High Ackworth
| Ackworth | |
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 The medieval cross in centre of High Ackworth |
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 Ackworth
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| Ackworth shown within West Yorkshire | |
| Population | 7,049 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SE443176 |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PONTEFRACT |
| Postcode district | WF7 |
| Dialling code | 01977 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
Ackworth is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, situated between Pontefract, Barnsley and Doncaster on the small River Went. The village consists of four parts, High Ackworth, Low Ackworth, Ackworth Moor Top, and Brackenhill. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 6,493, increasing to 7,049 at the 2011 Census. There is also a City of Wakefield Ward called Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton. At the 2011 Census this ward had a population of 16,099.
The origins of the name of the village are unclear although it is thought that the name may have derived from one of two sources; the first from the Anglo Saxon words 'Ake' or 'Aken' meaning 'oak' and 'uurt' with the word 'worth' meaning an enclosure or homestead; the second is that it could derive from the Anglo Saxon name 'Acca' which when added to the word 'worth' could mean 'Acca's worth' or 'Acca's enclosure'. A number of place names around the area show that the Anglo Saxons had influence in the region. Words such as 'worth' and also 'tun', meaning an enclosure or farmstead, are repeatedly found in place names around the area such as Badsworth, Hemsworth and Wentworth as well as Fryston and Allerton. The name was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aceuurde and it is thought it became more formalised to 'Ackworth' in the 1800s.
Considering the Anglo Saxon origins of the name, the area around Ackworth could have been settled in around 500–600 by settlers from modern day Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands following the departure of the Romans from Britain. The Romans were active in the area around Ackworth with the nearby town of Castleford being the location of Lagentium, a Roman fort. The A639, the Roman road to York also runs close to modern day Ackworth with a Roman milestone having been found near the junction of the road and Sandy Gate Lane on the parish boundary between Ackworth and Pontefract. In terms of Christianity it has been thought that the first church may have appeared in Ackworth between 750–800 with a well established tradition being that the monks of Lindisfarne, escaping the Norse invasion, stopped there in around 875 bringing with them the body of Saint Cuthbert. Evidence of Norse settlement can also be found within the local area with place names such as 'Thorpe Audlin' and 'Grimethorpe' possibly descending from the Norse term 'thorpe' meaning a small settlement or a farm.
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