Woolley: what to know before moving day
The village grew up around Woolley Hall, a Grade II* listed house begun around 1635 for the Wentworth family and extended around 1800 by Jeffry Wyatville. It later became a college and then a Wakefield Council conference and wedding venue, and the council decided in 2024 to sell it. The parish has 38 listed buildings, including the Grade I church of St Peter; the others include houses, cottages and farm buildings, some converted into homes.
The village streets are New Road, The Green, Church Street, High Street, Finkle Street, Back Lane and Water Lane, and there are homes near the hall on Woolley Park Gardens, The Walled Garden and Wentworth Close, and Woolley Park Golf Course is close by. With so many listed buildings, send a photo of the entrance and any gateway before the day so the stopping point can be agreed.
How the van gets to Woolley
New Road leads from the A61 Barnsley Road straight into the village, and Seckar Lane joins the A61 further north from Water Lane. Woolley Edge services on the M1, between junctions 38 and 39, is west of the village and takes its name from the escarpment, but its local access roads are barrier-controlled, so it is not a way in. From Bradford, take the M62 east to the M1 and come off at junction 39 at Durkar; the lanes through Crigglestone and Hall Green lead across to the A61.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 40 to 50 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Woolley
Each service below links to its Wakefield page, which covers how the job works in and around Wakefield.
Woolley: questions before you book
How do Woolley Colliery and Woolley Grange relate to Woolley?
They are separate places. Woolley Colliery is a former pit village about two miles south-west, in Barnsley borough, and Woolley Grange is the housing built on the colliery site, in the Wakefield district. Check the postcode and street when you book.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): WF4 2JJ is in Wakefield Rural ward, Wakefield district, parish of Woolley
- Woolley, West Yorkshire (Wikipedia): village and civil parish on the West and South Yorkshire border, 6 miles north of Barnsley and 7 miles south of Wakefield; no major roads through it, the A61 a mile east and the M1 two miles west; Woolley Edge; Woolley Colliery village two miles south-west and Woolley Grange
- Woolley Hall (Wikipedia): Grade II* listed; begun about 1635 by Michael Wentworth, added to around 1800 by Jeffry Wyatville; later a college, then Wakefield Council conference and wedding venue; council decided in 2024 to sell
- Listed buildings in Woolley (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List): 38 listed buildings, the Grade I church, Woolley Hall, houses, cottages and farm buildings, some converted into dwellings
- Woolley Edge services (Wikipedia): on the M1 between junctions 38 and 39, west of Woolley; local access roads fitted with automatic barriers
- Woolley Colliery (Wikipedia): pit village in Barnsley borough; Woolley Grange housing on the colliery site in the Wakefield district
- 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): New Road (joining Barnsley Road, A61), Seckar Lane, Water Lane, The Green, Church Street, High Street, Finkle Street, Back Lane, Woolley Park Gardens, The Walled Garden, Wentworth Close, St Peters church (Grade I), Woolley Hall, Woolley Park Golf Course, village hall; Stoney Lane and Wood Lane from Hall Green to the A61