Staincross
Coordinates: 53°35′27″N 1°30′00″W / 53.590833°N 1.500000°W
Staincross is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire, England), on the border with West Yorkshire. Formerly part of the now defunct Barnsley West and Penistone borough constituency, following the Boundary Commission for England's report on South Yorkshire's Parliamentary constituencies in 2004 and the subsequent inquiry in 2005, it is now part of the Barnsley Central borough constituency. The Staincross wapentake was named after the village. The population now falls within the Darton East ward of Barnsley MBC.
Geography
Staincross lies off the A61 road, about three miles north west of Barnsley. It is located at approximately 53°35′27″N 1°30′0″W / 53.59083°N 1.50000°W, and at an elevation of around 410 feet (125 m) above sea level.
History
The name is believed to be derived from a Saxon stone cross ('stane cross') that until the 18th century occupied a position on the junction of Staincross Common - which in itself is an ancient trackway - and Greenside. The stone, now lost, may have been the remains of a rural shrine.[1]
Postal recognition
After a prolonged campaign (backed by former Test cricket umpire, Dickie Bird, a resident of Staincross), a ballot was held in January 2003 to determine whether the residents of Staincross wanted their mail to include the name of the village.[2] Before the ballot, Staincross mail bore the name of a neighbouring village, either Mapplewell or Darton. Indeed it is unclear where the boundaries between the three villages lie. Villagers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal by 966 to 199[3] and Royal Mail implemented changes to officially recognise the village.
Trivia
The section of the A61 between Staincross and Newmillerdam is rated in the top three most dangerous roads in Britain according to a survey conducted by The AA Motoring Trust.[4]
References
- ↑ Staincross Common
- ↑ "Villagers vote on postal change". BBC News. 2003-01-13. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- ↑ "Postcomm Consulation (see page 61)" (PDF). Postcomm Website. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ↑ http://217.174.251.13/library/pdfs/20060531_UK_risk_map_results.pdf (See Page 14)
External links
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