Rodley, West Yorkshire
Encyclopedia
Rodley is a village
on the outskirts of west Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
with a recorded history dating back a thousand years. The earliest use of the name on record appears to be RODELE (without surname) who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086, and REDLEGA (without surname) who was recorded in Yorkshire in 1157. ROTHELAY (without surname) was listed in a document in Gloucestershire in 1227. Rodley borders the equally ancient hamlet of Bagley
.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
passes through Rodley, running parallel with Rodley Town Street. Many of the stone-built industrial buildings and mills
that once lined the banks of the canal have been demolished and replaced with modern apartments and houses, as Rodley develops as a commuter village equidistant between Leeds and Bradford. Some of the area is now protected as a Conservation Area
.
Rodley was the location where Thomas Smith's Steam Crane
Works was established in 1820; a company which, by 1888, became world-famous for the manufacture of cranes
and lifting gear.
More recently, Rodley was also the home of Rowley Workshop: makers of Dusty Bin
, Wizbit
and Dusty the Dawg (housed in the former Bethel Chapel which is also now flats).
Rodley has four Public Houses and a Working Mens Social Club. These are; The Owl, The Rodley Barge, The Railway just down past Calverley Bridge, and The Crown and Anchor, with The Social Club next door.
Rodley is home to the Rodley Nature Reserve, a wetland reserve built on the former site of a sewage works.
Rodley has a cricket club based at the Canal Bank Sports Ground adjacent to the nature reserve, and which participates in the Dales Council Cricket League.
Rodley also has a football team which plays out of the Rodley Barge Pub, their current home pitch is on Bramley park but this is set to change in the coming season. The team play in the Yorkshire sunday alliance league division one.
Rodley hosts an Annual Beer and Music Festival. The festival, organised by The Rodley Barge and the owl, runs over the August Bank Holiday weekend and plays host to over 100 different cask ales and ciders, and has live bands on throughout the weekend too.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the outskirts of west Leeds
Leeds
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...
, 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with a recorded history dating back a thousand years. The earliest use of the name on record appears to be RODELE (without surname) who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086, and REDLEGA (without surname) who was recorded in Yorkshire in 1157. ROTHELAY (without surname) was listed in a document in Gloucestershire in 1227. Rodley borders the equally ancient hamlet of Bagley
Bagley, West Yorkshire
Bagley is a village in West Yorkshire, England....
.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
passes through Rodley, running parallel with Rodley Town Street. Many of the stone-built industrial buildings and mills
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
that once lined the banks of the canal have been demolished and replaced with modern apartments and houses, as Rodley develops as a commuter village equidistant between Leeds and Bradford. Some of the area is now protected as a Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
.
Rodley was the location where Thomas Smith's Steam Crane
Steam crane
A steam crane is a crane powered by a steam engine. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks, caterpillar tracks, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge...
Works was established in 1820; a company which, by 1888, became world-famous for the manufacture of cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
and lifting gear.
More recently, Rodley was also the home of Rowley Workshop: makers of Dusty Bin
3-2-1
3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988. Throughout its run, the show was hosted by former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres.....
, Wizbit
Wizbit
Wizbit was a 1985 BBC children's television show in which an alien magician called Wizbit and a large rabbit called Wooly had adventures in a place called Puzzleopolis....
and Dusty the Dawg (housed in the former Bethel Chapel which is also now flats).
Rodley has four Public Houses and a Working Mens Social Club. These are; The Owl, The Rodley Barge, The Railway just down past Calverley Bridge, and The Crown and Anchor, with The Social Club next door.
Rodley is home to the Rodley Nature Reserve, a wetland reserve built on the former site of a sewage works.
Rodley has a cricket club based at the Canal Bank Sports Ground adjacent to the nature reserve, and which participates in the Dales Council Cricket League.
Rodley also has a football team which plays out of the Rodley Barge Pub, their current home pitch is on Bramley park but this is set to change in the coming season. The team play in the Yorkshire sunday alliance league division one.
Rodley hosts an Annual Beer and Music Festival. The festival, organised by The Rodley Barge and the owl, runs over the August Bank Holiday weekend and plays host to over 100 different cask ales and ciders, and has live bands on throughout the weekend too.
External links
- The Ancient Parish of Calverley Rodley was in this parish
- Photographs of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Rodley