Altofts

Altofts is a village near Normanton, West Yorkshire, England.

Altofts has three churches, five pubs, two Working Men's Clubs, a handful of small shops, two post offices and a few farms. The most famous person to come from Altofts was Martin Frobisher, the Elizabethan sea captain and adventurer, credited with the discovery of Frobisher Bay in Canada. John Freeston lived in Altofts for most of his life.

The village is usually quiet, having a mixed population of young and old. The amateur football team, several pubs and clubs, some large playing fields, and the churches are at the centre of the small community.

Lower Altofts is the area at the lower end of the village. It had the longest unbroken row of terraced houses in Europe, named Silkstone Row, until 1974, when it was demolished. There are now just two shorter rows of terraced houses in Lower Altofts on Pope Street. Many people in the village previously worked in the local coal mines, the largest ones in the village being Pope and Pearsons. Nowadays, people are either employed in neighbouring towns and cities, or on the Europort 'Tuscany Park' Industrial Estate which has been developed over recent decades.

Altofts has three places of worship. Altofts Methodist Church (www.altoftsmethodist.org.uk), opened in 1990, was built when the three Methodist congregations from Lower Altofts, Lock Lane and Upper Altofts joined together. The church is located on Church Road near the Robin Hood Pub. The Church of St Mary Magdalene is the Anglican Parish Church for the village, and is Anglo-Catholic in style. The Hebron is an independent church, also located on Church Road.

Altofts Sport

In Altofts, there is a Premier Cricket Club, which play at Lock Lane. Lock Lane boasts a sports club, cricket, football and bowls clubs.

The Cricket Pitches at Altofts are highly commended, and are regularly the best batting tracks in the Central Yorkshire Cricket League.

The Club plays in Division One of CYCL, and last year avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.

Altofts Residents Together

Altofts Residents Together exists primarily to help the needs of Altofts Residents. They meet once a month at Lee Brigg Working Men's Club, Lee Brigg. The meetings take place every third Monday of the month at 7:30p.m.

The Committee members are as follows:

Martin Walker - Chairman
James Morris - Vice Chairman
James Walker - Secretary
Dianne Walker - Treasurer
Bill Bowling - Advisor to the Chair
Paul Dainton - Press Relations Officer

The group are happy to help any local residents with any problems that they may have. The group have become very experienced with dealing with local issues and can advise residents the best course of action to take.

Brickworks

Altofts moved from Wakefield Road in the late 1990s. It still runs under Thomas Kirk's great grandsons to this day. The brickworks was sending bricks locally but has over the years sent them to various other areas including Scotland to London. It still operates successfully to this day under the directors George and Peter Kirk.

Schools

*Altofts Lee Brigg Infants School.
*Altofts Junior school. Recently celebrated its 30th annivesary.
*Martin Frobisher Infants School.