Birdsedge and High Flatts

Birdsedge is a small rural village, coupled with the adjacent hamlet of High Flatts. The villages are set high on the edge of the Yorkshire Pennines, almost a thousand feet above sea level, in England’s rugged north. There are 150 or so houses, about 350 people, a school, a village hall, a Wesleyan Reform Church, a Friends Meeting House, a mill (Hinchliffe’s) which is a small part of a bigger complex in nearby Denby Dale, and a few local businesses.

There’s an active village hall offering varied events from quiz night socials to concerts.

Birdsedge and High Flatts are on the southern edge of Kirklees local authority (Huddersfield). The nearest towns are Huddersfield and Barnsley and the nearest cities are Wakefield, Leeds, Sheffield and (just over the Pennines) Manchester. It is in the Denby Dale Parliamentary constituency.

What’s in a name?
People who have lived here a long time tend to spell the village name Birdsedge, Kirklees calls it Birds Edge. At one time the village sign at the north end of the village said Birds Edge and coming in from the south side the sign said Birdsedge 1 mile. The 17th Century Adam Eyre’s Diary called it Bursage. So you decide. Personally I call it Birdsedge.