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The Merits of the Town of Mirfield and the Neighbouring Village of Hopton
 From the early settlers to the present day, various local historians have documented its rise to become a small important industrial town in an area still called the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire.
This general description also includes nearby Dewsbury and Batley and is an indication of the fine woollen industry for which the whole area was famous for up to until relatively recently.
Today much of this traditional industry is gone and even as we speak, some former industrial premises are being converted into luxury apartments, popular in today’s housing market. The town of Mirfield is today much more of a residential area with a central shopping area, numerous pubs, various sports facilities, a high school and much more.
The neighbouring area of Hopton is a particularly desirable area to live and has grown in size in recent years, Records show that in 1755 Hopton consisted of just 88 houses, a few shops and a pub. In 1840 the Rev Maude created the Ecclesiastical District of Upper Hopton and it became a parish in 1860 with St John’s Church at its heart.
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 The church, built in a popular perpendicular style was built on land donated by James Micklethwaite of Hopton Hall who laid the foundation stone in 1844. The church’s Lych gate was built in 1949 as a memorial to those men from Upper Hopton who lost their lives in World War Two.
The Hall itself was originally owned by the Mirfield family and was rebuilt in 1619 in an H-shape and surrounded by a moat.
One of the first mills in the Mirfield area was Hopton Mill which began the manufacture of cloth in 1790 and exporting to America in 1815. Originally powered by a waterwheel, it became one of the first mills to be converted to steam power.
Historical records show a good number of mills in operation over the years in Mirfield including Stott’s corn mills, Henry Wheately & Sons, Holme Bank Mill, Bankfield Mills and Ledgard Bridge Mill. Many people may not know that Mirfield’s industrial development was aided by the availability of both water and coal, the former from the River Calder and the latter from the town’s own coal pits.
At the turn of the 19th Century coal mines in Mirfield employed some 800 men and lads and produced hundreds of tons of coal every day.
The town of Mirfield grew up alongside the banks of the River Calder and there is ample evidence of the area’s early occupation. An indication of the Angles and Danes living in the area can be found in the local place names – tun (as in Hopton) and Thorpe (as in Easthorpe and Northorpe.
According to the Domesday Book, Mirfield consisted of six caracutes of land and three ploughs. After the Norman Conquest however Mirfield was ravaged and Hopton laid waste.
However, the area recovered and by the late 14th Century Mirfield had become a community of equal or greater importance than neighbouring Huddersfield. Some 200 years it was still larger than Huddersfield but in 1631 the Plague knocked on Mirfield’s door, killing around 130 people, many of whom were simply buried near their homes.
Originally an agricultural community, industry arrived in Mirfield with improved transport links with the Dewsbury to Elland turnpike road running through the town. By 1790 Mirfield was on the Manchester to Doncaster Light Coach route and by 1830 it was linked to Leeds, Manchester, Halifax, Todmorden and Wakefield.
New prosperity was also to arrive with the building of the Calder and Hebble Navigation linking Mirfield through to the Rochdale Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, so establishing a Trans-Pennine route for the movement of important goods. Next came the railway in 1840 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Many changes have taken place from those days up the present day. Numerous mills have been demolished or put to other use, as textiles declined and the late 20th Century has seen much of the area’s agricultural land turned to housing.
A retail centre developed and Mirfield is now a dormitory town for Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford with many commuters choosing to live in this pleasant area.
The town still has its own parish council able to make smaller decisions and in the early 1990s the population of the town was around 18,500.
 Today the town has much to commend it – a beautiful parish church, numerous historical buildings, a successful high school, a marina, sports fields and much more.The town centre itself is very flat with shops either side along its length all the way from the Battyeford end to nearby Ravensthorpe.
Mirfield has long been associated with Robin Hood, the fearless outlaw and champion of the poor who is usually linked with Sherwood Forest and Nottingham. He is also said to have travelled extensively and history tells us that he met his death at Kirklees Priory on the outskirts of Mirfield, not far from where the Three Nuns pub and restaurant now sits.
Although the Three Nuns itself dates back to 1900 and has links to a much older inn, centuries ago part of the Kirklees Priory stood on the site of what is now the pub car park. The priory was home to the Cistercian religious order until 1539 when all monastries and nunneries were abolished by Henry VIII.
Three of the nuns however are believed to have stayed on and run a former guest house belonging to the priory as a hostelry, beginning a tradition which continues until this day.
Today very little of the Kirklees Priory remains. Set on private land, it is believed to also include a stone marking the final resting place of Robin Hood.
Other noteable residents of Mirfield have included Charlotte Bronte who taught at Roe Head School from 1835 to 1838 and also the actor Roger Moore, later to star in a string of James Bond movies, who was a Roe Head pupil.
One of Mirfield’s most famous sons is actor Patrick Stewart, who was born in the town and started his acting career with local amateur dramatic groups. At the age of 15 he left school and initially became a reporter for a local newspaper but later had to choose between journalism and acting. Of course acting became his chosen career and he worked extremely hard to prove himself as a professional actor. Now an internationally respected actor, he is particularly recognised for bridging the gap between the world of the Shakespearean stage and contemporary film and television. His most famous role, to date, is undoubtedly as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek movies and he has also starred in X-Men. During his time filming such major roles, he has also appeared in numerous stage productions which have earned him great acclaim.
He is an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and over the years has played such roles as Shylock, Henry IV, Titus Andronicus, Oberon and many other well known characters. He is currently being seen by many at the Chichester Festival taking on the role of Macbeth and as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Despite his success Patrick is still very much in touch with his roots, being a fan of Huddersfield Town Football Club and recently appointed Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield. In 2001 he was honoured with an O.B.E in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list.
Unknown to many, the town of Mirfield is also home to the Community of the Resurrection based in Stocksbank Road. From an imposing building, the Community also operates a residential college working closely with the Northern Ordination Course and the Theology and Religious Studies department of the University of Leeds. Its main task is to respond to those who feel a vocation to the priesthood.
The complex is also home to the Mirfield Centre which hosts a number of regular groups which meet for support and learning. It also offers programmes for clergy and in spiritual development. When the Community of the Resurrection was first founded in Oxford, it looked out on the city’s dreamy spires. The first members were men drawn from priviledged backgrounds and who had been educated at Oxford and Cambridge.
They quickly decided however that Oxford and nearby London would suffocate them and so moved to live the monastic life in industrial Yorkshire.
So who are the members of the Community of the Resurrection? The answer is priests and laymen who live in this community as monks, who eat together, work together and live their simple way of life together in a close-knit community. The present Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, lectured at the CR for two years during the late 1970s. Guests spend time with them to learn about their way of life and in turn, they keep the 30 plus members of the Community in touch with the concerns of Christian people living in today’s society. For a large part of the year, the building also welcome students who are studying theology and preparing to become priests in the Anglican church. Although the Community made its home in Yorkshire many many years ago, its work is worldwide with trained brethren having spread their word in all corners of the globe. Daily life in Mirfield is based on prayer along with looking after the house and gardens, leading retreats, assisting in parishes etc. The Community of the Resurrection sits on the outskirts of Mirfield in what is now a residential area although many local people are probably not fully aware of the teaching and learning which takes place inside its walls. More information about the work of the Community of the Resurrection can be found at www.mirfield.org.uk
Mirfield has much to commend it as a place to shop, a place to live and a place to visit. With a rich history it has many tales to tell from its colourful and diverse history!
Published Summer 2007. All information correct at time of print
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