Woolley
High Street
Woolley Location within West Yorkshire
Population	1,339 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	SE321131
• London	155 mi (249 km) SSE
Metropolitan borough	City of Wakefield
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WAKEFIELD
Postcode district	WF4
Dialling code	01226
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Wakefield
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53°36′51″N 1°30′59″W / 53.614283°N 1.516274°W / 53.614283; -1.516274

Woolley is a village and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 575 in 2001,^[2] which increased to 1,339 at the 2011 Census.^[1] It is 6 miles (10 km) north of Barnsley, and 7 miles (11 km) south of Wakefield.

History

Historically Woolley, mentioned as "Weludai" in the Domesday Book, was part of the Staincross Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire.^[3] In the late 19th century it was part of the Royston parish. By 1881 it had become a civil parish in its own right, which covered an area of about 2,600 acres (1,052 ha).^[4] Until 1974 it formed part of the rural district of Wakefield.

Geography

No major roads pass through the village. The A61 runs about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of it, the M1 motorway about 2 miles (3.2 km) west.

West of the village is the escarpment known as Woolley Edge, which has given its name to the nearby Woolley Edge service station on the M1 motorway.

Also 2 miles (3 km) to the south west is Woolley Colliery village that straddles the boundary between West and South Yorkshire counties.