Rastrick is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Halifax. It is perhaps best known for its association, along with its neighbour Brighouse, with the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band. Legally, along with Brighouse, it is part of Calderdale, but shares a Huddersfield postcode and phone number. The village is on an incline facing north-east, the dubious "Top o' Town", as known by locals, referring to the Parish Church area, is vertically in the middle, and to the North East. Remains of a fort have been found at Castle Hill, just below Top o' Town. Rastrick is bordered by A643, the M62 motorway and the A629 Elland bypass. From there. It is neighboured by the towns of Brighouse and Elland and villages of Fixby and Ainley Top. Rastrick was the birthplace of religious writer Margaret Barber who wrote under the pseudonym Michael Fairless. Rastrick is also home to Rastrick racing, the regions number 1 betting establishment (also known as top o' town bookies), now run by Quilter Stephens Bookmakers. Rastrick has one secondary school, Rastrick High School The name Rastrick is thought to be viking in origin, with the "..ick" formation being common to many Norwegian viking placenames, including "Jorvick", the viking name for York. Rastrick, and the variation Raistrick are English surnames, originating from the area of the town.
