Penistone

Penistone
Market Street, Penistone
Penistone Location within South Yorkshire
Population	24,760 Wards (East and West) 2021
OS grid reference	SE245033
• London	155 mi (249 km) SSE
Civil parish	Penistone
Metropolitan borough	Barnsley
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Sheffield
Postcode district	S36
Dialling code	01226
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Penistone and Stocksbridge
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53°31′30″N 1°37′44″W / 53.525°N 1.629°W / 53.525; -1.629

Penistone (/ˈpɛnɪstən/ PEN-iss-tən) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 24,760 at the 2021 census.^[1] Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, 27 miles (43 km) south-west of Leeds and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The town is frequently noted on lists of unusual place names.

The highest point, Hartcliffe Tower, is 1,194 ft (364 m) above sea level and has views over the Woodhead bypass and the Dark Peak. The surrounding countryside is predominantly rural with farming on rich well-watered soil on mainly gentle slopes rising to the bleak moorland to the west of the town. Dry stone walls, small hamlets and farms surrounded by fields and livestock are synonymous with the area. The area is known for its rugged breed of sheep, the Whitefaced Woodland.

The market town itself stands at its highest point around St Johns Church at around 820 ft (250 m) above sea level. However, the surrounding land rises well over 1,000 ft (300 m) towards Cubley and Thurlstone Moors and out towards smaller hamlets at Carlecotes, Victoria, Dunford and Crow Edge, elevated at points above 1,200 ft (370 m). There are several vantage points around Penistone that afford panoramic views of the surrounding areas of West Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.