Birkby, Huddersfield

Birkby

Birkby Grange
Birkby
Birkby shown within West Yorkshire
OS grid reference SE 138 180
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HUDDERSFIELD
Postcode district HD2
Dialling code 01484
Police West Yorkshire
Fire West Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament

Birkby is a large multi-cultural suburb close to the town centre in Huddersfield, in the Kirklees borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 6,700.[1]

An affluent suburb during Victorian times, Birkby sits in the Grimescar Valley, a greenbelt area of Huddersfield. Birkby contains Norman Park, a small park with a play area and war memorial, which commemorates those who died in the First World War.[2]

History

It is believed that the name Birkby means "a village inhabited by people of both Viking and ancient Briton origins".

From the study of old Ordnance Survey maps, much of the district of Birkby remained largely rural well into the 20th century, with the original settlement lying close to the town centre. Bay Hall, a local historic house dates from the 16th century but was largely restored in 1895, as a date plaque on the residence indicates. Birkby can effectively be bisected into two distinct areas; St Johns road being the main thoroughfare. Birkby is generally more affluent to the north and west of the main thoroughfare. This can be seen with a comparison of a south Birkby postcode HD2 2RT having an average home price of £121,892 and a northern Birkby postcode of HD2 2DU having an average home price of £450,000, although this shows anomalies and is not a general trend.[3] Recently, Birkby has seen significant residential development, as the Hopkinson's Valve Works has been redeveloped for housing

On Sunday 12 May 2002, an arson attack took place at 40 Osborne Road, Birkby, killing 7 people, including a six-month-old girl. All had been sleeping whilst the house was deliberately set on fire. One of the arsonists, Shaheed Mohammed, is still at large and an appeal was made to the public in early 2013 to try to find his whereabouts.[4]

Amenities and buildings

St John the Evangelist church

It has a catholic primary school, St. Patrick's, as well as Birkby Infant and Nursery School, located on Blacker Road. Birkby Junior School is located to the east of Birkby and is addressed as Fartown, Huddersfield. Birkby is a semi-rural area, home to a large white and Asian population, having four mosques. Elsewhere, the suburb contains two Church of England chapels, a Buddhist centre, as well as a meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The centre of Birkby, located around the east of Blacker Road and the north of St John's Road, has a high concentration of Asian retailers and food outlets, serving the local Asian community.

References

  1. ↑ "Birkby Ward" (PDF). 2001 CENSUS PROFILE (2003 WARDS). Corporate Development Unit, Kirklees. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Norman Park War Memorial". Museums, galleries and history. Kirklees Council. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "A comprehensive directory of estate agents for all UK towns; a separate website for each town; national directory of estate agents covering each UK town". Email4Property.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Birkby House Fire". West Yorkshire Police. Retrieved 8 April 2013.


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