Kirkthorpe: what to know before moving day
St Peter's Church dates from the 14th century and was largely rebuilt in the 19th; it is Grade II*. Several very old houses stand near it. Frieston's Hospital, a block of almshouses of 1595 and now a private house, is Grade I; Sycamore Cottage is a mid-16th-century timber-framed house cased in stone around 1690; and Kirkthorpe Hall, the former vicarage of about 1780, is listed too, as are the roadside stocks. A move into a house of that age needs measurements taken before the day, especially for doors and stairs.
Most homes are on a few streets off Kirkthorpe Lane: Woodland Avenue, Church Avenue, Park Avenue, Freeston Drive and Freeston Avenue, with Half Moon Lane leading off. There is a community centre and a recreation ground, and the Hallam Line railway runs past the village with no station. Close by, the River Calder flows over Kirkthorpe Weir, a listed stone weir with sluice gates, next to the Southern Washlands nature reserve.
How the van gets to Kirkthorpe
Kirkthorpe Lane is the road through the village, and Warmfield Lane, which runs to Warmfield, is nearby. The A655 Wakefield Road, which crosses the parish between Wakefield and Normanton, is the main road nearby, and M62 junction 31 is at its Normanton end.
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 Kirkthorpe
Each service below links to its Normanton page, which covers how the job works in and around Normanton.
Kirkthorpe: questions before you book
Was HS2 going to pass Kirkthorpe?
It was on the proposed route north towards Leeds, with a 19-metre viaduct planned on a north to south line east of the village. The eastern leg was later scrapped, so nothing was built.
Is Kirkthorpe in Wakefield or Normanton?
It has a Wakefield WF1 postcode and sits east of the city, but for the council it is in the Normanton ward, and its parish council is Warmfield cum Heath.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): WF1 5TD is in Normanton ward, parish of Warmfield cum Heath, Wakefield district
- Kirkthorpe (Wikipedia): about 3 miles east of Wakefield city centre; population under 100, included in Warmfield cum Heath; name meaning; St Peter's Church 14th century, rebuilt, Grade II*; on the proposed HS2 route with a 19 m viaduct east of the village
- Warmfield cum Heath (Wikipedia): Kirkthorpe in the north of the parish; the A655 crosses the parish; the Wakefield to Normanton railway passes north of Kirkthorpe with no station; Normanton ward
- Listed buildings in Warmfield cum Heath (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List): St Peter's Church II*, Frieston's Hospital 1595 Grade I, Sycamore Cottage (mid-16th century, encased c.1690), Kirkthorpe Hall c.1780 former vicarage, stocks, Kirkthorpe Weir and sluice gates
- M62 motorway (Wikipedia): junction 31 is the A655 for Wakefield, Castleford and Normanton
- Crofton, West Yorkshire (Wikipedia): the eastern leg of HS2 was scrapped in November 2021
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Kirkthorpe Lane, Warmfield Lane, Woodland Avenue, Church Avenue, Park Avenue, Freeston Drive, Freeston Avenue, Half Moon Lane, Kirkthorpe Community Centre, Kirkthorpe Recreation Ground, the Hallam Line, River Calder, Kirkthorpe Weir, Southern Washlands Nature Reserve, A655 Wakefield Road