Mirfield

Coordinates: 53°40′51″N 1°41′20″W / 53.6807°N 1.6888°W / 53.6807; -1.6888

Mirfield
Mirfield  Mirfield shown within West Yorkshire
Population	18,621 (2001)
OS grid reference	SE205205
Parish	Mirfield
Metropolitan borough	Kirklees
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MIRFIELD
Postcode district	WF14
Dialling code	01924
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Dewsbury
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

See also: College of the Resurrection

Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury. In the 2001 census it was recorded as having a total resident population of 18,621.^[1]

The town is served by Mirfield railway station.

Governance

From 1894 to 1974, Mirfield formed an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire until it was merged into the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. In 1988 a Parish council was formed and became one of five in Kirklees, the others being:- Denby Dale, Meltham, Kirkburton and Holme Valley. As a Parish council an additional tax precept to the Kirklees MBC tax is levied on the towns residents for projects within the town. Mirfield has a town council, made up of 16 volunteer councillors who serve for a fixed four year term, and represent ward members within the parish.^[2] The members elect their own Town Council Mayor, who serves for a fixed one year term.

List of Town Council Mayors

Brian Nicholson, 1988 Mavis Boothroyd Colin Fretwell Malcolm Brown Mick Harrison Hugh Bowden Harry Fearnley Michael Hutchinson Martyn Bolt James Taylor Kath Taylor Keith Sibbald

• Bob Bennett: 2007-2008
• David Pinder: 2009-2010
• Janet Hirst: 2010-2011
• Patricia Sutcliffe: 2011–Present

Local Elections

In addition to the town council Mirfield is also represented by three councillors who sit on Kirklees Metropolitan Council, and the local Mirfield Area Committee

Party	Date	Candidate	Votes	Share
CON	2000	Beverley Warby	2,300	55.7
CON	2002	Martyn Bolt	2,147	52.9
CON	2003	Kathleen Taylor	1,802	39.8
CON	2004	Beverley Warby	2,947	-
CON	2004	Martyn Bolt	3,661	-
CON	2004	Kathleen Taylor	3,166	-
CON	2008	Martyn Bolt	3,400	-
CON	2010	Vivien Lees-Hamilton	5,908	-
CON	2011	Kathleen Taylor	3,561	-

^[3]

Culture

Main article: Mirfield Show

Mirfield Show is an annual agricultural event held on the third Sunday in August at Mirfield showground. It is organised and run by the Mirfield Agricultural Society (MAS) as a non-profit making event for the families of Mirfield and district.^[4]

Education

There are two secondary schools in Mirfield: The Mirfield Free Grammar and Sixth Form and Castle Hall School. Amongst the primary schools there are Battyeford, Crossley Fields, Old Bank and Hopton Primary school and Crowlees Junior and Infant School, which was assessed by Ofsted as 'Grade 1 - Outstanding' in the March 2007 inspection.^[5]

Landmarks

The 13th century St Mary's Church was rebuilt in 1826. However, this church itself proved too small for the growing population, and was also regarded as too mean for the growing district. A completely new church, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, was built a few yards to the northwest, on the site of the old Castle Hall, a mansion which was home to the families successively of Mirfields (sometimes spelled Mirfin), Hetons and Beaumonts.^[6] At Scott's suggestion, the tower of the earlier church, which retains some medieval work, was retained.

The College of the Resurrection was where Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, lectured from 1975 for two years. Archbishop Trevor Huddleston spent his last days in Mirfield here.

Navigation

During the eighteenth century, a canal was constructed through the town linking the River Calder with other rivers in the area. The canal is part of the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Its construction resulted in many industries in Mirfield, such as the textiles and boat yards. The canal is still in use for recreational users.

Notable people

• Gemma Nelson, artist
• Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks^[7]
• Brian Robinson, cyclist the first Briton ever to win a stage of the Tour de France
• Sir Patrick Stewart, actor, most notable for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Mary Snell-Hornby, translation scholar.

Location

Twin town

• Náchod, Czech Republic

• 

  St Mary's Church, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott

• 

  The tower of the 1826 church

References

1. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Kirklees retrieved 2009-09-03
2. ^ Kirklees MBC Website - Mirfield
3. ^ Kirklees Website
4. ^ Show aims to attract youngsters (20 June 2008)
5. ^ "Crowlees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School", Ofsted, 27 March 2007
6. ^ Mirfield, GENUKI
7. ^ "Kids meet a real smoothie operator". Kids meet a real smoothie operator. Mirfield Reporter. http://www.mirfieldreporter.co.uk/news/local/kids_meet_a_real_smoothie_operator_1_1379126. Retrieved 5 July 2011. 

External links

• Mirfield Town Council homepage
• Mirfield Show
• Mirfield in Pictures
• Mirfield to Low Moor railway line
• Kirklees Council Website, Mirfield Information page
• The Mirfield Reporter Newspaper