Clayton West, West Yorkshire

Childhood Memories

I was born in Huddersfield and lived in Clayton West until I got married in 1973. I lived in The Royds with my parent where my father was the local postman, in fact many of my relations lived in The Royds or near by.
My fondest memories of the village are fishing in the dams which were located just of Bilham... [more]

Ackroyd coffee bar

Just down the road from the Shoulder of Mutton pub was Ackroyds coffee bar. In the 60s we young ones would meet, listen to the juke box, drinking frothy coffee.
The horse and cart outside the pub belonged to Herman Wood the local milkman. The cart was a daily sight outside the pub.

Yorkshire Living Memories

Clayton West was typical of many South Yorkshire coalfield villages in the 1950s, when this photograph was taken. The village was a mixture of a rural and industrial landscapes; to the left, corn is stacked up in stooks ready for harvesting, while to the right, behind the houses, a chimney and the huge shape of the spoil tip of the pit... [more]

Villages of Yorkshire Photographic Memories

This is how we lived forty years ago: a quiet road, milk delivery by pony and trap to the pub, schoolchildren waiting for a bus - all bathed in sunshine. The Shoulder of Mutton still nestles next to All Saints' parish church in this old mill village. The Clayton West railway station operated between 1879 and 1983; it was later reopened,... [more]

Wakefield and the Five Towns Living Memories

Looking towards the Bull Ring from Union Street, we see (right) the rebuilt Strafford Hotel and the former shops, now a café bar. At the centre is the magnificent Cloth Hall building at the head of Cross Street. The Bull Ring is now partly pedestrianised, offering a relaxed starting point for a walk to the cathedral.