Cross Keys , Flushdyke


Cross Keys Inn, Shepherd Hill, Flushdyke

This area of Flushdyke at the top of Shepherd Hill and very close now to the M1 motorway takes its name from the Cross Keys public house, which closed in 1932 and is now divided into two private houses. The Cross Keys public house dates back to 1821 when it was owned by local farmer John Wilby. The last licensee was Robert Popplewell, who took over in 1927. The pub sold beer from Bentley's Yorkshire Brewery, which was located at Woodlesford, Leeds.

The houses around the Cross Keys used to be on the main Wakefield - Dewsbury road, but after the M1 was constructed and the new feeder road was built, the area became a cul-de-sac and the road was blanked off beyond the old public house. Some of the houses shown on this picture have been demolished and only a handful of properties now remain in a somewhat isolated location.