Bottom Boat: what to know before moving day
Most of the present houses were built for workers at Newmarket Silkstone Colliery, which closed on 29 September 1983. Long before that, from 1804, Bottom Boat was the end of the Lake Lock Rail Road, a horse-drawn line opened in 1798 and claimed as the world's first public railway, which brought coal down to the Aire and Calder Navigation. A Primitive Methodist chapel was established in 1874.
The residential streets are close together: the Moorhouse roads (Grove, Avenue, Terrace, Close and View), Lake Lock Grove, Lake Lock Drive, Scarth Terrace, St Peters Crescent and Holmfield Chase, with Kingsland Primary School and The Thatched House pub nearby. The river and the Castleford Greenway lie to the east. If cars park on both sides of your street, say so when you book.
How the van gets to Bottom Boat
Aberford Road, the A642, runs through Bottom Boat and on to junction 30 of the M62 at Rothwell. From Bradford, the M606 meets the M62 at junction 26; follow the M62 east past Lofthouse to junction 30, then take the A642 south to the village. Bottomboat Road and Lake Lock Road are the village roads off the A642.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 25 to 40 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Bottom Boat
Each service below links to its Rothwell page, which covers how the job works in and around Rothwell.
Bottom Boat: questions before you book
Does Bottom Boat count as Stanley?
Mostly. Stanley is taken to include Bottom Boat, the 2011 census counted it as a separate place, and before 1974 it was in Stanley Urban District. Its postcode is WF3 and its council ward is Stanley and Outwood East.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): WF3 4BZ is in Stanley and Outwood East ward, Wakefield, unparished area
- Bottom Boat (Wikipedia): village in the Wakefield district, 1,169 people in 2011; part of Stanley Urban District before 1974; houses built for Newmarket Silkstone Colliery workers, colliery closed 29 September 1983; Primitive Methodist chapel 1874
- Stanley, West Yorkshire (Wikipedia): Bottom Boat considered part of Stanley though counted separately in 2011
- Lake Lock Rail Road (Wikipedia): opened 1798, claimed as the world's first public railway; terminus moved to Bottom Boat in 1804; coal to the Aire and Calder Navigation
- A642 road (Wikipedia): via Stanley and junction 30 of the M62
- M62 motorway (Wikipedia): the M606 joins at junction 26 (Chain Bar); the M1 interchange is Lofthouse, junction 29; junction 30 serves Wakefield
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Aberford Road (A642), Bottomboat Road, Lake Lock Road, Moorhouse Grove, Avenue, Terrace, Close and View, Lake Lock Grove, Lake Lock Drive, Scarth Terrace, St Peters Crescent, Holmfield Chase, Kingsland Primary School, The Thatched House, River Calder, Castleford Greenway, Rothwell Interchange