Skelmanthorpe

The village was recorded as Scelmertorp in the Domesday Book in the year 1086 AD. The name derives from the Norse personal name Skjaldmarr and thorp; thus having the meaning of an "outlying farmstead of a man called Skjaldmarr".[2]

Locals know it as "Shat", which appears to be an abbreviation of "Shatterers", the name by which the locals are known. Local labour was taken on during construction of the railway to break or 'shatter' rocks as well as work on the excavations. These unskilled labourers were referred to as Shatterers.[3] The Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker has explained the origins of the term and referred to herself as a "Shat lass".[4]

The village was probably founded during the Viking invasion in the 9th century, as they moved inland from the North Sea.[5] There is no record of the village in the earlier Roman times.

The entry for Skelmanthorpe in the Domesday Book of 1086 states:[5]

Manors & Berewick. In Turulsetone and Berceworde and Scelmertorp, Alric and Aldene had nine carcucates of land to be taxed, and there may be five ploughs there. Ilbert now has it, and it is waste. Value in King Edwards time 4 pounds. Wood pasture one mile long and as much broad.

The comment "and it is waste." is the result of the Harrying of the North of 1069. William the Conqueror had difficulties subduing his northern subjects, leading to the order to "spare neither man nor beast, but to kill, burn and destroy" being issued.[5] This left Skelmanthorpe and much of Yorkshire a wasteland for about nine years.

The first recorded owners of the village were Alric and Aldena in the 11th century, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066 the village was given to Ilbert de Laci by the new king. The de Laci family owned the village for the next 300 years, until through the marriage of Alice de Laci in the 14th century, the village came into the possession of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. The village remained in this family and after the marriage of Blanche of Lancaster to John of Gaunt, the village became the property of their son Henry (King of England).[5]

During the 1770s, Skelmanthorpe Feast was a riotous affair with bull and bear-baiting and organised dog fights on the village green.[6] A quote from John Taylor, who compiled a biography of Skelmanthorpe-born preacher Isaac Marsden (1807–1882), records that "Public houses were crowded with drunken revellers, who caroused all day and made night hideous with quarrels and disturbances ... Among these scenes of revelry were mountebanks, showmen, fortune telling Gypsies, vagabonds and thieves from every quarter."[6] Skelmanthorpe Feast now happens every year on the field next to The Chartist and across the road from what was the Three Horse Shoes public house and is now shops.

In November 1874 a number of skirmishes were fought between the native villagers and Irish navvies. The navvies had been brought in to construct the railway, and fighting broke out between them and the locals on a number of occasions and locals being refused work on the line. A small group of locals threw stones at the navvies, who responded with mattock shafts and spades. The fighting lasted for most of the day eventually ending in the afternoon. Police were called in from Huddersfield but arrived after the disturbances had finished.[7]

In 1934 a cinema was built, it was the sole use of the building for almost 30 years. In 1961 wrestling was introduced to increase revenue. A reduction in audiences in 1968 resulted in the cinema closing and the building became a bingo hall until 1970 when the building closed. After five years it reopened as the Savoy Squash Club.[8] In June 2010, part of the club was redeveloped as a Youth and Community Centre with a car park, outdoor 5-a-side court, sports hall with a stage, meeting room and cafe.

The village has had its own cricket team since around 1876; the current cricket pitch dates from 1900.[19]

The village also has its own junior and senior football teams that play in the Huddersfield leagues respectively.

There are two crown green bowls clubs within the village. One club is based at the Windmill Pub on the outskirts of the village and the other club based in the centre of the village. Each club have their own bowling green.

Following a petition from local young people[20] fundraising allowed the construction of a small skatepark which opened early 2006. Residents from the area complained about the noise and the skatepark has since been moved. It is now at the bottom of the football field.[21]

Parkgate Sports and Community Trust have won the right for a new sports complex to be built at Parkgate.[22]

During the mid-1970s, central parts were a set for Yorkshire Television sitcom, Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!,[30] starring Bill Maynard.

Towns and cities: Barnsley, Huddersfield, Wakefield

Villages: Denby Dale, Clayton West, Emley, Lower Cumberworth, Scissett, Shelley, Shepley

• Listed buildings in Denby Dale

Look up shat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Friends of Skelmanthorpe Textile Heritage Centre

Media related to Skelmanthorpe at Wikimedia Commons