Chickenley

Coordinates: 53°41′20″N 1°35′56″W / 53.689°N 1.599°W / 53.689; -1.599 Chickenley was predominantly a large council estate in the east of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. It was originally a farming hamlet, half-way between Ossett and Dewsbury. An old story is that when the May Pole was built in the Gawthorpe area of Ossett in 1840, some men from Chickenley came to tear it down again.

After the Second World War, a large estate was built on the landscape. The estate is by far the largest in the town and has few shops within it. The local elections of 4 May 2006 saw the BNP gain the "Dewsbury East" ward, which includes the estate - but the seat was regained by Labour in the 5 May 2007 election.

An oddity of the area is that it has no Church of England church, although there is St Thomas More Catholic Church, opposite Chickenley Community School on Chickenley Lane. Until recently, Chickenley was linked with the Gawthorpe area of Ossett in a Church of England parish. The C.ofE. St Mary's Church lies right at the border, on the Ossett side. St Mary's Church has now been demolished March 2011. However, the estate is now part of the large parish of Dewsbury, which has several churches within its area.

Its name probably originates from a family name during the early settlement period whose name has been corrupted to "chicken" over the years.

Some of the early settlers to the area were a family of famous Italian tinkers, The Cascarinos with the family name still in the area to this day sixty five years on.