History of Wetherby
Encyclopedia
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in the City of Leeds
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...
metropolitan borough
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England, began in the 12th and 13th centuries when the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
and later the Knights Hospitallers were granted land and properties in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. The local Preceptory founded in 1217 was at Ribston Park. In 1240 the Knights Templar were granted by Royal Charter of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
the right to hold a market in Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
(known then as Werreby). The Charter stated the market should be held on a Thursday and a yearly fair was permitted lasting three days over the day of St James the Apostle
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
.
From 1318 to 1319 the North of England suffered many raids from the Scots. After the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
Wetherby was burned and many people taken and killed. According to the blue plaque http://www.elliott99.plus.com/Richard/images/scott%20lane400x400.jpg at the entrance to the lane, Scott Lane could be named after the Scottish raiders in 1318, or perhaps after the 18th century drovers who used Wetherby as a watering place.
In 1233 the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
allowed remission of sins to those who contributed to the building of the Wetherby Bridge.
Wetherby Castle
Percy
The name "Percy" derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy from which was derived the British surname, first taken by the Norman lords of Northumbria. From there it came into use as a given name.-Places:* Percy-en-Auge, Calvados, France...
family to guard the crossing by the River Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
, particularly against raids Scottish raiders, which was prevalent at the time, since most of what is now England, north of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
was controlled by the Scotts. However in 1255 its demolition was ordered by King Henry III. Only the foundations of the castle remain, very little of which comes above ground level, in 2005 and 2006 the three detached dwellings occupying this site were demolished and replaced by luxury riverside flats, named 'Castle Keep' to reflect their history, as part of the redevelopment, the site was marked with a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
, one of many commissioned by Wetherby Town Council in the town centre.
English Civil War
Wetherby had a small part to play in the Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in 1644. Before marching to Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
and then to Marston Moor, the Parliamentarians spent two days in Wetherby while joining forces with the Scots. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
stayed in the Half Moon Inn, in nearby Collingham
Collingham, West Yorkshire
Collingham is a village and civil parish south east of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The clergyman, the Reverend William Mompesson was born there in 1639....
prior to the battle of Marston Moor.
The Great Sale of Wetherby (1824)
To fund work on his house at ChatsworthChatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
, the Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
sold the entirety of Wetherby, with the exception of one house. The sale included many houses, small businesses, a corn mill, and a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
. The 1824 sale catalogue included "nearly 200 dwellings", "Two Posting Houses, Three Inns and Seven Public Houses", "The Valuable Manor of Wetherby", and "Upwards of 1300 acres". The sale catalogue for the sale of the "Whole of the large market town of Wetherby (with the exception of one house therein)" describes Wetherby as an important stop on the high turnpike from Ferry Bridge
Ferrybridge
Ferrybridge is a village in West Yorkshire, England at a historically important crossing of the River Aire. It is linked to other communities by the A1, which follows the route of the Great North Road....
to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
On the first day of the sale, the Swan and Talbot sold for £1510, on the second day The Crown, The Red Lion and The Blue Boar (now closed) sold for a total of £2870. An example from the catalogue regarding the sale of The Crown Inn on the High Street.
Lot Number: 66
Occupiers: Widow Smith
Description: The Crown Inn, in High Street, containing on the ground floor, two parlours, dining room, a back room, bar and scullery; cellar, four bedchambers and a small room. In the back yard in a brewhouse, store room, coal house, barn, cow house, pig cotes, a seven stall stable with granary over: another stable with a malt room over, and a box stable. These premises extend onto the market place.
The Victorian Era
Industrialisation
Although in the Victorian times, Wetherby was still largely a rural town, being the major town for the surrounding rural districtsWetherby Rural District
Wetherby was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Wetherby.It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and split between two new districts...
where the cattle market was located, Wetherby did industrialise during this era, though notably less than in the more textile dependent areas of the West Riding
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. Wetherby's brewery and mill developed in this area, while Teesdale and Metcalf built their factory on what is now the site of the Horsefair Centre. Wetherby provides the setting for the novel Oldbury (1869) by Annie Keary. Although Wetherby's Victorian industrial development was neither notable nor significant, the industrial revolution did not bypass it, and the town experience growth due to the development of these industries. The two main periods where the Wetherby area saw industrial expansion was during the Second World War with the building of the munitions factories on what is now the Thorp Arch Trading Estate
Thorp Arch Trading Estate
Thorp Arch Trading Estate occupies major part of a former Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Thorpe Arch, in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England close to Wetherby. The trading estate is now divided into industrial and retail space. There is still much evidence of its former use around the site...
and in the 1960s with the building of the Sandbeck Industrial Estate.
The building of the railways
In 1837, the Angel public house served two mails coaches every day. However a new form of transport was soon to come to Wetherby. The 1840s saw the construction of the Harrogate to Church Fenton line. By the 1860s, the Wetherby News was in the height of one of its first major campaign, the campaign to link Wetherby to LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
by railway. In 1866 the NER
NER
NER may refer to:* New England Region BBYO* New European Recordings, record label* ISO 3166-1 three letter code for Niger* Named entity recognition, a text processing task that identifies certain words as belonging to one class or another...
began construction of the Cross Gates to Wetherby line, which would provide the much needed link to Leeds. This led to the building of a new railway station on Linton Road, the older railway station is now The Old Engine Shed dance hall, off York Road. From the building of the Cross Gates-Wetherby line until the lines closure, raceday specials ran from Bradford Interchange to Wetherby.
Utilities
Wetherby's Gasworks was first opened in 1852, this was situated on what is now Gashouse Lane. The gasworks had two Gasholders and closed in the last 1970s. Wetherby had a concrete water tower, situated in the Spofforth Hill area of town. This was demolished in 1959. The gasworks no longer has gasholders, or produces town gas since the conversion to natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, however a gas site still does exist in the vicinity of Gashouse Lane and Victoria Street.
Turn of the century
By the turn of the century, Wetherby had a mixed economy. The town by this time had a large mill which employed many in the town. The trades which had kept Wetherby going in earlier decades still thrived, such as the cattle market and the towns many inns, which served travellers on the A1. The growth of the railways in the 19th century had lessened Wetherby's strategic position on the Great North Road. Wetherby by this time had rail links to Leeds, Harrogate and York and had its own gas works, producing town gas.The world wars
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, Wetherby suffered heavy losses in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with many Wetherby men attached to the Leeds Pals
Leeds Pals
The Leeds Pals were a First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in the West Yorkshire city of Leeds. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 15th Battalion , The Prince of Wales's Own .The battalion was formed in September 1914 and...
, who suffered particularly heavy losses at the Battle of the Somme. Many Wetherby residents worked at the Barnbow munitions works
Barnbow
Barnbow was a munitions factory situated near the city of Leeds during World War I. It was officially known as National Filling Factory No. 1. In 1916 the factory suffered the worst tragedy in the history of the city , when a massive explosion killed 35 of the women who worked there.After the...
in Cross Gates for the duration of the war. A memorial to the losses suffered by Wetherby in the Great War, designed by E.F. Roslyn was erected adjacent to the towns bridge in 1922. During the Second World War Wetherby had the country's only inland landship, HMS Ceres
HMS Ceres
Three ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Ceres, after the goddess Ceres of Roman mythology.Ships was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1777, renamed HMS Raven in 1782, and captured by the French later that year. was a 32-gun Fifth Rate launched in 1781 and broken up...
situated on the site now occupied by Wetherby High School
Wetherby High School
Wetherby High School is a secondary school in the Hallfield area of Wetherby, West Yorkshire. It is run by the City of Leeds Local Education Authority. The school is situated on Hallfield Lane, on the Hallfields Estate in Wetherby...
. ROF Thorp Arch, what is now the Thorp Arch trading estate
Thorp Arch Trading Estate
Thorp Arch Trading Estate occupies major part of a former Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Thorpe Arch, in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England close to Wetherby. The trading estate is now divided into industrial and retail space. There is still much evidence of its former use around the site...
was also built outside the town as a munitions factory, which providied war time employment for many in the town as well as across Leeds. Unusually, Wetherby does not have a memorial to its losses in the Second World War, one was neither erected or as in many towns, a list of the dead added to the Great War memorial.
Brewery
For many years the town was home to Wharfedale Brewery which became Oxley's mineral water factory during the inter-war years. The factory was demolished in the 1950s, with the chimney being implodedBuilding implosion
In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings...
in 1959. and was redeveloped as the West Yorkshire bus
West Yorkshire Road Car Company
The West Yorkshire Road Car Company Ltd was a major bus operator covering North and West Yorkshire. The company was generally referred to as West Yorkshire...
depot and bus station, and has since been further redeveloped to include shops, offices, and a restaurant in addition to the bus station. The nearby watermill, which was situated by the weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
, is now the site of luxury riverside flats.
The closure of the railways
Both the LNER Cross Gates to Wetherby line and the Harrogate to Church Fenton line closed in 1965 under the Beeching AxeBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. Once the railway had been closed, the council deliberated over whether to convert the disused line into a central relief road, however such plans never came to fruition. The line has since being converted into the Harland Way, cycle track, linking Wetherby with Spofforth
Spofforth
- People :*Fred Spofforth - Australian cricketer*Reginald Spofforth - Composer...
.
Town centre redevelopment
Throughout the 1960s the town council deliberated over how best to enlarge the town centre to cope with the needs of a growing population and to provide the town with a purpose built supermarket. Plans were put forward to enlarge the town over the ingsIngs
Ings is an old Yorkshire word for water meadows & marshes, including those which were part of the Humber flood plain.Ings often teem with large numbers of water birds and other wildlife...
, or to develop the town centre into a pedestrian precinct. There were two similar plans for this put forward, both involved the demolition of The Red Lion public house and replacing it with offices, one plan involved the pedestrianisation of the High Street and North Street and a central bypass being built linking Boston Road with York Road. The Second scheme involved pedestrianising the Market Place, allowing buses to still use the lower end to access the bus station.
In the end it was decided to build a purpose built shopping precinct, which was built in the 1970s and underwent a significant redevelopment throughout 2003. By 2006 the remaining open parts of the Horsefair Centre were enclosed under a glass canopy roof.
Bypassing Wetherby
The towns bypass was originally constructed between 1957 and 1959. This started South of the town by the A58A58 road
The A58 is a major road in northern England that runs between Prescot, Merseyside and Wetherby, West Yorkshire.It runs north east from Prescot on the outskirts of Liverpool via St Helens, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Westhoughton, Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Rochdale and Littleborough then over the...
and finished in Kirk Deighton
Kirk Deighton
Kirk Deighton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the immediate north west of Wetherby and near the A1. The village has a population of less than 500 people. Kirk Deighton is set along the county border line between West Yorkshire...
. For many years, the town's bypass started from at a roundabout near a Forte Posthouse hotel, which was prone to lengthy queues at busy periods. The roundabout still remains, but the A1 was diverted in July 1988 at a cost of £11.5 m. On December 18, 2004, the northern section of the bypass was substantially diverted to a new section of the A1(M), bypassing Kirk Deighton, after construction work had begun in August 2003. The upgrade of the section between Bramham and Wetherby started in July 2007 and is scheduled to be completed in 2009. The upgrading of the A1 includes a new motorway service station at the Wetherby North Junction (near Kirk Deighton
Kirk Deighton
Kirk Deighton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the immediate north west of Wetherby and near the A1. The village has a population of less than 500 people. Kirk Deighton is set along the county border line between West Yorkshire...
). This will include another large hotel, the only one in Wetherby, North of the River Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
.
Industrialisation
Although the 20th century saw the loss of Wetherby's mill and brewery, it also saw the development of the Sandbeck Industrial Estate and the nearby Thorp Arch Trading EstateThorp Arch Trading Estate
Thorp Arch Trading Estate occupies major part of a former Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Thorpe Arch, in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England close to Wetherby. The trading estate is now divided into industrial and retail space. There is still much evidence of its former use around the site...
. The Trading Estate was built mainly as munitions factories at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Thorpe Arch trading estate brought employers such as Farnell
Farnell
Farnell is a surname, thought to originate from "Fern Hill". It is most common to the English county of Yorkshire.It may refer to:* Anthony Farnell , English boxer.* James Farnell , Australian politician....
(electronic components), Safepack (Packaging), Goldenfry
Goldenfry
Goldenfry Foods is a British food manufacturer based in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The company manufactures most own brand supermarket gravy products as well as many of their own food products...
(gravy and savoury food products), Swift Research (Market Research) and the Forensic Science Laboratory.
Bypassing Wetherby again
Wetherby was to be once again bypassed in the early 2000s. The original bypass, became somewhat of a bottleneck on the A1. The bypass was upgraded in two stages, the first being Wetherby to Disforth. This involved moving the road to the East away from the town, the closing of the York Road and Deighton Road Junctions, the opening of a new junction on a new link road. Wetherby Service Station was opened in 2008, with a hotel expected to open in 2009. The Aberford to Wetherby stretch was upgraded later, this is yet to be completed. A further link road has been built between Boston Road and Wattlesyke. Another link road is to be built between Boston Road and Sandbeck Approach.Redeveloping the Horsefair Centre
After the 1990s, when MorrisonsMorrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
acquired the Horsefair Centre, it became apparent the supermarket was too small and the centre lacked parking. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the car park was extended over the former Burgess Factory (formerly Appleyard Farm Services) on Hallfield Lane and the playing fields of Wetherby High School
Wetherby High School
Wetherby High School is a secondary school in the Hallfield area of Wetherby, West Yorkshire. It is run by the City of Leeds Local Education Authority. The school is situated on Hallfield Lane, on the Hallfields Estate in Wetherby...
. In 2003, the existing Supermarket was demolished. Eleven months later in 2004, a new flagship Morrisons was opened to anchor the centre. This required the relocation of the Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, which was moved to a temporary unit on the Crossley Street Car Park, before moving to a new home on the Market Place, opposite its original home. While the supermarket was closed, free buses ran from Spofforth Hill to Morrisons in Starbeck and from Deighton Road to Morrisons in Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge is a small town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York. Until its bypass was built, it was on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh...
. Later in July 2005, work began to enclose the Western wing of the precinct, which had previously been mostly open. The roof was completed in 2006.
Further reading
- Wetherby The History of a Yorkshire Market Town, Robert Unwin
- Wetherby (The Archive Photographic Series)