Houses along Soothill Lane

Soothill is a small village in the town of Batley, West Yorkshire, England. Soothill is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast from the town of Dewsbury and directly north of Hanging Heaton.[1] The name derives from the Old English "sot" and means a place where wood was burnt.[2]

Soothill was on the Great Northern Railway's Leeds to Batley branch line, although no station was provided.[3] The colliery at Soothill, adjacent to the railway, was the scene of a rail accident in February 1920 between a goods train and a passenger train. The accident was not fatal with only injuries being recorded.[4] The railway was closed in 1953[5] leaving a disused tunnel (Soothill Tunnel) north east of the settlement. This tunnel has been bricked up as it contains toxic gases.[6]

References

  1. ^ "History of Soothill, in Kirklees and West Riding". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 431. ISBN 0198691033.
  3. ^ "SE22" (Map). Batley, Bradford, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Leeds, Liversedge, Morley. 1:25,000. Ordnance Survey. 1955. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Soothill Wood Colliery 1920" (PDF). railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Batley - Beeston 1890 - 1951". lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Soothill Tunnel". www.forgottenrelics.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2017.

53°42′47″N 1°37′01″W / 53.713°N 1.617°W / 53.713; -1.617


Categories