Skelmanthorpe: what to know before moving day
The weaving past is still in the houses. As late as 1890 there were about 200 hand looms in cottages here, and many older buildings show signs of having been weavers' homes. Listed examples include the row at 39 to 42 Station Road and the pair at 22 and 24 King Street, dated 1810, while 5 Commercial Road goes back to 1642. No. 6 Queen Street is kept as the Skelmanthorpe Textile Heritage Centre, with a working loom. In a cottage of that age, measure a wide sofa or wardrobe against the door before the day.
The centre runs along Commercial Road and Huddersfield Road, both part of the B6116, with Station Road, Wood Street, Elm Street, Radcliffe Street and Prospect Square close by, and St Aidan's church of 1894 to 1895 by Bodley and Garner a short walk away. Other streets include Strike Lane, Gib Lane, Northfield Lane and Lidgett Lane. The Clayton West branch railway ran along the north edge of the village until 1983, and its trackbed now carries the Kirklees Light Railway, which reached Skelmanthorpe in 1992.
How the van gets to Skelmanthorpe
The B6116 is the main road through the village and links it to the A629 on one side and the A636 on the other. From Bradford the van comes by way of Huddersfield and the A629 south, then on to the B6116 through Shelley. Cumberworth Road is the lane towards Lower Cumberworth.
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 Skelmanthorpe
Each service below links to its Holmfirth page, which covers how the job works in and around Holmfirth.
Skelmanthorpe: questions before you book
Why do Skelmanthorpe children change school after Year 5?
Both village schools, St Aidan's Church of England Academy and Skelmanthorpe Academy, are first schools that run to Year 5. Children then usually go to Scissett Middle School for three years and on to Shelley College, so it helps to check the catchment before you fix a moving date.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): HD8 9BX is in Denby Dale ward and Denby Dale parish, Kirklees
- Skelmanthorpe (Wikipedia): known as Shat, Denby Dale parish, 9 miles from Huddersfield and Barnsley, population 4,549 (2011), 200 hand looms in 1890 and weavers' cottages, Textile Heritage Centre at 6 Queen Street, first schools to Year 5 then Scissett Middle and Shelley College, Clayton West branch closed 1983 and Kirklees Light Railway 1992, B6116 connecting to the A629 and A636
- Listed buildings in Denby Dale (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List): 5 Commercial Road (1642), 22 and 24 King Street (1810), 39 to 42 Station Road weavers' houses, St Aidan's Church (1894 to 1895, Bodley and Garner)
- Shelley (Wikipedia): road links are the A629 and B6116
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): B6116 Commercial Road and Huddersfield Road, Station Road, Wood Street, Elm Street, Radcliffe Street, Prospect Square, Strike Lane, Gib Lane, Northfield Lane, Lidgett Lane, Cumberworth Road, St Aidan's church, Kirklees Light Railway station