pontefract and the Wakefield to Doncaster roads. The junction where these roads cross, Cross Hill, is the heart of the original village, where the parish church and the George & Dragon inn still face each other. The A628 road, which forms the Barnsley to Pontefract road, bypasses Hemsworth to its south and east.
Stagecoach provides bus service 28[14] from Barnsley to Pontefract which serves Hemsworth's bus station. Service 195,[15] run by Arriva Yorkshire, links Hemsworth and Wakefield via Ryhill. The Upton to Wakefield services 496 and 497[16] call at Hemsworth bus station, as does service 36[17] run by Waterson bus and coach between South Elmsall and Barnsley.
Primary schools in Hemsworth are St Helen's CE Primary School, West End Academy, Grove Lea Primary School and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary. The only secondary school is the Outwood Academy Hemsworth, which was set up in 1921 as Hemsworth Grammar School, the first secondary school in Hemsworth after Archbishop Holgate school relocated to Barnsley in 1888.
Hemsworth had an FE college for many years. Hemsworth Mining and Technical college offered day release to mining apprentices as well as a range of other academic and vocational courses. It closed in the 1990s.
Media
The local weekly newspaper, the Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express,[18] is edited by Gavin Murray and published by National World, the parent company of Yorkshire Post Newspapers and which also publishes The Scotsman and scores of local papers and websites.
Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wakefield district and had a population of 30,881 at the 2011 Census. Pontefract's motto is Post mortem patris pro filio, Latin for "After the death of the father, support the son", a reference to the town's Royalist sympathies in the English Civil War. Small villages and settlements in the immediate area include Stapleton.
Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a local government district with city status and a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of Wakefield at the 2011 Census was 325,837.
Featherstone is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 it had a population of 15,244. Featherstone railway station is on the Pontefract Line.
Ackworth is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It stands between Pontefract, Barnsley and Doncaster on the River Went. It has four parts: High Ackworth, Low Ackworth, Ackworth Moor Top, and Brackenhill. The 2001 census gave it a population of 6,493, which rose to 7,049 at the 2011 census. There is also a city ward called Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton, with a 2011 census population of 16,099.
South Elmsall is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. South Elmsall lies to the east of Hemsworth. The town had a population in 2001 of 6,107, increasing to 6,519 at the 2011 Census.
The Wakefield line is a railway line and service in the West Yorkshire Metro and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive areas of northern England. The Wakefield line is coloured yellow on maps and publications by West Yorkshire Metro. The line was electrified in 1989, between Leeds & Wakefield Westgate, as part of the programme to electrify the East Coast Main Line.
Normanton was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Hemsworth was a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons since 1996 by Jon Trickett of the Labour Party.
Hemsworth was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Upton is a village in the civil parish of Upton and North Elmsall, in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 3,541 in the 2001 census.
Yorkshire South West was a European Parliament constituency covering the southern parts of West Yorkshire in England and, at times, part of South Yorkshire.
Kinsley is a village in the civil parish of Hemsworth, and the City of Wakefield district of West Yorkshire, England.
Wentbridge is a village and civil parish in the Wakefield district of West Yorkshire, England. It lies around 3 miles (5 km) southeast of its nearest town of size, Pontefract, close to the A1 road.
North Elmsall is a village in the civil parish of Upton and North Elmsall, in the City of Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 4,093 in 2001 and 3,873 in 2011. Until 1974 it was part of Hemsworth Rural District. The parish is seven miles from Pontefract, nine miles from Barnsley and Doncaster, and eleven miles from Wakefield.
Moorthorpe is a village in the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe in the City of Wakefield district of West Yorkshire, England. It is governed by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council.
Tates Travel was a local bus operator based in Barnsley in England, operating services in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Normanton and Hemsworth is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Created as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election.
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