Knottingley is a town within the city district of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. It has a population of 13, 503, increasing to 13,710 for the City of Wakefield ward at the 2011 Census. It was initially an Anglo-Saxon settlement, though the ancient monument of Ferrybridge Henge suggests it had considerable indigenous habitation long before then. Knottingley means "the clearing of Cnotta's people", from the English personal name Cnotta meaning "knot", Throughout the 3 Sieges of Pontefract Castle, Oliver Cromwell took residence in the town of Knottingley, understood to be in Wildbore House. Knottingley is a town whose history is connected to river travel and industry. It has worked to hold on to various principles of that industrial history as growing enterprises today, offering jobs for much of its population of some 17,000. Glass manufacturing continues to be necessary. The town was one of the few in the UK to have a functioning coal mine, Kellingley Colliery. The crossing over the Aire at Ferrybridge was of importance for many centuries. A bridge was established there in 1198, and another to replace it 2 centuries later. Placed on the Great North Road connecting London with York and Edinburgh beyond that, the town became an essential staging area for the coach traffic on that route. Near Knottingley is the Ferrybridge Power Station, which has the largest cooling towers of their kind in Europe. Three of these towers collapsed in high winds in 1965. These towers can be seen for miles around. One of the oldest purpose-built movie theaters in England, situated in Aire Street, has been transformed into flats. Knottingley is a central point for horse racing fans, with tracks at Pontefract, York, Wetherby and Doncaster all nearby. For all your home makeovers, be sure to identify reliable professionals in Knottinhgley to make certain of quality.