Knottingley was once – like Pontefract – of far greater importance nationally than it is today. It has been inhabited since at least 1128 and has a name derived from Old English (it means “the clearing of Cnotta’s people”), and until 1699 it was an important inland river port at the limit of the navigable River Aire. That ended when the Aire was made navigable all the way up to Leeds, a move authorised by an Act of Parliament of 1699 and completed in 1704, more on which below. As Knottingley’s importance as a port subsequently dwindled, it instead became a centre for boat building and remained so into the twentieth century, whilst also gaining a reputation for glass manufacturing after 1870, a trade that still provides employment for the town. The town had an association with coal mining too: when the nearby Kellingley colliery closed in 2015, it marked the end of deep-pit coal mining in Britain and the occasion was marked by a march of miners and their families from Knottingley Town Hall. Today, it remains a market town, albeit a small one that feels more like a large village, and has an air of peaceful tranquillity about it that belies its industrial past. Visitors with an interest in history will also be intrigued to learn that Oliver Cromwell lived in the town during the three sieges of Pontefract Castle!
Knottingley Railway Station was constructed in 1848 by the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole Railway as part of their main line from Wakefield to Goole, although as is the case with some many of the stations we have stopped off at, none of the original station buildings survive. From the station, follow the station approach to Pontefract Road, turning left and passing the Railway Hotel on the corner. Shortly, turn right down a track (Holes Lane) and follow this to Ferrybridge Road, then turn left and follow this for just over half a mile. Look out for the Magnet Inn on the right hand side of the road, shortly after which the Ferrybridge War Memorial can be seen on the left. Proceed past this to the Golden Lion public house, and just before the A1246 Road Bridge No. 25, turn sharp right and follow a path that immediately joins the towpath of the Aire and Calder Navigation just above Ferrybridge Flood Lock.
We briefly encountered the Aire and Calder Navigation in Wakefield, but it is appropriate now to briefly discuss something of its course and history. Both are complicated: the Navigation isn’t a simple canal, but rather includes canalised section of its two eponymous rivers and has several branches. As noted above, the Aire was made navigable to Leeds following an Act of 1699, and from Castleford (which we will be visiting on a later walk) the canalised Calder links it to the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Wakefield. Downstream, the Navigation connects to the River Ouse at two (and previously three) separate locations, and it also connects to the Selby Canal, as well as to the New Junction Canal and thus the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. It splits into two at Knottingley, as we are about to see: from Ferrybridge Flood Lock what is technically known as the Knottingley and Goole Canal (which was authorised by its own Act and opened in 1826) runs all the way to the docks at Goole, where it connects to the River Ouse, but a branch at the other end of Knottingley runs back to the River Aire. As with most inland waterways, the bridges and locks are numbered, which is why the A1246 Road Bridge mentioned previously is referred to as No. 25.
Thus, we now set off along the Knottingley and Goole Canal as we follow the towpath to Ferrybridge Flood Lock Footbridge No. 26 and use this to cross to the other side of the canal. The towpath turns right and runs past the flood lock (which isn’t numbered), continuing between the canal on the right and the River Aire on the left. Follow the waterway, and not long after the towpath passes under Kings Mill Bridge No. 27, we part company with the canal for now and bear left along a path that leads off it to reach Bridge Lane. Here, we turn right and follow the lane until it curves further to the right, instead continuing straight on through a kissing gate, across a small field, and through another kissing gate, to reach a farm track. Follow this straight ahead, passing the Church of St. Botolph on the right; we shall see more of it shortly.
When the track ends at Aire Street, bear left and follow the road, continuing straight ahead as it becomes Aire Walk. At a junction, bear right (still on Aire Walk) and walk to The Croft, where Knottingley URC Church can be seen directly opposite. Turn right and follow The Croft to a three-way junction, then turn left along Chapel Street passing Knottingley War Memorial, just past this is the entrance of the churchyard of St. Botolph’s.
Church of St. Botolph.
This handsome Grade II-listed church is an eighteenth century rebuild of a Norman chapel, with a tower added in 1886; it sits at the heart of the oldest part of Knottingley. At the end of Chapel Street, turn left along Weeland Road and almost immediately left again along Rope Walk, passing Knottingley Town Hall, which is perched almost incongruously on the corner. The striking Italianate town hall was commissioned by a group of local businessmen and dates from 1865.
From here, we follow Rope Walk, passing the unassuming Ropewalk Methodist Church on the right hand side, and then turn right along Primrose Vale. At the end, turn right along Tythe Barn Road and follow this as it bends left to pass the red-brick Knottingley Elim Pentocostal Church and end at Cow Lane. Turn left and follow Cow Lane back to The Croft, then cross this and continue straight ahead along Aire Street. The façade of the former Palace Cinema can be seen on the right hand side of the road, now incorporated into a pair of houses. The cinema opened in 1913 and lasted until 1960, after which it seems to have sat idle until its auditorium was demolished in the earl 2000s and it was reincarnated in its eye-catching new residential form. Continue past the junction with The Island, then turn right along a signed footpath to reach a path running parallel to the River Aire.
This section of the Aire, bypassed by the Knottingley and Goole Canal, is wide, wild and unruly, and teams with bird life. As we turn right and follow the path to a cross roads, we can stay close to it by and following an unofficial but well-trod river side path, although it is narrow, uneven and muddy, so an easier alternative is to continue straight ahead to take a shortcut along a better surfaced path. Both routes eventually join together on the riverbank and the path hugs it closely as it bends right, eventually ending at Marsh Lane. From here, we turn left and follow the lane to Bank Dole Lock, passing a derelict lock-keeper’s cottage as we do so. The lock marks the aforementioned point at which at short branch of the Knottingley and Goole Canal reconnects to the River Aire, which wends its way east towards the Ouse.
Bank Dole Lock.
Cross the bridge over one of the sets of lock gates to reach Stocking Lane. Then turn right and follow this to Trundles Lane, then turn right and cross Trundles Lane Bridge No. 1, its number reflecting its status as the first bridge on this branch of the Aire and Calder Navigation.
On the other side of the bridge, turn left to regain the towpath, shortly passing Bank Dole Junction where the navigation splits into two; the main line of the Knottingley and Goole Canal veers south-east on the opposite side from the towpath. We continue back towards the centre of Knottingley and the canal soon passes under Shepherds Bridge No. 31, shortly followed by Cow Lane Bridge No. 30 and then a little further along Jackson’s Bridge No. 29. Just before reaching the next bridge (Gaggs Bridge No. 28), we turn right and leave the towpath, ascending steps to Hill Top. Here, we turn left and complete the final section of the walk by following the road for about half a mile, passing through Knottingley’s main shopping area and finally to returning the railway station.
Knottingley is the eastern most stop on the Pontefract Line in the City of Wakefield, but there are stations beyond it. From Knottingley, the Pontefract Line continues to Goole via four more stations, but they are hard to reach: served by a mere three trains a day, they have what is known as a Parliamentary Service, which is one limited to the point of being useless but which allows a train operator to meet its franchise requirements whilst avoiding the cost of formal closure. We will worry about them much later in our railway tour of Yorkshire. For now, we head back along the line to Wakefield, and from there to three station stops on another branch of the Pontefract Line…
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