Holywell Green
| Holywell Green | |
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 Holywell Green, from Broad Carr Lane |
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 Holywell Green
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| Holywell Green shown within West Yorkshire | |
| Population | 2,831 (with Stainland) (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SE089198 |
| • London | 170 mi (270 km) SE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HALIFAX |
| Postcode district | HX4 |
| Dialling code | 01422 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
Holywell Green is a small village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately 3 miles (5 km) south from Halifax, 4 miles (6 km) north-west from Huddersfield and 1.5 miles (2 km) south-west from Elland. Holywell Green is part of the Greetland and Stainland Ward of Calderdale Council.
Holywell Green was recorded in the Domesday book as being "a small hamlet within the township of Stainland." It gets its name from St Helen's Well which was known within the area during medieval times. The location of the original Holy Well is uncertain. It could be St Helen's Well itself, the spring in Shaw Park, behind the chapel or at the top of Thomas Street.
Holywell Green is the name given to the east side of Stainland. It is based around Stainland Road and Station Road, and built on an east-facing hill. Since West View and Bradley View were built, Stainland and Holywell Green have been conjoined.
Shaw Park is the largest park in the area. The main entrance is located off Station Road. The park was the garden of Brooklands House until the house's demolition in 1930. In 1955, Raymond Shaw gave the garden to Elland UDC after which it became a public park. It has a playground, astroturf 5-a-side football pitch, well, ornamental lake, reed pond, arches, three follies and woods. The follies are located at the top of the park and were built by John Shaw as aviaries. The park is accessible by four entrances: Shaw Lane next to Brooklands Avenue, Shaw Lane next to Brooklands Close, the very bottom of Shaw Lane and Station Road.
In 2010 a group was formed to restore the park back "to its former glory". Money for restoration has been lacking because of Calderdale Council spending cuts.
St Helen’s Well is mentioned in John Watson's monumental The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax, 1775. He gives no description but says a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St Helen, nearby had been converted into a cottage, but in its walls was a large stone known locally as 'the Cross'. Strangers, presumed to be Catholics, made pilgrimages to the well. Watson also possessed a deed which mentioned a grant made to Henry de Sacro Fonte de Staynland. dated between 1279 and 1324. The well was restored in 1843 in response to interest in drinking 'spa' water. The 'Halifax Guardian' for September 1842 described the scene around Well Head spa where crowds carrying drinking utensils jostled each other in their eagerness to take the waters. Well Head was the most popular of the Halifax spas but several other springs in the area were frequented. Similar scenes may have occurred around this well. In the late 19th century the well was declining. The stone trough had cracked and was leaking. Local placenames reflect the importance of the well. The village is known as Holywell Green and there is a public house called 'The Holywell Inn' and a 'St Helen’s Court'. The well was further restored in 1977 and the crumbling trough of the woodcut has been replaced by a solid modern one; no water flows into it.
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