Places to see in ( Batley - UK ) Batley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies 7 miles south-east of Bradford, 7 miles south-west of Leeds and 1 mile north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. Other nearby towns include: Morley to the north-east, Ossett to the south-east and Brighouse west-south-west. Batley is part of a special EU transformation zone. The name Batley is derived from Danish, meaning either valley or homestead of bats, or more likely, homestead of the locally prominent Batte family. It is recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Bateleia'. After the Norman conquest, the manor was granted to Elbert de Lacy and in 1086 was within the wapentake of Morley. It subsequently passed into the ownership of the de Batleys, and by the 12th century had passed by marriage to the Copley family. Their residence at Batley Hall was held directly from the Crown; at this time the district fell within the Duchy of Lancaster. The population at this time was 30 to 40 people. By the late 14th century, the population has increased to around 100. There has been a church in Batley since the 11th century. Batley Parish Church was built in the reign of Henry VI (1422–1461), and parts of the original remain. Despite Batley being an ancient settlement, this is all that remains of any great antiquity. Batley Grammar School was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee and is still in existence. Methodism came to Batley in the 1740s and took a strong hold in the town which continued into the 20th century. John Nelson from Birstall was a leading lay preacher in the early Methodist movement. Areas of the town, such as Mount Pleasant, were noted for their absence of pubs due to the Methodist beliefs of the populations. By 1848 there was a railway station in Batley, and in 1853 Batley Town Hall was erected. It was enlarged in 1905, and is in the Neoclassical style, with a corbelled parapet and pilasters rising to a centre pediment. In 1868 Batley was incorporated as a municipal borough, the former urban district of Birstall was added to it in 1937. During the late 19th century, Batley was the centre of the "shoddy trade" in which wool rags and clothes were recycled by reweaving them into blankets, carpets and uniforms. In 1861 there were at least 30 shoddy mills in Batley. The owners of the recycling businesses were known as the "shoddy barons". There was a "shoddy king" and a "shoddy temple", properly known as the Zion Chapel. This imposing building in the town centre was opened in 1870, and reflected the popularity of the Methodist movement. The chapel is still active today. Batley is home to a modest commercial and retail centre along Commercial Street. The largest shop here is Tesco which is linked to the main shopping street by a footbridge. There are several chain stores. The Boots the Chemist closed in May 2015. Before the chain collapsed, Batley also had a Woolworth's store, which has now become a small pound shop called JBM bargains. Batley Shopping Centre is a small shopping-centre which has become somewhat run-down since being acquired by Tesco. The supermarket signpost the shopping centre as a thoroughfare to their supermarket. The main retailers in the shopping centre are Iceland and Asda. They are currently surrounded by many vacant shops. ( Batley - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Batley . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Batley - UK Join us for more : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLP2J3yzHO9rZDyzie5Y5Og http://placestoseein87.blogspot.com.eg/ https://plus.google.com/108460845579164318812 https://www.facebook.com/placestoseein87/ https://twitter.com/Placestoseein1 https://www.tumblr.com/blog/placestoseein https://www.pinterest.com/placestoseein87/places-to-see-in/

• published: 07 Aug 2017
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