Mirfield Trail

The town of Mirfield forms part of the area’s Heavy Woollen District, having been a centre of the woollen industry from the fourteenth century. It flourished during the Industrial Revolution, like so many towns in the West Riding, benefitting from being on first a navigable waterway and later, of course, a railway. It has been inhabited since at least the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 and its name is believed to mean a clearing near a mire. Little trace today remains of the woollen industry, but the pleasant town centre remains lively, with an economy bolstered by a variety of shops both large and small.

Mirfield Trail Google Map

Mirfield Railway Station originally opened in 1945 and was re-sited in 1864 202 yards to the east of the original, when an additional railway line opened in the town. The station’s original buildings were demolished during the nineteen-eighties and it is currently (as of 2025) being extensively redeveloped as part of the TransPennine Route Upgrade. From the station, we head south along Station Road, immediately turning right along Back Station Road. Follow this until it ends at Newgate, passing the former Ledgard Bridge Mill (now converted into housing) on the left. Turn left and follow the road as it crosses the River Calder via Ledgard Bridge (Grade II-listed and dating from 1799-1800), then on the other side of the bridge turn right.

At a crossroads, turn right along Calder View and follow this under Mirfield Viaduct. When the road bends left, turn right along a footpath leading to the riverbank, then turn left and follow this along the river all the way to Battyeford Lock, where the Calder and Hebble Navigation temporarily leaves the river via Battyeford Cut.

Battyeford Lock.

The Calder and Hebble Navigation opened in 1770 and connects the Aire and Calder Navigation from near Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge. The opening of the Rochdale Canal from Sowerby Bridge in 1804 provided a through-route to Manchester. We will encounter Calder and Hebble Navigation again on the next walk. Follow the towpath past the lock, and continue to the next bridge, Battyeford Cut Bridge No. 15. Follow the towpath under the bridge, then turn left, left again along Waterside Walk, and left once more to cross the bridge.

Follow Wood Lane over the bridge, passing Battyeford Island (a nature reserve) on the left, and then crossing a second bridge that carries the lane over the River Calder. At the end of the bridge, turn right along Huddersfield Road, then just after passing the Pear Tree public house on the left, turn right and follow a track called the Clough uphill until it eventually ends at Stocks Bank Road. Turn left and follow this, passing the College of the Resurrection, the Church of the College, and the Community of the Resurrection on the left. Known colloquially as simply “Mirfield”, the College is a Anglo-Catholic theological college founded in 1902, and has close links to the Community of the Resurrection, an Anglican religious community for men that originated in Oxford and was established in its current location in 1898. Construction of the Church, a Grade II-listed building that is just visible from the road, began in 1911.

Turn right and follow Kitson Hill Road, staying on this for approximately two thirds of a mile, until it ends at a crossroads, where the Saville Arms public house can be seen on the opposite left-hand corner. Continue straight ahead along Lee Green and follow this until it ends at a mini-roundabout, shortly after passing the Shoulder of Mutton on the left. Turn left along Greenside Toad, then immediately right along Pumphouse Lane. When this ends at Wellhouse Lane, continue straight ahead along Hepworth Lane until it ends at a junction. Bear left along Shillbank Lane then immediately turn right and follow a signed public footpath that runs between houses and crosses St Mary’s Walk, before finally entering a small area of woodland. At a fork, bear right and follow the path to the churchyard of the Church of St. Mary.

Bear right to visit Castle Hall Hill, the remains of a motte and bailey castle built between 1086 and 1159 either by Svein son of Alric or by Adam his son to oversee some of the estates of the Honour of Pontefract. During the Middle Ages, it was known as the Castle of Mirfield. Walk round the church to the front entrance, taking a detour to visit the tower of an earlier church (itself a replacement for the original thirteenth century church).

The Church of St. Mary and the tower of the previous church.

The Grade II* church was built in 1871 by Sir George Gilbert Scott to replace the smaller, older church and the tower (which is Grade II-listed) was preserved at his suggestion. Leave the churchyard and turn left along Church Lane, passing a set of stocks on the left. Follow Church Lane until it ends at Huddersfield Road, then turn left.

Cross the road and turn right along Steanard Lane, which crosses the River Calder via Shepley Bridge. Do not cross this, but instead bear right and cross Shepley Lock Bridge No. 16, which crosses the start of the Mirfield Cut. Turn right along the towpath, passing Shepley Bridge Lock No. 11, where Shepley Bridge Marina can be seen on the opposite bank. Continue along the waterway, next reaching Wheatley Bridge No. 20 and soon afterwards passing between the buttresses of a now-demolished railway viaduct.

Proceed along the towpath to Gill Bridge No. 19, then walk under this, turn left through a gate, left again along Lowlands Road, and then left over the bridge. Follow Hurst Lane to Huddersfield Road, then turn left and walk through the centre of Mirfield, soon passing Water Hall (a Grade II-listed house dating from 1719) on the left. Just past this, the former Town Hall (built in 1868 and now used by the Salvation Army) can be seen on the right, followed by Trinity Methodist Church on the left. The Methodist Church is also Grade II-listed and is dated 1877. Continue to follow the road, soon passing Mirfield Library on the left, a short distance after which the Church of St. Paul can be seen set back from the road, also on the left. This is another Grade II-listed church, which dates from 1882.

Stay on Huddersfield Road as it curves right, then take a detour to the right into Ings Grove Park to visit Mirfield War Memorial. Return to the road and continue to follow it, shortly reaching the Railway public house on the right. Just after passing this, cross over and turn left along a signed public footpath which leads to the bank of the River Calder. The pilings of the old Newgate Bridge can be seen in the river at this point. Follow the path left along the river, soon reaching the first Ledgard Flood Gate at the top of the Mirfield Cut, where the river runs right over Newgate Weir and then under Mirfield Viaduct.

Follow the towpath along the cut, passing Ledgard Bridge No. 17 and then the second Ledgard Flood Gate. Pass Mirfield Marina on the opposite bank, then on reaching Bull Bridge No. 18 leave the towpath via the ramp to reach Station Road. Finally, turn right and follow the road over the bridge and back to the railway station.

The next town along the Huddersfield from Mirfield is the much larger Dewsbury, which we will be visiting shortly. First however, we have another stop to make, at that town’s suburb of Ravensthorpe.