BATLEY, a parish comprising the chapelry of Morley, and the township of Batley, in the lower division of the wapentake of AGBRIGG, and the chapelry of Gildersome, and the township of Churwell, in the wapentake of MORLEY, West riding of the county of YORK, and containing 9154 inhabitants, of which number, 3717 are in the township of Batley, 7 miles (N. W. by W.) from Wakefield. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of York, rated in the king's books at £16. 11. 8., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Earl of Cardigan and Lord Grey de Wilton. The church, dedicated to All Saints, and said to have been erected in the reign of Henry VI., contains several splendid monuments to the memory of the deceased lords of the manor. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The manufacture of blankets, carpets, coverlets, flushing, and woollen cloth, prevails to a great extent within the parish. A free school for the education of sixty children, endowed with £120 per annum and a house for the master, was founded by the Rev. William Lee, in 1612: the school-room has lately been rebuilt. A school for fifteen girls is supported by the produce of a fund raised by subscription; and one for five poor children has a small endowment, left by Joshua Scholefield, in 1806.