View source for Batley

{{Short description|Town in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{About||the name|Batley (surname)}}

{{Lead too short|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53|43|00|N|01|38|08|W|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Batley
| type = Town
| static_image_name = {{multiple images
| image1 = Batley - Carnegie Library .jpg
<!--please crop me at the top and bottom-->
| image2 = Batley Town Hall (1st December 2023).jpg
| image3 = All Saints Church, Batley.jpg
| image4 = Commercial Street, Batley.jpg
| image5 = The Union Rooms, Hick Lane, Batley (1st December 2023).jpg
|align = center |total_width = 320|perrow=1 2
}}
| static_image_caption = Clockwise from top: Batley Library and War Memorial, [[All Saints' Church, Batley|All Saints' Church]], Union Rooms on Hick Lane, Commercial Street, [[Batley Town Hall|Town Hall]]
 | population                   =  39,013 
 | population_ref           = (Wards, 2021 Census)<ref>{{cite web |title=Batley (West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/west_yorkshire/E63000916__batley/ |website=www.citypopulation.de |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref>
| metropolitan_borough     = [[Kirklees]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[West Yorkshire]]
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Dewsbury and Batley]]
| post_town                = BATLEY
| postcode_district        = WF17
| postcode_area            = WF
| dial_code                = 01924
| os_grid_reference        = SE245245
 | parts_type              = Areas of the town
 | p1                      = [[Batley Carr]]                                       
 | p2                      = [[Carlinghow]]                  
 | p3                      = [[Hanging Heaton]] (part)
 | p4                      = [[Healey, Kirklees|Healey]]                 
 | p5                      = [[Soothill]]
 | p6                      = [[Staincliffe]]
}}
[[File:Batley Viaduct from Crackenedge on Kirklees Way - geograph.org.uk - 442589.jpg|thumb|Skyline of Batley]]
[[File:Batley Cemetery (40298765041).jpg|thumb|Batley Cemetery]]
'''Batley''' is a [[market town]] in the [[Kirklees]] district, in [[West Yorkshire]], England, south-west of [[Leeds]], north-west of [[Wakefield]] and [[Dewsbury]], south-east of [[Bradford]] and north-east of [[Huddersfield]], in the [[Heavy Woollen District]]. In 2011, the population was 48,730.<ref name="observatory">{{cite web |title=Population profile: Selection: Batley M.B. Geo-type: Parish, Towns, North and South Kirklees |website=Kirklees Observatory |url=https://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=259&geoTypeId=42 |publisher=Kirklees Council |access-date=30 June 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181309/https://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=259&geoTypeId=42 |url-status=dead }} ''Select "Batley M.B." from "Available Areas"''</ref>

[[Batley Town Hall]], designed in the neoclassical style, was paid for by public subscription and opened as the local mechanics' institute in 1854. The town was the home of [[Batley Variety Club]], which was frequented by many notable musical acts, from 1967 onwards.

==History==

=== Middle Ages ===
The name Batley is derived from the [[Old English]] ''Batalēah'' meaning 'Bata's wood or clearing'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Yorkshire+WR/Batley|title=Key to English Place-names|website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk|accessdate=28 September 2025}}</ref>

Batley is recorded in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' as 'Bateleia'. After the [[Norman Conquest]], the manor was granted to [[Ilbert de Lacy]] and in 1086 was within the [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg and Morley|Morley]].<ref>{{OpenDomesday|OS=SE2424 |name=Batley |display=Batley |accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref> It subsequently passed into the ownership of the de Batleys, and by the 12th century had passed by marriage to the Copley family. Their residence at Batley Hall was held directly from [[the Crown]]; at this time the district was part of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]].<ref>Batley Official Guide and Industrial Review 1966, page 55. Home Publishing Co Ltd H/12392/B/K</ref> 

There has been a church in Batley since the 11th century. [[All Saints' Church, Batley|Batley Parish Church]] was built in 1485 and contains parts of a 13th-century predecessor.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1134620|desc=Church of All Saints, Stocks Lane|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> Despite Batley being an ancient settlement, this is all that remains of any great antiquity.

[[File:Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 399209.jpg|thumb|[[Batley Town Hall]]]]

[[Howley Hall]] in Soothill was built during the 1580s by Sir John Savile, a member of the great Yorkshire landowners, the Savile family. The house was besieged during the [[English Civil War]] in 1643 before the [[Battle of Adwalton Moor]] but appears to have sustained no serious damage. It continued to be occupied during the 17th century but fell into disrepair. Howley Hall was destroyed in 1730. Among the numerous ruins that are still present are the cellars of its great hall.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1016323|desc=Howley Hall; a 16th century country house and gardens|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

[[Methodism]] came to Batley in the 1740s through the evangelism of [[John Nelson (Methodist)|John Nelson]], a [[lay preacher]] from Birstall and frequent companion of the movement's founder [[John Wesley]].<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Batley, Yorks |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=3226 |last=Dews |first=Colin D.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Nelson, John |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=2033 |last=Hargreaves |first=John A.}}</ref> Two leading figures in the early Methodist movement, [[John William Fletcher]] and [[Mary Bosanquet]], were married at All Saints Church in Batley in 1781.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Earl Kent |title=Women of Mr. Wesley's Methodism |publisher=Edwin Mellen |year=1983 |isbn=978-0889465381 |location=New York |pages=142}}</ref> By the 1780s meetings were being held in the town and the first Methodist chapel was established around 1800.<ref name=":0" />

=== Industrial Revolution ===
During the late 18th century, the main occupations in the town were [[farming]] and [[weaving]]. The [[Industrial Revolution]] reached Batley in 1796 with the arrival of its first water powered mills for carding and spinning. During the next half century the population grew rapidly, from around 2,500 at the start of the 19th century to 9,308 at the 1851 [[census]]. The parish of Batley at this point included [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]], [[Churwell]] and [[Gildersome]], with a total population of 17,359.

Before the industrial revolution, wool was made in Batley for centuries as a [[cottage industry]]. Samuel Jubb, a 19th-century mill owner and local historian, noted that this was "a manufacture for which the place is well adapted, on account of its possessing a good supply of water and coal, and its central situation in relation to the principal local markets, being about equidistant from Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford, Halifax, and Wakefield."<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Jubb|first=Samuel|url=https://archive.org/details/historyshoddytr00jubbgoog|title=The History of the Shoddy-trade: Its Rise, Progress, and Present Position|date=1860|publisher=Houlston and Wright|location=London}}</ref>{{Rp|9–10}} The water he referred to was not the beck but the large [[aquifer]] beneath the town, which was tapped for cleaning and dying wool.<ref name=":1" />

A [[toll road]] built in 1832 between [[Gomersal]] and [[Dewsbury]] had a branch to Batley (the present day Branch Road) which allowed for "the growing volumes of wool, cloth and coal" to be transported. Until then there had only been foot and cart tracks. Around the same time there were [[strike action|strikes]] in the mills, which led to an influx of Irish workers who settled permanently. Initially this led to antagonism from residents, due to the lower wages paid to the Irish workers and general anti-[[Roman Catholic]] sentiment, but this faded in time. By 1853 Catholic services were held regularly in the town; its first Roman Catholic church, [http://www.stmarybatley.co.uk/ St Mary of the Angels], was not built until 1870 and is still in existence.

By 1848 there was a [[Batley railway station|railway station]] in Batley, and in 1853 [[Batley Town Hall]] was erected. It was enlarged in 1905, and is in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical style]], with a corbelled [[parapet]] and [[pilaster]]s rising to a centre [[pediment]]. In 1868 Batley was incorporated as a [[municipal borough]], the former [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]] of [[Birstall, West Yorkshire|Birstall]] was added to it in 1937.<ref>Batley Official Guide and Industrial Review 1966, pages 20,56. Home Publishing Co Ltd H/12392/B/K</ref>
[[File:Batley - Carnegie Library .jpg|thumb|Batley Library]]
1853 also saw the establishment of a small [[confectionery]] shop by Michael Spedding. His business expanded, moving to larger premises in 1927 becoming [[Fox's Biscuits]]. Today, along with [[Tesco]], it is one of the largest employers in the town.
[[File:The Mill Batley - geograph.org.uk - 1008405.jpg|thumb|The Mill, Batley]]
During the late 19th century, Batley was the centre of the [[shoddy]] and [[Mungo (fibre)|mungo]] trade in which wool, rags and clothes were recycled by reweaving them into blankets, carpets and uniforms.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shell|first=Hanna Rose|title=Shoddy: From Devil's Dust to the Renaissance of Rags|publisher=University of Chicago|year=2020|isbn=9780226377759|location=Chicago|pages=19–35}}</ref> In 1861 there were at least 30 shoddy mills in Batley. The owners of the recycling businesses were known as the "shoddy barons". There was a "shoddy king" and a "shoddy temple", properly known as the Zion Chapel. This imposing building in the town centre was opened in 1870, and reflected the popularity of the Methodist movement. The chapel is still active today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.batleychurch.org.uk/index.html|title=Batley Central Methodist Church|year=2017|access-date=25 September 2014|archive-date=27 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327150215/https://www.batleychurch.org.uk/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1875 local woman [[Ann Ellis (strike leader)|Ann Ellis]] led a weavers strike against the shoddy mill owners who were planning to reduce wages.<ref>{{citation |last=Reynolds |first=Melanie |title=Ellis [née Waite], Ann (1843–1919), trade unionist and power- loom weaver |date=2024-06-13 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-90000382494 |access-date=2024-06-17 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382494 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

At the close of the 19th century, growth in population changed the form of governmental institutions above the parish of Batley; the Morley division of the wapentake of [[Agbrigg and Morley]] was disused as special purpose districts were formed.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

The library was built in 1907 with funds donated by the [[philanthropist]] [[Andrew Carnegie]]. The library has been modernised, with a microfilm viewer, and reels of the Batley News dating back 120 years. The newspaper was founded by James Fearnsides – a local printer. His grandson, Clement, later became the mayor of Batley. The first records of [[coal mining]] in Batley date back to the 16th century at White Lee; the last pit in the town closed in 1973.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

=== Post-industrial history ===
On the nights of 14 and 15 March 1941, the West Yorkshire area as a whole was subject to a Nazi air raid. Batley came through relatively unscathed with one unexploded ordnance being located near the Healey Mill area (opposite Healey Community Centre to be precise) whilst Cleckheaton, located {{convert|2.5|miles|abbr=on}} north-west, suffered from seven bombs that exploded as intended. Leeds, located {{convert|6|miles|abbr=on}} north-east, went through two nights of damage as, "The raid caused more than 100 serious fires, damaged over 4,500 buildings and resulted in 65 people losing their lives."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Leeds Blitz {{!}} Leeds Beckett University |url=https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/school-of-humanities-and-social-sciences/leeds-blitz/ |access-date=9 February 2023 |website=www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk }}</ref>

The manufacture of shoddy continued into the postwar period. A doctor posted to Batley hospital in 1952 described the town as "one of the last reminders of the industrial revolution as described by Dickens", riven by economic inequality and 'Victorian' diseases like [[rickets]]:<ref>{{cite journal |last=Antia |first=N. H. |date=February 2004 |title=A shoddy town named Batley |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15612-2 |journal=The Lancet |volume=363 |issue=9409 |pages=662 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15612-2 |pmid=14987905 |issn=0140-6736}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=In mid-winter, the hospital enjoyed brilliant sunshine on the snow-covered moors on either side of the narrow valley, reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. Nearby were the manor houses of the mill owners, flaunting Rolls-Royces in their porches. The town in the valley was, however, permanently enveloped in a thick blanket of smog spewed from the factory chimneys. The narrow valley was paved with cobbled stones with workers' houses interspersed between the factories. [...] Excess water due to rainfall or melting snow would enter the dwellings over their thresholds.}}

In 1974, responsibility for local government passed to [[Kirklees|Kirklees Metropolitan Council]], with its headquarters in [[Huddersfield]].

=== 21st century ===
Batley's Labour MP [[Jo Cox]] was [[Murder of Jo Cox|shot and stabbed to death]] outside her [[constituency surgery]] in Birstall in June 2016.<ref name="guardian2">{{cite news |last1=Booth |first1=Robert |last2=Dodd |first2=Vikram |last3=Parveen |first3=Nazia |date=16 June 2016 |title=Labour MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/16/labour-mp-jo-cox-shot-in-west-yorkshire |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616142602/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/16/labour-mp-jo-cox-shot-in-west-yorkshire |archive-date=16 June 2016 |access-date=16 June 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 June 2016 |title=Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36550304 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616135018/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36550304 |archive-date=16 June 2016 |access-date=16 June 2016 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The politically-motivated murder, carried out by a local man in the name of [[white supremacy]], was the first assassination of a sitting British MP since 1990.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last1=Cobain |first1=Ian |last2=Parveen |first2=Nazia |last3=Taylor |first3=Matthew |date=23 November 2016 |title=The slow-burning hatred that led Thomas Mair to murder Jo Cox |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/23/thomas-mair-slow-burning-hatred-led-to-jo-cox-murder |access-date=19 December 2018 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rentoul |first=John |date=16 June 2016 |title=Jo Cox Dead: A History of violence against MPs |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jo-cox-dies-mp-politicians-attacks-violence-jo-cox-spencer-perceval-a7085911.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616171312/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jo-cox-dies-mp-politicians-attacks-violence-jo-cox-spencer-perceval-a7085911.html |archive-date=16 June 2016 |access-date=16 June 2016 |work=Independent}}</ref> Her seat was filled by Labour candidate [[Tracy Brabin]] in a [[2016 Batley and Spen by-election|by-election later the same year]], uncontested by the other major parties.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 October 2016 |title=Tories retain Witney and Labour holds Batley and Spen in byelections |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/21/labour-tracy-brabin-batley-and-spen-byelection-witney-robert-court |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021145319/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/21/labour-tracy-brabin-batley-and-spen-byelection-witney-robert-court |archive-date=21 October 2016 |access-date=21 October 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Brabin was elected the first [[Mayor of West Yorkshire]] in 2021, triggering a [[2021 Batley and Spen by-election|high profile by-election]] in which Labour expected to struggle to retain the formerly safe [[Red wall (British politics)|red wall]] seat.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 May 2021 |title=Is Batley and Spen Labour's next by-election headache? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/politics-explained/is-batley-and-spen-labour-s-next-byelection-headache-b1844215.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508213725/https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/politics-explained/is-batley-and-spen-labour-s-next-byelection-headache-b1844215.html |archive-date=8 May 2021 |access-date=9 May 2021 |website=The Independent }}</ref> Former Labour MP [[George Galloway]] ran for the [[Workers Party of Britain]], on a platform criticising newly-elected Labour leader [[Keir Starmer]] and targetting issues important to the local South Asian Muslim community.<ref>{{cite news |last=Batten |first=Dave |date=28 May 2021 |title=George Galloway enters Batley and Spen by-election race, vowing to oust Keir Starmer as Labour leader |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/george-galloway-batley-by-election-keir-starmer-labour-b937715.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182040/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/george-galloway-batley-by-election-keir-starmer-labour-b937715.html |archive-date=9 July 2021 |access-date=2 July 2021 |website=Evening Standard}}</ref> Labour candidate [[Kim Leadbeater]], the sister of Jo Cox, ultimately won the election by a narrow margin, following a campaign focused on local issues.<ref name="itv-20210610">{{cite news |date=10 June 2021 |title=Batley & Spen: Labour candidate says election is about local area not party leader |url=https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-06-10/batley-and-spen-labour-candidate-says-election-is-about-local-area-not-party-leader |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628204053/https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-06-10/batley-and-spen-labour-candidate-says-election-is-about-local-area-not-party-leader |archive-date=28 June 2021 |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=ITV News}}</ref> The governing Conservative's surprise loss was blamed on poor campaigning and a [[Matt Hancock#Resignation|scandal involving Health Secretary Matt Hancock]] in the weekend prior to the by-election.<ref>{{cite news |last=Balls |first=Katy |date=2 July 2021 |title=The Batley and Spen by-election was a setback for the Tories – but Matt Hancock was not entirely to blame |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/batley-and-spen-by-election-setback-for-tories-matt-hancock-not-entirely-to-blame-1084960 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702210234/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/batley-and-spen-by-election-setback-for-tories-matt-hancock-not-entirely-to-blame-1084960 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |access-date=13 July 2021 |work=[[i (British newspaper)|i]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Quinn |first=Ben |date=2 July 2021 |title=Anger over Hancock affair a factor in byelection defeat, says Tory co-chair |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/02/anger-hancock-affair-byelection-defeat-tory-batley-and-spen-health-secretary |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702082514/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/02/anger-hancock-affair-byelection-defeat-tory-batley-and-spen-health-secretary |archive-date=2 July 2021 |access-date=2 July 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>[[File:AllSaintsChurch-Batley.jpg|thumb|The church of All Saints]] In the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], Labour lost the new [[Dewsbury and Batley]] constituency to [[Iqbal Mohamed]], who was one of four independent candidates who won seats in heavily Muslim areas largely due to Labour's stance on the [[Gaza war]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kiran |first1=Stacey |title=Senior Labour figures admit stance on Gaza cost party seats |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/05/labour-loses-three-seats-to-pro-palestinian-candidates |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=5 July 2024}}</ref>

==Demography==
{{multiple images|
|header=Places of worship
|perrow=3
|total_width=280px
|image1=Batley Central Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 1015007.jpg
|image2=Holy Trinity Church, Batley.jpg
|image3=St Thomas' Church, Batley.jpg
|image4=Medrassah and Mosque - geograph.org.uk - 412176.jpg|Medrassah and Mosque, Batley
|image5=Madina Masjid Batley at Night.jpg
|image6=Masjid e Noor Dark Lane Batley.jpg
|footer=Batley Central Methodist Church, Holy Trinity Church, St Thomas Church, Madina Masjid and Masjud e Noor Mosque}}
From the end of the 1950s, the need for cheap labour in the town's textile industries drew in migrant labourers from [[Gujarat]], [[Punjab]], Pakistan and India. The South Asian population of Batley is now around 33% in Batley West and 54% in Batley East.<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do?m=0&s=1411677208506&enc=1&nsjs=true&nsck=false&nssvg=false&nswid=1600|title=Neighbourhood Statistics - Home Page|access-date=25 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311105101/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do?m=0&s=1411677208506&enc=1&nsjs=true&nsck=false&nssvg=false&nswid=1600|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Geography==
Batley includes the districts of [[Batley Carr]], [[Carlinghow]], Cross Bank, [[Hanging Heaton]], [[Healey, Kirklees|Healey]], Lamplands, Carlton Grange [[Mount Pleasant, Batley|Mount Pleasant]], [[Soothill]], [[Staincliffe]], [[Upper Batley]] and White Lee.

As Batley shares boundaries with both [[Dewsbury]] and [[Heckmondwike]], parts of Batley Carr, Hanging Heaton and Staincliffe are part of Dewsbury, while part of White Lee is in [[Heckmondwike]]. There is an area of Ossett known as [[Healey, Ossett|Healey]], which is identical in name to the Batley district of Healey; the Ossett area is sometimes referred to as "Healey Mills" due to the very large congregation of mills that once existed in that area.

==Transport==
[[File:Batleybusstation999.JPG|thumb|[[Batley bus station]]]]
Batley bus station serves the town and is owned and maintained by [[West Yorkshire Metro]]. It is situated in Batley town centre and can be accessed from Bradford Road and St. James's Street. It was re-built by Metro in April 2005 replacing the previously owned [[Arriva Yorkshire]] site. There are six stands and a real-time information board at the bus station. Arriva Yorkshire is the main operator.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wymetro.com/BusTravel/BusStationsAndStops/BatleyBusStationStatistics |title=Batley Bus Station |publisher=Metro |access-date=4 November 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100619114426/http://www.wymetro.com/BusTravel/BusStationsAndStops/BatleyBusStationStatistics |archive-date=19 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Batley railway station]] is on the [[Huddersfield line]] between Leeds and Manchester.

==Schools==
[[Batley Grammar School]] was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee and is still in existence.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.batleygrammar.co.uk/About-BGS/|title=About BGS|website=Batley Grammar School |publisher=BGS |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

===Primary schools===
* Batley Parish CE (VA) J, I and N School
* Birstall Primary Academy
* Carlinghow Princess Royal J, I and N School
* Field Lane J, I and N School
* Fieldhead Primary Academy
* Hanging Heaton CE (VC) J and I School
* Healey J, I and N School
* Hyrstmount Junior School
* Lydgate J and I School (Soothill)
* Manorfield I and N School
* Mill Lane Primary School (Hanging Heaton)
* Park Road J.I and N School
* Purlwell I and N School
* St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Batley
* St. Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Birstall
* Staincliffe CE (VC) Junior School
* Warwick Road J.I and N School
* Windmill Primary School

===Secondary schools===
* [[Batley Girls' High School]], formerly a Visual Arts College
* Cambridge Street School, Muslim Boys School
* Batley Grammar School, founded in 1612
* [[Upper Batley High School]], formerly known as Batley High School for Boys, founded in 1959

===PRU===
* Engage Academy

[[File:Commercial Street, Batley.jpg|thumb|Commercial Street]]
[[File:Central Methodist Church - Commercial Street - geograph.org.uk - 487177.jpg|thumb|Commercial Street, Zion Chapel]]

==Landmarks==
{{See also|Listed buildings in Batley}}
Landmarks around Batley include [[Oakwell Hall]], [[Bagshaw Museum]], [[Wilton Park, Batley|Wilton Park]], [[Mount Pleasant, Batley|Mount Pleasant stadium]], and [[All Saints' Church, Batley|All Saints Church]], a Grade I listed building.

==Sport==
[[File:Fox's Biscuits Stadium.jpg|thumb|[[Batley Bulldogs]]' [[Fox's Biscuits Stadium|Mount Pleasant]] in 2016]]

The town is home to the professional [[rugby league]] club [[Batley RLFC]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.batleybulldogs.co.uk/index.php/club/history|title=History|publisher=Batley Bulldogs|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> and junior football club Batley Juniors F.C. (formerly Carlinghow Boys F.C.) Carlinghow is also located in Batley.

In [[cricket]], Batley has several local teams, and is also part of the cricket association for the [[Heavy Woollen District]]. The original definition of the latter area was to within a {{convert|6|mile|abbr=on}} radius of Batley Town Hall. The Heavy Woollen Cup can now be entered by any team within {{convert|18|miles|abbr=on}} of Batley, but there is an upper limit of 64 teams.

The Mount Cricket Club play at Staincliffe and currently in the [[Halifax Cricket League]].

==Culture==
[[File:Bagshaw Museum.JPG|thumb|Bagshaw Museum, with its distinctive copper tower, was originally the home of the Sheard family]]
[[Wilton Park, Batley|Wilton Park]] (Batley Park) is a large park between the town centre and Birstall. In its grounds are the Milner K. Ford [[Observatory]] (built in 1966 and home to the Batley & Spenborough Astronomical Society) and [[Bagshaw Museum]]. The museum is located in a house built by the "shoddy baron", George Sheard, and features local history, [[natural history]], curios from around the world, and an [[History of ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] exhibition. The museum (originally the Wilton Park Museum) is named after its first [[curator]] Walter Bagshaw, a Batley councillor and extensive traveller.

The Yorkshire Motor Museum had a small but varied collection of cars dating back to 1885, and reflecting local car makers as well as more famous marques. The museum closed in 2010.

Batley Art Gallery, in the Batley Library building, features contemporary art, craft and photography.

Between 1966 and 1977 the [[Batley Variety Club]] was frequented by many notable acts including [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Johnny Mathis]], [[Eartha Kitt]], the [[Bee Gees]], [[Roy Orbison]], [[the Hollies]] and [[Cliff Richard]] among others. For a brief period it was named ''Crumpets'', after which it was closed for four years surviving numerous applications to have the building demolished.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/music-megastars-las-vegas-north-19471883|title=The star power of Batley Variety Club - by those who knew it best|first=Connor|last=Teale|date=27 December 2020|website=YorkshireLive|accessdate=8 February 2021}}</ref> The club was then known as the Frontier nightclub from the late 1970s onwards. The Frontier was sold to businessmen in April 2005 and continued to operate as a nightclub whilst hosting variety shows and sporting events such as boxing, snooker and darts. The Frontier closed its doors for the final time in 2016 and following a £2 million refurbishment was successfully transformed into JD gym.

A dramatic society was founded in October 1913 at Shelton's café at 53 Commercial Street to present dramatic works to raise funds for Batley and District Hospital. On 8 January 1914 at a meeting in the Temperance Hall, it was decided that it would be known as the “Batley Amateur Thespian Society” and it became affiliated with the [[National Operatic and Dramatic Association]].

==Media==
Local news and television programmes are provided by [[BBC Yorkshire]] and [[ITV Yorkshire]]. Television signals are received from the [[Emley Moor]] transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated in the town centre.  <ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Batley | title=Freeview Light on the Batley (Kirklees, England) transmitter | date=May 2004 }}</ref>

Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Leeds]], [[Heart Yorkshire]], [[Capital Yorkshire]], [[Hits Radio West Yorkshire]], [[Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire]], and [[Rhubarb Radio (Wakefield)|Rhubarb Radio]], a community based station that broadcast from [[Wakefield]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bestradios.co.uk/yorkshire-radio-stations/ |title=Yorkshire Radio Stations|access-date=21 May 2024}}</ref>

The town is served by the local newspaper, ''[[Dewsbury Reporter]]''.

==In popular culture==

Batley was used for location filming of the fictional town of Barfield in the 1955 film ''[[Value for Money]]'', starring [[John Gregson]] and [[Diana Dors]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2021-12-26 |title=Remembering when the streets of Batley were transformed into a movie set |url=https://www.dewsburyreporter.co.uk/news/people/remembering-when-the-streets-of-batley-were-transformed-into-a-movie-set-3505921 |work=Dewsbury Reporter}}</ref> ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' had a series of recurring sketches in which the members of the Batley Ladies Townswomen's Guild would present famous plays or musicals, or re-enact various historical battles (such as the [[Battle of Pearl Harbor]]), by charging at each other, swinging handbags and wrestling in the mud.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cogan |first1=Brian |url= |title=Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python |last2=Massey |first2=Jeff |date=2014-03-18 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-4668-4216-8 |pages=44 }}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{further|:Category:People from Batley}}
The following people are or were from Batley:
*[[Joseph Priestley]] (1733–1804), chemist, theologian, educator, and political theorist credited with the discovery of [[oxygen]] {{ndash}} born in Birstall and educated at Batley Grammar School.
*[[William Henry Colbeck]] (1823–1901), New Zealand politician {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Titus Sheard]] (1841–1904), American businessman and politician {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Theodore Taylor (politician)|Theodore Taylor]] (1850–1952), businessman and politician known for his pioneering [[profit-sharing]] scheme at J. T. & J. Taylor {{ndash}} born in Carlinghow.
*[[Louis Hall]] (1852–1915), [[cricketer]] for [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club]] {{ndash}} born in Batley where he served as a councillor and Methodist lay preacher.
*[[Joseph Cookman]] (1899–1944), American journalist {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Hugh Garner]] (1913–1979), Canadian novelist {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Robert G. Edwards]] (1925–2013), physiologist who received a [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Nobel Prize]] for the development of [[in-vitro fertilisation]] (IVF) {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Leslie V. Woodcock]] (born 1945), professor of chemical thermodynamics at the [[University of Manchester]]
*[[Robert Palmer]] (1949–2003), [[Pop music|pop]] singer famous for the 1986 hit, "[[Addicted to Love (song)|Addicted to Love]]" {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Arthur Roche]] (born 1950), [[archbishop]] who served as the ninth [[Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds|Bishop of Leeds]] before being appointed Secretary of the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]] by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in 2012 {{ndash}} born in Batley Carr.
*[[Larry Hirst]] (born 1951), chairman of [[IBM]] Europe, Middle East and Africa between 2008 and 2010 {{ndash}} born in Batley.
*[[Tracy Brabin]] (born 1961), politician and first [[Mayor of West Yorkshire]] {{ndash}} born in Batley, served as Labour MP for Batley & Spen from 2016 to 2021.
*[[Mark Eastwood]] (born 1971), politician and Conservative MP for Dewsbury since 2019 {{ndash}} grew up in Carlinghow and educated at Batley Boys High School.
*[[Jo Cox]] (1974–2016), politician {{ndash}} born in Batley, served as Labour MP for Batley & Spen from 2015 until her [[Murder of Jo Cox|murder]] in Birstall in 2016.
*[[Kim Leadbeater]] (born 1976), politician {{ndash}} born in Batley, has served as Labour MP for Batley & Spen since 2021.
*Ismail Patel (born 1985), runner {{ndash}} born in Batley, has taken part in over 35 10k races despite his family being told he would not wake up from a coma.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/business/doors-2-floors-walk2help-campaign-to-raise-money-for-forget-me-not-childrens-hospice-5246160|title=Doors 2 Floors #Walk2Help campaign to raise money for Forget Me Not Children's Hospice|date=28 July 2025|website=Yorkshire Evening Post|accessdate=1 August 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Batley]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Batley}}
{{EB1911 poster|Batley}}
*[http://www.batley.com/ Portal for general information about Batley]
*[http://www.maggieblanck.com/Land/Batley.html Maggie Blanck's family history site, includes a history of Batley and good source material]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061004033143/http://batleyanddewsbury.co.uk/ Batley & Dewsbury Towns' Management Association]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070209094557/http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/visitorportal/wheretogo/dewsbury.asp Visitors to Dewsbury]
*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Batley/index.html The Ancient Parish of Batley] at [[GENUKI]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024182448/http://www.freewebs.com/bsastrosociety/ Website of Batley & Spenborough Astronomical Society]

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[[Category:Batley| ]]
[[Category:Towns in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Kirklees]]
[[Category:Heavy Woollen District]]