Barwick in Elmet: what to know before moving day
The maypole stands where Main Street meets The Cross, with the war memorial beside it, carved to look like an old village cross. Every three years the pole is lowered, checked and raised again at a festival on the Spring Bank Holiday that brings large crowds into the centre, so check the date before planning a move close to Main Street around then. The Methodist chapel of 1900 is near the maypole, close to the street called the Boyle.
Many of the older cottages in the centre were turned into shops and small businesses during the 20th century, while new houses went up around the edges, built by private developers and the council. The parish church, All Saints, is Grade II* listed, one of 23 listed buildings in the parish. The pubs are the New Inn, the Black Swan and the Gascoigne Arms, and on Wendel Hill are the earthworks of an Iron Age fort later reused for a Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
How the van gets to Barwick in Elmet
Main Street runs through the middle, with Leeds Road and Aberford Road leading out of the village. Potterton Lane goes north to Potterton and on towards the A64, and Rakehill Road links across to Scholes. From Bradford the van comes round the Leeds Outer Ring Road and out past Scholes, so Rakehill Road is the last stretch in.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 35 to 50 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Barwick in Elmet
Each service below links to its Garforth page, which covers how the job works in and around Garforth.
Barwick in Elmet: questions before you book
How do you say Barwick in Elmet?
Barrick-in-Elmet. The name comes from Old English words meaning a barley farm, and the in Elmet part, first recorded in 1329, points to the old British kingdom of Elmet and tells it apart from the Barwicks in Norfolk and Somerset.
When is the maypole festival?
It is held every three years on the Spring Bank Holiday. The festival due after 2017 was postponed twice and took place on 2 June 2022. The centre of the village fills up on the day, so if a move falls near it, tell us and pick another date if you can.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): LS15 4JR is in Harewood ward, Leeds, parish of Barwick in Elmet and Scholes
- Barwick-in-Elmet (Wikipedia): pronunciation, 7 miles east of Leeds, parish and ward, etymology and the 1329 'in Elmet' record, the 86-foot maypole at Main Street and the Cross, triennial festival and the 2022 date, war memorial, 1900 Methodist chapel near the Boyle, older cottages turned into shops, 20th-century housing, Grade II* parish church, the three pubs, Wendel Hill fort and castle
- Listed buildings in Barwick in Elmet and Scholes (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List): 23 listed buildings in the parish
- Potterton (Wikipedia): hamlet a mile north of Barwick, just south of the A64
- OpenStreetMap map data (API extract): Main Street, The Cross, Leeds Road, Aberford Road, Potterton Lane, Rakehill Road, the Maypole, All Saints Church, the Methodist church, the three pubs, Wendell Hill earthworks