South Elmsall
| South Elmsall | |
|---|---|
 High Street, South Elmsall |
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 South Elmsall
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| South Elmsall shown within West Yorkshire | |
| Population | 6,519 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SE475114 |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PONTEFRACT |
| Postcode district | WF9 |
| Dialling code | 01977 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
South Elmsall is a small town and civil parish which lies to the east of Hemsworth in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The town has a population (2001) of 6,107, increasing to 6,519 at the 2011 Census.
The town was largely a small farming settlement until the industrial revolution and the sinking of collieries caused a boom in population and a need for modern housing for the workforce. This has left a town with a mixture of stone and brick buildings. The town and its neighbours were mentioned in the Domesday Book. Other industries such as quarrying for stone, agriculture and brick manufacture were also known at different periods of the town's history, with many of the former buildings and sites associated with them still existing.
The former South Elmsall quarry was deemed a site of national importance, by Defra, due to the visible section of an unusually complete patch coral reef.
The town is most famous for its coal-mining past; it was the site of Frickley Colliery, which was one of the largest deep coal mines in the United Kingdom and a key source of union radicalism. During the UK Miners' Strike, there were numerous disturbances in the area. It was one of the last pits to return to work after the strike, seeing as it was picketed by a group of hardliners from Kent who continued to picket Frickley after the NUM had called off the strike. The Frickley miners refused to cross the hardliners' picket.
The colliery was closed on 26 November 1993 following closures of nearby pits like Ferrymoor-Riddings (1985), Kinsley (1986), South Kirkby (1988) and Grimethorpe (1992).
The town is home to Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, a successful brass band who have previously been British and European champions.
Frickley Country Park officially opened in September 2009, after a long period of land reclamation, environmental cleaning and landscaping of the former Frickley Colliery site was finished. The site offers walks and play areas as well as space for new housing development as part of the wider regeneration scheme. Nearby is located the Frickley Off-road Centre, a specialist facility for motorsports.
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Wikipedia