Ackton
Human settlement in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ackton is a hamlet in the parish of Featherstone, in the Wakefield district of West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract. In 1931 the parish had a population of 961.[1]
History
Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the name "Ackton" means "oak-tree farmstead". It is formed from the Old Scandinavian word eik ("oak-tree") and the Old English word tūn ("farmstead, village, enclosure").[2] The first element of the name indicates the presence of settlers from Scandinavia in Ackton whose dialect influenced the name of the settlement. Ackton appeared as Aitone [sic] in the Domesday Book of 1086.[3] The village is mentioned again, this time more correctly, c. 1166 as Aicton.
Ackton was a township in the parish of Featherstone,[4] from 1866 Ackton was a civil parish but on 1 April 1938 the parish was abolished and merged with Snydale to form "Ackton and Snydale".[5]
