Coordinates: 53°41′N 1°35′W / 53.68°N 1.58°W / 53.68; -01.58

Ossett
Ossett Town Hall
Ossett  Ossett shown within West Yorkshire
Population	21,076
OS grid reference	SE279205
Metropolitan borough	City of Wakefield
Shire county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OSSETT
Postcode district	WF5
Dialling code	01924
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Wakefield
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Ossett ( /ˈɒsɨt/) is a market town within the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on junction 40 of the M1 motorway, half-way between Dewsbury, to the west, and Wakefield, to the east. In the 2001 census, it was classified as part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area.^[1] The town is roughly half-way between the west and east coasts of England.

History[link]

Toponymy[link]

Ossett derives from the Anglo Saxon and is either "the fold of a man named Osla" or " a fold frequented by blackbirds".^[2] Ossett is sometimes misspelled as "Osset". In Ellis' On Early English Pronunciation, one of the founding works of British linguistics, the incorrect spelling is used.^[3] The British Library has an online dialect study that uses the spelling.^[4]

Origins[link]

Ossett appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Osleset", which was in the Manor of Wakefield. The Domesday book was compiled for William the Conqueror in 1086. "Osleset" was recorded as three and a half Carucates which is the land needed to be ploughed by three teams of eight oxen. Woodland pasture measured "half a league long as much broad" (roughly six furlongs by six furlongs). Four villans and three bordars lived in Osleset, a villan was an upper status villager, a bordar was a lower status villager.

Industrial Revolution[link]

Coal-mining was, up to the late 1860s, Ossett's second industry in terms of people employed and the first in terms of males employed. Coal has been mined since the 14th century and there were a large number of pits in Ossett during the 19th century. The pits included Old Roundwood, opened in 1851 mining the Gawthorpe seam. The Haigh Moor seam opened in 1860 and the Silkstone seam opened in 1893. Old Roundwood closed in 1966. Pildacre pit shut due to flooding in 1875 but remained as a source of water for Ossett. Westfield shut in the early 1900s. The Chidswell riot in 1893 was caused by striking miners trying to reach Westfield to stop other miners working. Another pit down Healey Road was also the scene of tension between police and striking miners. Low Laithes pit shut in 1926, however the seams later flooded and were responsible for the Lofthouse Colliery disaster in 1973. Greatfield shut in the 1950s and Shaw Cross, on the Ossett/Dewsbury border near the current Dewsbury Rugby League stadium, closed in 1968.

The steam engine at Runtlings Mill in 1987.

Author and local resident, Stan Barstow said that Ossett and Horbury were the "border country" where the north-west of the coalfield merged with the south-east of the wool towns. Local historian John Goodchild said, "The place was essentially one of small mines and small mills". The town was once a thriving centre of the "shoddy" industry; recycling woollen garments. Whilst some mill towns employed mostly females in its textile sector, Ossett's mills always had roughly equal numbers of men and women. The town's mills were generally small, but they had a reputation as high-quality producers. Whitehead's Mill used to have a carnival float that said "We Export to the World" at the Gawthorpe May Pole parade.

During the 1970s, Woodhead Manufacturing employed 1,500 people on this site in its two premises fronting Church Street and Kingsway. The shock absorber business was the last part of the site operations to close in the early 1990s. The site is now a housing estate and Woodheads exists in name only and is run from an industrial estate in Leeds.

World War II[link]

In the Second World War, Ossett was accidentally bombed on 16 September 1940.^[5] Ten High Explosive bombs were dropped. No one was killed, save for a number of chickens and several properties were damaged.^[6] A V-1's engine was reportedly heard to cut out, and came down at Grange Moor, to the west of the town.^{[citation needed]}

Spa[link]

Ossett was, for a brief period in the 19th century, a spa town.^[7] Having been founded by a local stonemason who was inspired by Harrogate and Cheltenham, the waters were popular with those seeking relief from certain skin diseases in the early 19th century, but it remained a small spa during this period. In the 1870s, a plan to transform Ossett into a "second Harrogate" ended in failure, and the spa closed as a result. The south-east of the town is still known as "Ossett Spa".

Governance[link]

Ossett cum Gawthorpe was a township in the ancient parish of Dewsbury;^[8] it became a civil parish in 1866, and was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Ossett in 1890.^[9] Under the Local Government Act 1972, it became an unparished area in the City of Wakefield. In an earlier draft of the Act, Ossett was to be part of the Kirklees district on the grounds that the area was originally part of Dewsbury; after an appeal by the Ossett Labour Party, it was decided Ossett would be part of the Wakefield district.^[10] There is a very small part of Ossett in Kirklees.^[11]

Ossett has changed its parliamentary constituency several times. In 1983, the town transferred from the Dewsbury seat to the Normanton constituency. This was represented by Ed Balls, who was formerly chief economic adviser. The seat has been continually represented by Labour since 1885: longer than any other British constituency.

Since the 2010 election, Ossett has been part of the Wakefield seat, held by Mary Creagh.^[12] When Ossett was part of the Dewsbury constituency, the MP was David Ginsburg, one of the Labour M.P.s who defected to the Social Democratic Party. On transferring to the Normanton constituency, the MP for many years was Bill O'Brien until he entered the House of Lords and was succeeded by Ed Balls.

As of 2011, the Ossett ward has three Conservative councillors whereas Horbury & South Ossett has one Labour, one Conservative and one Independent. There is a small area of Ossett (defined within the pre-1974 boundaries) in the Wakefield West ward, but this is mostly a business area with few residents.

Geography[link]

	Batley	Gawthorpe Tingley	Kirkhamgate
	Dewsbury		Wakefield
		Ossett    East
	Thornhill	Netherton	Horbury

Demography[link]

Ossett town centre, showing the town hall building

At the 2001 census, the town's population was 20,988 residents plus an extra 88 in communal establishments, making a total of 21,076.^[13] As of 2007, West Yorkshire Police estimate the population at 21,284.^[14] Ossett's convenient proximity to the M1 motorway has led the old industrial town to become more affluent in recent years, attracting both industry and resident commuters to Leeds, following on from a period of economic decline that lasted almost three decades.

Ossett has some of the lowest crime rates in West Yorkshire.^[14]

Economy[link]

There are four operational textile mills in the town: Ings Mill, on Dale Street, deals in recycled textiles; the Victoria mills on The Green produce carpets; Edward Clay & Son Ltd, Wesley Street manufactures felts for the mattress making and horticultural industries and Wilson Briggs & Son by the River Calder off Healey Road deals with textile mill waste and remnant processing. Other have been converted into units, some of the most prominent being Royds Mill on the Leeds Road roundabout and the large congregation of mills in the Healey area. Some mills remain derelict.

Ossett is home to two real ale breweries. Ossett Brewery, located in Healey^[15][16] and Bob's Brewing Company, formerly The Red Lion Brewery.^[17]

Landmarks[link]

Trinity Church was consecrated in 1865 and its spire which rises to 226 feet is a landmark that can be seen for miles around. A red phone booth in Ossett town centre, opposite the Kingsway roundabout, is a grade II listed building.^[18] Ossett Town Hall celebrated its centenary in June 2008.^[19] Gawthorpe, an area of north Ossett, is known for its landmark water tower.

Transport[link]

The Romans constructed a road from Halifax to Wakefield, this road became a turnpike road in 1741, its route is roughly similar to the modern day Dewsbury Road. Streetside post office is a reminder of the Roman origins of the road. The M1 motorway between Junctions 40 and 42 to the east of Ossett was opened in April 1967. The stretch from junction 38 to 40 was opened in October 1968. The Highways Agency have plans to widen the M1 to 4 lanes between Chesterfield and Leeds. In 2004 a bus station was opened in the town built by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive replacing an earlier bus station constructed in the 1970s.

The railways arrived in Ossett in 1862 when the Bradford, Wakefield & Leeds Railway company opened a branch line to Flushdyke. The line was extended to Ossett in 1864 and then onto Dewsbury and Batley. Ossett Station, located roughly where Southdale Gardens now is, was opened in 1889 by the Great Northern Railway. The line ran underneath Station Road and the bump in the road today is the only reminder of the bridge that used to exist there until its removal in the 1980s. The station closed in 1964. The town was close to four other railway stations: Chickenley Heath closed in 1911, Earlsheaton in 1953, Flushdyke closed in 1941 and Horbury & Ossett in 1970. It is now the largest town in Yorkshire and one of the largest towns in Britain without a railway station. Railway sidings and yards are still to be found at the old Horbury & Ossett Station site and Healey Mills Marshalling Yard where Queen Elizabeth II spent a night aboard the royal train during her 1977 Silver Jubilee tour.

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies proposed Ossett, as one of seven English towns with a strong business case for the location of a new railway station. It is likely that an unmanned station would be erected at Healey Mills.^[20]

Education[link]

Ossett has eight primary schools; Towngate Primary School;^[21] Holy Trinity C of E Primary School, St Ignatius's Catholic Primary School, South Parade Primary School, South Ossett Infants School, Southdale C of E Junior School, Dimplewell Infants School and Highfield School which caters for children with learning disabilities using the buildings of North Ossett High School which closed in 1997. Ossett has one secondary school, Ossett High School.

Religion[link]

There are seven churches in the town, each with their own particular identities and initiatives. Many of the leaders of these churches meet regularly to collaborate and support each other. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the town had a reputation as a centre of religious Nonconformism.^[22] Although nonconformist churches were common across of West Yorkshire, Ossett was a particular hotbed. In 1890, seventeen different churches were recorded in Ossett, excluding "spiritualist churches". Trinity Church is one of the two Anglican churches in the town.^[23] The other is Christ Church, South Ossett. St Mary's Church on Dewsbury Road closed in 2002, and its parish was divided between Dewsbury (Chickenley) and Ossett and Gawthorpe (Gawthorpe).

St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church was built in 1878. The Salvation Army is the only church in Gawthorpe. The Salvation Army building also acts as a community centre providing dinners for senior citizens & two parent & toddler groups. There is also a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Ventnor Way, and a spiritualist church in the town centre.

Sport[link]

Ossett Rugby Union Football Club^[24] are based at Ossett Cricket Club and play at Southdale playing fields, current 1st and 2nd team captains are Jack Drury and Paul Westerman respectively. Ossett Trinity, the local rugby league club, resigned from the Rugby League Conference in 2006. Ossett Cricket Club also play at Dimplewells. The Heavy Woollen District has its own cricket association and its own cricket team. Residents of Ossett are eligible to play for the Heavy Woollen District team.

Ossett hosts two semi-professional football teams. Ossett Town play at Ingfield, and are in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Neighbours Ossett Albion play at Queen's Terrace, more commonly known as Dimplewells, and are in the Northern Premier League First Division. There was an Ossett Football Club in the 1890s, they played in the original West Yorkshire League, but the oldest current club in Ossett is Ossett Common Rovers, formed in 1910 and currently playing in the modern West Yorkshire League. Other clubs in Ossett include Ossett Wanderers, Ossett United and Ossett Panthers. Little Bull F.C., Ossett Two Brewers and AFC Two Brewers play in the Wakefield & District League.

The Yorkshire and the Humber branch of the Disability Sports Federation has its headquarters on the Longlands Industrial Estate in the town.

Culture and media[link]

Ossett's local newspaper is the Ossett Observer, founded in 1864. The Wakefield Express and the Dewsbury Reporter also report local news. The Wakefield Express publishes an Ossett Edition, and also contains an Ossett and district section. Ossett has a free magazine The Ossett Review^[25] established in July 2005. The Ossett Civic Trust produce a quarterly newsletter Ossett Times.^[26]

Gawthorpe hosts the annual World Coal-Carrying Championships^[27] (Easter Monday) and an annual Maypole parade in May. Ossett Gala takes place in July. The turning on of the Christmas lights is another focal point for the community, along with the fire station's bonfire on the Friday evening nearest to the 5th of November. The Ossett Beer Festival takes place annually at the Brewers' Pride pub, Healey Road, Ossett over the August bank holiday weekend.

• The town is mentioned in the song It's Grim Up North.
• Ossett was defined as "wheeare the' black-leead t'tram lines" in both A Yorkshireman's Dictionary by Peter Wright and The Yorkshire Dictionary by Arnold Kellett, although neither book gives any explanation for this. One interpretation is that it was mocking the town's heavy pollution when it was industrialised. Another is that Ossett people were seen as fussy and pedantic.
• From Austin Mitchell's Talkin' Yorkshire (page 48):

In moments of extreme anger Ossett fish-puddlers have been known to resent "thou" and reply "Don't thee thou me thee thou thissen and see how tha likes thee thouing" but this is rare.

• Ossett is the home of Wakefield Orchestral Wind (WOW), an orchestral wind band with a varied repertoire including popular film music, show music, big band, classical and their conductor's own arrangements. The band plays regularly at local events, such as Ossett Gala, Horbury Show and Camphill Pennine Community Summer Fair.^[28]

Notable people[link]

• The astronomer Cyril Jackson who now lives in South Africa, was born in Ossett, honoured the town when he named asteroid 1244 Deira; the citation he submitted to the IAU boils down to « Ancient name of Ossett, Yorkshire ». That is something of an exaggeration: the ancient Kingdom of Deira actually encompassed (at its height) most of Yorkshire.