Place:South Kirkby and Moorthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

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NameSouth Kirkby and Moorthorpe
Alt namesSouth Kirkby
Moorthorpe
TypeTown, Civil parish
Coordinates53.567°N 1.333°W
Located inWest Riding of Yorkshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inWest Yorkshire, England     (1974 - )
Yorkshire, England    
See alsoHemsworth Rural, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandrural district of which it was a part until 1974
Wakefield (metropolitan borough), West Yorkshire, Englandmetropolitan borough of which it has been a part since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

South Kirkby and Moorthorpe is a town and civil parish located in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It was a coal mining village, with a large textile industry. Along with South Elmsall, the villages have all but merged into one.[citation needed]. The town has a population of 10,979.[1]

The villages were first mentioned 1086 in the Domesday Book, and retains the site of the original Saxon settlement (Grid ref: SE434104). The foundations and part of the walls of 'All Saints Church' in South Kirkby are from the period. For many centuries, they were both simply farming villages until the start of the industrial revolution.

In 1881, with the foundation of the South Kirkby Colliery [coal mine], an increase in population caused the villages to be extended until at its largest the two villages housed almost all of the 3000 workers employed in the mine. In 1984, the miners' strike included the colliery's workforce but in vain. In 1988, South Kirkby Colliery along with many of the other coal mines in the immediate area closed and later cleared for redevelopment. These included South Kirkby-Ferrymoor Riddings Drift, Frickley Colliery (Carlton Main), Kinsley Drift (formerly Hemsworth Colliery), and Grimethorpe Colliery. The nearby Upton Colliery closed in 1964 due to loss of life caused by explosions, fires, and serious geological faults.[citation needed]

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