Wakefield
Encyclopedia
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield
, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire
, England. Located by the River Calder
on the eastern edge of the Pennines
, the urban area is 2062 hectares (5,095.3 acre) and had a population of 76,886 in 2001.
Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages
and in 1538 John Leland described it as, "a very quick market town and meately large; well served of fish and flesh both from sea and by rivers ... so that all vitaile is very good and chepe there. A right honest man shall fare well for 2d. a meal. ... There be plenti of se coal in the quarters about Wakefield".
The site of a battle
during the Wars of the Roses
and a Royalist
stronghold during the Civil War
, Wakefield developed in spite of setbacks to become an important market town
and centre for wool, exploiting its position on the navigable River Calder to become an inland port
.
During the 18th century Wakefield continued to develop through trade in corn, coal mining and textiles and in 1888 its parish church, with Saxon
origins, acquired cathedral
status. The town became the county town
and seat of the West Riding County Council in 1889 and the West Yorkshire
Metropolitan Council in 1974. The County Council was dissolved in 1986.
of 1086, it was written Wachefeld and also as Wachefelt.
Flint
and stone tools and later bronze
and iron implements have been found at Lee Moor and Lupset in the Wakefield area showing evidence of human activity since prehistoric times. This part of Yorkshire was home to the Brigantes
until the Roman occupation in 43 AD. A Roman road from Pontefract
passing Streethouse, Heath Common, Ossett Street Side, through Kirklees
and on to Manchester
crossed the River Calder
by a ford at Wakefield near the site of Wakefield Bridge. Wakefield was probably settled by the Angles
in the 5th or 6th century and after 867AD the area was controlled by the Vikings who divided the area into wapentakes. Wakefield was part of the Wapentake of Agbrigg. The settlement grew up near a crossing place on the River Calder around three roads, Westgate, Northgate and Kirkgate. the "gate" suffix derives from Old Norse gata meaning road and kirk, from kirkja indicates there was a church.
Before 1066 the manor
of Wakefield belonged to Edward the Confessor
and it passed to William the Conqueror
after the Battle of Hastings
. After the Conquest
Wakefield was a victim of the Harrying of the north
in 1069 when William the Conqueror took revenge on the local population for resistance to Norman rule. The settlement was recorded as Wachfeld in the Domesday Book
of 1086, and covered a much greater area than present day Wakefield, much of which was described as "waste". The manor was granted by the crown
to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
whose descendants, the Earls Warenne, inherited it after his death in 1088. The construction of Sandal Castle
began early in the 12th century. A second castle was built at Lawe Hill
on the north side of the Calder but was abandoned. Wakefield and its environs formed the caput
of an extensive baronial holding by the Warennes that extended to Cheshire
and Lancashire
. The Warennes, and their feudal sublords, held the area until the 14th century, when it passed to their heirs.
Norman tenants holding land in the region included the Lyvet
family at Lupset.
The Domesday Book recorded two churches, one in Wakefield and one in Sandal Magna. The Saxon church in Wakefield was rebuilt in about 1100 in stone in the Norman
style and was continually enlarged until 1315 when the central tower collapsed. By 1420 the church was again rebuilt and was extended between 1458 and 1475. In 1203 William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey received a grant for a market inthe town. In 1204 King John
granted the rights for a fair at the feast of All Saints
, 1 November, and in 1258 Henry III
granted the right for fair on the feast of St John the Baptist, 24 June. The market close to the Bull Ring and the church. The townsfolk of Wakefield amused themselves in games and sports earning the title "Merrie Wakefield", the chief sport in the 14th century was archery
and the butts in Wakefield were at the Ings, near the river.
In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses
, the Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York was killed on 30 December 1460 in the Battle of Wakefield
near Sandal Castle. As preparation for the impending invasion by the Spanish Armada
in April 1558, 400 men from the wapentake of Morley and Agbrigg were summoned to Bruntcliffe near Morley
with their weapons. Men from Kirkgate, Westgate, Northgate and Sandal were amongst them and all returned by August. At the time of the Civil War, Wakefield was a Royalist
stronghold. An attack led by Sir Thomas Fairfax
on 20 May 1643 captured the town for the Parliamentarians
. Over 1500 troops were taken prisoner along with the Royalist commander, Lieutenant-General Goring
.
In medieval times Wakefield became an inland port on the Calder and centre for the woollen and tanning
trades. In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed creating the Aire and Calder Navigation
which provided the town with access to the North Sea
. The first Registry of Deeds in the country opened in 1704 and in 1765 Wakefield's cattle market was established and became the one of largest in the north of England. The town was a centre for cloth dealing with its own piece hall, the Tammy Hall, built in 1766. In the late 1700s Georgian
town houses and St John's Church were built to the north of the town centre.
At the start of 19th century Wakefield was a wealthy market town and inland port trading in wool and corn. The Aire and Calder and Calder and Hebble Navigation
s and the Barnsley Canal
were instrumental in the development of Wakefield as an important market for corn from Norfolk
, Cambridgeshire
and Lincolnshire
supplying the fast growing population in the West Riding
. The Corn Exchange opened in Westgate in 1838. The market developed in the streets around the Bull Ring and the cattle market between George Street and Ings Road grew to be one of the biggest in the country. Road transport using turnpiked
roads was important. Regular mail coach
es departed to Leeds
, London
, Manchester, York
and Sheffield
and the 'Strafford Arms' was an important coaching inn
. The railways arrived in Wakefield in 1840 when Kirkgate Station
was built on the Manchester to Leeds line.
When cloth dealing declined, wool spinning mills using steam power were built by the river. There was a glass works in Calder Vale Road, several breweries
including Melbourne's and Beverley's Eagle Brewery, engineering works with strong links to the mining industry, soapworks and brickyards in Eastmoor giving the town a diverse economy. On the outskirts of the town, coal had been dug since the 15th century and 300 men were employed in the town's coal pits in 1831. During the 19th century more mines were sunk so that there were 46 small mines in Wakefield and the surrounding area by 1869. The National Coal Board
eventually became Wakefield's largest employer with Manor Colliery on Cross Lane and Park Hill colliery at Eastmoor surviving until 1982.
During the 19th century Wakefield became the administrative centre for the West Riding
and much of what is familiar today in Wakefield was built at that time. The court house was built in 1810, the first civic building in Wood Street. The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was built at Stanley Royd, just outside the town on Aberford Road in 1816. During the nineteenth century, the Wakefield Asylum played a central role in the development of British psychiatry, with Henry Maudsley
and James Crichton-Browne
amongst its medical staff. Most of it is now demolished. The old House of Correction of 1595 was rebuilt as Wakefield Prison in 1847. Wakefield Union workhouse was built on Park Lodge Lane, Eastmoor in 1853 and Clayton Hospital was built in 1854 after a donation from Alderman Thomas Clayton. Up to 1837 Wakefield relied on wells and springs for its water supply, supply from the River Calder was polluted, and various schemes were unsuccessful until reservoir
s on the Rishworth Moors and a service reservoir at Ardsley were built providing clean water from 1888. On 2 June 1906, Andrew Carnegie
opened the library on Drury Lane which had been built with a grant of £8,000 from the Carnegie Trust.
There are seven ex-council estates
in Wakefield which the council started to build after World War I
, the oldest, Portobello, the largest, Lupset, Flanshaw
, Plumpton, Peacock, Eastmoor and Kettlethorpe
. The estates were transferred to a registered social landlord, Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in 2005. The outlying villages of Sandal Magna, Belle Vue and Agbrigg have become suburbs of Wakefield.
The glass and textile industries closed in the 1970s and 1980s. During Margaret Thatcher
's contraction of the coal industry, six pits within a two mile (3 km) radius of the city centre were closed between 1979 and 1983. At the time of the 1984 miners' strike there were 15 pits in the district and demonstrations of support took place in the city. The West Riding County Council, based in Wakefield, was abolished in 1974 and the West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, also based in Wakefield from its inception in that same year, was abolished in 1986.
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the Reform Act 1832
. In 1836 the Wakefield Poor Law Union
was formed following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 with an elected Board of Guardians. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough
with elected councillors in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Wakefield was the de facto seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the Local Government Act of 1888. After Wakefield was elevated to diocese in 1888, Wakefield Council sought city status which was granted the same year. Wakefield became a county borough
in 1913. In 1974, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972
, the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the City of Wakefield
district. Today the city is the headquarters of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber and the West Yorkshire Police
.
Wakefield is covered by five electoral wards, Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield Rural, Wakefield South and Wakefield West, of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority. As of 2009, nine ward councillors are members of the Conservative Party and six ward councillors are members of the Labour Party who control the council.
Wakefield
's MP is Mary Creagh
who has represented the parliamentary seat for the Labour Party
since the 2005 General Election
. From 10 June 2009 until the 2010 election she was an Assistant Whip. She was re-elected in 2010 with a reduced majority.
Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue in the south of the city are represented by Labour
's Jon Trickett
who has been MP for Hemsworth
since 1996. He was re-elected in May 2010.
in the lower Calder Valley. The city centre is sited on a low hill on the north bank of the Calder close to a crossing place where it is spanned by a 14th-century, nine-arched, stone bridge and a reinforced concrete bridge built in 1929–1930. It is at the junction of major north-south routes to Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster and west-east routes to Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Pontefract.
Wakefield is within the area of the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire coalfield and lies on the middle coal measures and sandstone
s laid down in the Carboniferous
period.
Wakefield includes the former outlying villages of Alverthorpe
, Thornes, Sandal Magna, Agbrigg
, Lupset, Kettlethorpe, Newton Hill and Flanshaw.
In 2001 the Wakefield urban area had a population of 76,886 comprising 37,477 males and 39,409 females.
Also at the time of the 2001 UK census
, the City of Wakefield
had a total population of 315,172 of whom 161,962 were female and 153,210 were male. Of the 132,212 households in Wakefield, 39.56% were married couples living together, 28.32% were one-person households, 9.38% were co-habiting
couples and 9.71% were lone parents. The figures for lone parent households were slightly above the national average of 9.5%, and the percentage of married couples was above the national average of 36.5%; the proportion of one person households was below the national average of 30.1%.
The population density was 9.31 /km2. Of those aged 16–74 in Wakefield, 39.14% had no academic qualifications
, much higher than 28.9% in all of England. Of Wakefield's residents, 2.53% were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.41% of the population.
The number of theft-from-a-vehicle offences and theft of a vehicle per 1,000 of the population was 7.9 and 3.9 compared to the English national average of 6.3 and 2.3 respectively. The number of sexual offences was 0.9, in line with the national average. The national average of violence against another person was 16.7 compared to the Wakefield average of 15. The figures for crime statistics were all recorded during the 2008–09 financial year.
The economy of Wakefield declineded in the last quarter of the 20th century as the coal mines and traditional manufacturing industries closed contributing to high rates of unemployment. In terms of deprivation, Wakefield, as a whole, is ranked 54th out of 354 Local Authority Districts (1 being the worst). Employment grew by 12% between 1998 and 2003 as the economy recovered and enjoyed growth as the economic base of the district was diversified. Growth has been supported by inward investment from European and United Kingdom government funding which has impacted on the regeneration of the area. Manufacturing remains an important employment sector although the decline is projected to continue whilst distribution and the service industries are now among the main employers.
At the 2001 census, there were 33,521 people in employment who were resident within Wakefield. Of these, 20.74% worked in the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 14.42% worked within manufacturing industry; 11% worked within the health and social work sector and 6.49% were employed in the transport, storage and communication industries.
Wakefield is a member of the Leeds City Region Partnership, a sub-regional economic development partnership covering an area of the historic county of Yorkshire.
retail development to the north east of the city centre, including department stores, a supermarket and shop units. Work began in autumn 2007 but was halted in 2009, restarted in 2010 and opened in 2011. The central square at the Bull Ring has been redesigned with a water feature and the Ridings Shopping Mall refurbished. Wakefield Westgate Station goods yard and land on Westgate and Balne Lane have been developed to create retail, residential and commercial space including new offices, a multi-storey carpark serving the station and an hotel. Developments by the river and canal, the "Wakefield Waterfront", include the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Navigation Warehouse and office, retail, restaurant and cafe units. The development includes The Hepworth Wakefield
named in honour of local sculptor, Barbara Hepworth
which opened in May 2011. The gallery has ten internal spaces, exhibiting many examples of Hepworth's work. It is hoped the gallery will add about £3m to the local economy and attract 150,000 visitors in its first year. Flats and offices were built at Chantry Waters, on an island between the river and canal.
, which at 247 feet (75.3 m) has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Other landmarks include the Civic Quarter on Wood Street which includes the Neoclassical
Wakefield Crown Court of 1810, the Town Hall built in 1880 and the Queen Anne Style
County Hall
of 1898. St John's Church and Square, St John's North and South Parade are part of residential development dating from the Georgian period.
The old Wakefield Bridge with its Chantry Chapel, Sandal Castle and Lawe Hill in Clarence Park are ancient Monuments.
Another prominent structure is the 95-arch railway viaduct, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks in the 1860s on the Doncaster to Leeds railway line. At its northern end is a bridge with an 80 feet (24.4 m) span over Westgate and at its southern end a 163 feet (49.7 m) iron bridge crossing the River Calder.
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Wakefield has good access to the motorway system, the intersection of the M1
and M62
motorways, junctions 42/29, is to the north west and the M1 to the west is accessed at junctions 39, 40 and 41. The A1(M) is to the east of the district. Wakefield is crossed by the A61
, A638
, and A642
roads and is the starting point of the A636 and A650 roads.
The Council is working with Metro, the other four West Yorkshire district councils and transport operators to provide an integrated transport system for the district through the implementation of the West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan
.
A network of local buses, coordinated by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
(WYPTE) and departing from the bus station in the town centre, serves Wakefield and district. Buses are operated by Arriva, B L Travel, Poppletons, Stagecoach Yorkshire and National Express.
Wakefield Kirkgate
was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway
in 1840. Wakefield Kirkgate is unstaffed and operated by Northern Rail
who operate trains to Barnsley
, Meadowhall
, Sheffield, Normanton
, Pontefract
, Knottingley
, Leeds, Castleford
and Nottingham
. The station serves the Hallam Line
, Huddersfield Line
and the Pontefract Line
of the MetroTrain network. Grand Central Trains operating between London King's Cross and Bradford Interchange stop at Kirkgate. In 2009 CCTV was installed at the station, but it has acquired a reputation for being one of the country's worst stations.
Wakefield Westgate
opened in 1867 on the Doncaster
to Leeds line. It has connections to the
East Coast Mainline, trains to Leeds, Doncaster, and stations towards London King's Cross. CrossCountry
trains go to Newcastle upon Tyne
, Edinburgh
, Birmingham
and the South West
. East Midlands Trains
also run trains via Sheffield, Leicester
to St Pancras International
. Wakefield Westgate is on the Wakefield Line
of the MetroTrain network. The line was electrified in 1989. Wakefield is served by inter city express trains from both its railway stations. London can be reached in less than two hours.
The nearest airport is Leeds Bradford International Airport
, 19 miles (30.6 km) to the north of the city at Yeadon.
The Aire and Calder Navigation is 33 miles (53.1 km) from Leeds to Goole
, and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from Wakefield to Castleford
and was created by Act of Parliament in 1699, it was opened to Leeds in 1704 and to Wakefield in 1706 enabling craft carrying 100 tons to reach Wakefield from the Humber. It is still used by a small amount of commercial traffic and leisure craft.
The Calder and Hebble Navigation was created by Act of Parliament in 1758 with the intention of making the Calder navigable to Sowerby Bridge
. The route was originally surveyed by John Smeaton
remains open and is used by leisure craft. The Barnsley Canal, a broad canal with 20 locks, opened in 1799 connecting Barnsley to the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield and was abandoned in 1953.
The original building in Brook Street is now the 'Elizabethan Gallery'. QEGS moved to Northgate in 1854.
The school was administered by the Governors of Wakefield Charities who opened Wakefield Girls High School, WGHS
on Wentworth Street in 1878. These two schools today are independent school
s. National school
s were opened by the Church of England including St Mary's in the 1840s and St John's in 1861. The original St Austin's Catholic School opened about 1838. A Methodist School was opened in Thornhill Street in 1846. Pinders Primary School, originally Eastmoor School is the only school opened as a result of the Education Act 1870 which remains open today.
Wakefield College
has its origins in the School of Art and Craft of 1868 and today is the major provider of 6th form and further education
in the area, with around 3,000 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and campuses in the city and surrounding towns. In 2007 Wakefield City Council and Wakefield College announced plans to establish a University Centre of Wakefield but a bid for funding failed in 2009. Other schools with sixth forms include: QEGS, Wakefield Girls High School, and Cathedral High School, which is now a Performing Arts College for ages 11 to 18.
Wakefield's oldest church is All Saints, now Wakefield Cathedral
, a 14th century parish church built on the site of earlier Saxon and Norman churches, restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott
in the 19th century and raised to cathedral status in 1888. The first bishop of Wakefield
was William Walsham How
.
In 1356 the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin
on Wakefield bridge was built originally in wood, and later in stone. This chapel is one of four chantry chapels built around Wakefield and the oldest and most ornate of the four surviving in England.
Wakefield is also known for the Wakefield Cycle, a collection of 32 mystery play
s, dating from the 14th century, which were performed as part of the summertime religious festival of Corpus Christi
and revived in recent times.
St John's Church was built in 1795 in the Georgian
style. Three new Anglican Commissioners' church
es, partly financed by the "Million Fund" were built as chapels of ease in the surrounding districts and were St Peter at Stanley in 1824, St Paul at Alverthorpe in 1825 and St James at Thornes in 1831. Holy Trinity in George Street was built in 1838-9. St Andrew's Church opened on Peterson Road in 1846 and St Mary's Church on Charles Street was consecrated in 1864. St Michael's was consecrated in 1861. In the nineteenth century Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent Methodist chapels were opened and the Baptists opened a chapel in George Street in 1844.
The Church of England
diocese
of Wakefield covers parishes mainly in West Yorkshire, parts of South Yorkshire and five parishes in North Yorkshire. The Rt. Revd. Stephen Platten is the 12th Bishop of Wakefield
. There are sixteen Church of England churches in the Wakefield deanery
.
Wakefield has two Catholic parishes - in the north St. Martin de Porres incorporates the churches of St. Austin's, Wentworth Terrace opened in 1828 and English Martyrs opened in 1932 on Dewsbury Road, Lupset, and in the south, St Peter and St Paul's off Standbridge Lane which has a modern church built in 1991. Wakefield is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.
Agbrigg Muslim Association have a Zakaria Masjid Mosque in Wakefield.
, with its visitor centre, are open to the public. The Theatre Royal Wakefield
on Westgate, designed by architect Frank Matcham
opened in 1894 and currently presents a programme of entertainment including musicals, drama, live music, stand up comedy and dance. Wakefield Museum
is in the city centre. In May 2011 The Hepworth Wakefield
art gallery opened on the south bank of the River Calder near Wakefield Bridge and the chantry chapel, with works by local artists Barbara Hepworth
and Henry Moore
and other British and international artists. The gallery designed by architect David Chipperfield
is thought to be the largest purpose-built gallery to open in the United Kingdom since 1968.
Wakefield Library in Balne Lane manages a regional collection of over 500,000 items of music and 90,000 copies of plays for Yorkshire Libraries & Information (YLI). In October 2011 the collection was threatened with closure, to take effect in April 2012. West Riding Registry of Deeds on Newstead Road is the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Archive Service housing records from the former West Riding and West Yorkshire counties as well as being the record office for the Wakefield Metropolitan District.
Wakefield's three contiguous parks have a history dating back to 1893 when Clarence Park opened on land near Lawe Hill, the adjacent Holmefield Estate was acquired in 1919 followed by Thornes House in 1924 making a large park to the south west of the city. A Music Festival for local bands is held annually in Clarence Park.
Two children's nursery rhymes with Wakefield connections are "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
" which may have been sung by women inmates at Wakefield prison. and
"The Grand Old Duke of York
" which may allude to the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, referring to Richard Plantagenet
, the 3rd Duke of York.
Wakefield is known as the capital of the Rhubarb Triangle
, an area notable for growing early forced rhubarb
. In July 2005 a statue was erected to celebrate this facet of Wakefield which also hosts an annual Rhubarb Festival.
Wakefield has two newspapers, The Wakefield Express
and the Wakefield Guardian, and a radio station, Ridings FM
.
The National Coal Mining Museum for England
(an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage
), the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
and Nostell Priory
are within the metropolitan area as is Walton Hall
, a Georgian mansion set in what was the world's first nature reserve, created by the explorer Charles Waterton
, now a hotel.
is a rugby league
club currently playing in the Super League
. The club, founded in 1873, was one of the initial founders of the Northern Union
after the split from the Rugby Football Union
in 1895. The club plays at Belle Vue
. Several local teams play in different leagues of the British Amateur Rugby League Association
, BARLA.
They include Wakefield City, Westgate Wolves, Crigglestone All Blacks, Kettlethorpe and Eastmoor Dragons.
Rugby Union Football is played at Sandal RFC and was played by Wakefield RFC
at College Grove from 1901 to 2004 when the club ceased to play..
Wakefield F.C.
play in the Northern Premier League Division One North after moving from the village of Emley
in 2001. The club played at Belle Vue until the end of the 2005/6 season when it moved to Wakefield RFC's former ground at College Grove for the 2006/7 season. Wakefield Sports Club at College Grove also has the Yorkshire Regional Hockey Academy, Wakefield Bowls Club and Wakefield Squash Club on the same site.
The Wakefield Archers meet at QEGS in Wakefield or at Slazengers Sports Club, Horbury and has archers shooting Olympic re-curve bows, compound bows and longbows.
Thornes Park Athletics Stadium is home to Wakefield Harriers A.C. Members Martyn Bernard
and Emily Freeman
competed in the Beijing Olympics.
Local teams Newton Hill and Wakefield Thornes are members of the Leeds-West Riding Cricket League.
There is a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) watersports lake at Pugneys Country Park
catering for non-powered watersports such as canoeing, sailing and windsurfing. Golf clubs include the municipal course at Lupset and the private Wakefield Golf Club at Sandal.
Wakefield has two successful current senior international swimmers
(Ian Perrell and Rachel Jack). Both former city of Wakefield swimming club members.
, originally built as a house of correction in 1594, is a maximum security prison. Wakefield is policed by the West Yorkshire Police force and is within the DA, Wakefield division, which covers the whole district. The statutory emergency fire and rescue service
is provided by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
, from Wakefield fire station. Hospital services are provided by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and community health services, including GP
s, district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are co-ordinated by Wakefield District Primary Care Trust.
Waste management
is co-ordinated by the local authority. Wakefield's Distribution Network Operator
for electricity is CE Electric
via Yorkshire Electricity
. Yorkshire Water
manages Wakefield's drinking
and waste water.
born in Wakefield in 1933 was a novelist and playwright who in 1960 wrote "This Sporting Life
" which was made into a film in 1963. Former Archbishop of York, David Hope, born 1940, The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Hope of Thornes
KCVO PC, was born in Thornes.
, France
Hénin-Beaumont
, France
Herne
, Germany
Belgorod
, Russia
Konin
, Poland
Alfeld (Leine)
, Germany
Castrop-Rauxel
, Germany
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...
, a metropolitan district of 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. Located by the River Calder
River Calder, West Yorkshire
The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.The Calder rises on the green eastern slopes of the Pennines flows through alternating green countryside, former woollen-mill villages, and large and small towns before joining the River Aire near Castleford.The river's valley is...
on the eastern edge of the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
, the urban area is 2062 hectares (5,095.3 acre) and had a population of 76,886 in 2001.
Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and in 1538 John Leland described it as, "a very quick market town and meately large; well served of fish and flesh both from sea and by rivers ... so that all vitaile is very good and chepe there. A right honest man shall fare well for 2d. a meal. ... There be plenti of se coal in the quarters about Wakefield".
The site of a battle
Battle of Wakefield
The Battle of Wakefield took place at Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire in Northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses...
during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
and a Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
stronghold during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Wakefield developed in spite of setbacks to become an important market town
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...
and centre for wool, exploiting its position on the navigable River Calder to become an inland port
Inland port
The term inland port is used in two different but related ways to mean either a port on an inland waterway or an inland site carrying out some functions of a seaport.- As a port on an inland waterway :...
.
During the 18th century Wakefield continued to develop through trade in corn, coal mining and textiles and in 1888 its parish church, with Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
origins, acquired cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
status. The town became the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
and seat of the West Riding County Council in 1889 and the 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....
Metropolitan Council in 1974. The County Council was dissolved in 1986.
Toponymy
The name "Wakefield" may derive from "Waca's field" – the open land belonging to someone named "Waca" or could have evolved from the Old English word wacu, meaning "a watch or wake", and feld, an open field in which a wake or festival was held. In the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, it was written Wachefeld and also as Wachefelt.
Early history
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and stone tools and later bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and iron implements have been found at Lee Moor and Lupset in the Wakefield area showing evidence of human activity since prehistoric times. This part of Yorkshire was home to the Brigantes
Brigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
until the Roman occupation in 43 AD. A Roman road from Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
passing Streethouse, Heath Common, Ossett Street Side, through Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
and on to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
crossed the River Calder
River Calder, West Yorkshire
The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.The Calder rises on the green eastern slopes of the Pennines flows through alternating green countryside, former woollen-mill villages, and large and small towns before joining the River Aire near Castleford.The river's valley is...
by a ford at Wakefield near the site of Wakefield Bridge. Wakefield was probably settled by the Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
in the 5th or 6th century and after 867AD the area was controlled by the Vikings who divided the area into wapentakes. Wakefield was part of the Wapentake of Agbrigg. The settlement grew up near a crossing place on the River Calder around three roads, Westgate, Northgate and Kirkgate. the "gate" suffix derives from Old Norse gata meaning road and kirk, from kirkja indicates there was a church.
Before 1066 the manor
Manor
-Land tenure:*Manor, an estate in land of the mediaeval era in England*Manorialism, a system of land tenure and organization of the rural economy and society in parts of medieval Europe based on the manor*Manor house, the principal house of a manor...
of Wakefield belonged to Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
and it passed to William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
after the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
. After the Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Wakefield was a victim of the Harrying of the north
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
in 1069 when William the Conqueror took revenge on the local population for resistance to Norman rule. The settlement was recorded as Wachfeld in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, and covered a much greater area than present day Wakefield, much of which was described as "waste". The manor was granted by the crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
whose descendants, the Earls Warenne, inherited it after his death in 1088. The construction of Sandal Castle
Sandal Castle
Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue, the opening of one of William Shakespeare's plays, and was the source for a common children's nursery rhyme.-The...
began early in the 12th century. A second castle was built at Lawe Hill
Wakefield Castle
Wakefield Castle, Lowe Hill or Lawe Hill was a castle built in the 12th century on a hill on the north side of the River Calder near Wakefield. Its name derives from the Anglo Saxon hlaew meaning a mound or cairn, possibly a burial mound or barrow...
on the north side of the Calder but was abandoned. Wakefield and its environs formed the caput
Caput baroniae
In English customs, the Caput baroniae was the ancient, or chief seat or castle of a nobleman, which was not to be divided among the daughters, in case there be no son to inherit. Instead, it was to descend entirely to the eldest daughter, caeteris filiabus aliunde satisfactis....
of an extensive baronial holding by the Warennes that extended to Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
and Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. The Warennes, and their feudal sublords, held the area until the 14th century, when it passed to their heirs.
Norman tenants holding land in the region included the Lyvet
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
family at Lupset.
The Domesday Book recorded two churches, one in Wakefield and one in Sandal Magna. The Saxon church in Wakefield was rebuilt in about 1100 in stone in the Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
style and was continually enlarged until 1315 when the central tower collapsed. By 1420 the church was again rebuilt and was extended between 1458 and 1475. In 1203 William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey received a grant for a market inthe town. In 1204 King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
granted the rights for a fair at the feast of All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
, 1 November, and in 1258 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...
granted the right for fair on the feast of St John the Baptist, 24 June. The market close to the Bull Ring and the church. The townsfolk of Wakefield amused themselves in games and sports earning the title "Merrie Wakefield", the chief sport in the 14th century was archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
and the butts in Wakefield were at the Ings, near the river.
In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, the Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York was killed on 30 December 1460 in the Battle of Wakefield
Battle of Wakefield
The Battle of Wakefield took place at Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire in Northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses...
near Sandal Castle. As preparation for the impending invasion by the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in April 1558, 400 men from the wapentake of Morley and Agbrigg were summoned to Bruntcliffe near Morley
Morley, West Yorkshire
Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...
with their weapons. Men from Kirkgate, Westgate, Northgate and Sandal were amongst them and all returned by August. At the time of the Civil War, Wakefield was a Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
stronghold. An attack led by Sir Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...
on 20 May 1643 captured the town for the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
. Over 1500 troops were taken prisoner along with the Royalist commander, Lieutenant-General Goring
George Goring, Lord Goring
George Goring, Lord Goring was an English Royalist soldier. He was known by the courtesy title Lord Goring as the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Norwich.- The Goring family :...
.
In medieval times Wakefield became an inland port on the Calder and centre for the woollen and tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
trades. In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed creating the Aire and Calder Navigation
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to...
which provided the town with access to the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. The first Registry of Deeds in the country opened in 1704 and in 1765 Wakefield's cattle market was established and became the one of largest in the north of England. The town was a centre for cloth dealing with its own piece hall, the Tammy Hall, built in 1766. In the late 1700s Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
town houses and St John's Church were built to the north of the town centre.
Industrial Revolution
Calder and Hebble Navigation
The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a Broad inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England, which has remained navigable since it was opened.-History:...
s and the Barnsley Canal
Barnsley Canal
The Barnsley Canal is a canal that ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England to a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation near Wakefield. It was long and included 15 locks. It was taken over by the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1854, and despite competition from the...
were instrumental in the development of Wakefield as an important market for corn from Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
supplying the fast growing population in the West Riding
West Riding
West Riding could refer to:Areas:*West Riding of Yorkshire, England*West Riding of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, England*West Riding of County Cork, Ireland*West Riding of County Galway, IrelandTransport companies:*West Riding Automobile Company...
. The Corn Exchange opened in Westgate in 1838. The market developed in the streets around the Bull Ring and the cattle market between George Street and Ings Road grew to be one of the biggest in the country. Road transport using turnpiked
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
roads was important. Regular mail coach
Mail coach
In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
es departed to 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...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and the 'Strafford Arms' was an important coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
. The railways arrived in Wakefield in 1840 when Kirkgate Station
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station, Kirkgate is unstaffed and served mostly by local trains...
was built on the Manchester to Leeds line.
When cloth dealing declined, wool spinning mills using steam power were built by the river. There was a glass works in Calder Vale Road, several breweries
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....
including Melbourne's and Beverley's Eagle Brewery, engineering works with strong links to the mining industry, soapworks and brickyards in Eastmoor giving the town a diverse economy. On the outskirts of the town, coal had been dug since the 15th century and 300 men were employed in the town's coal pits in 1831. During the 19th century more mines were sunk so that there were 46 small mines in Wakefield and the surrounding area by 1869. The National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
eventually became Wakefield's largest employer with Manor Colliery on Cross Lane and Park Hill colliery at Eastmoor surviving until 1982.
During the 19th century Wakefield became the administrative centre for 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...
and much of what is familiar today in Wakefield was built at that time. The court house was built in 1810, the first civic building in Wood Street. The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was built at Stanley Royd, just outside the town on Aberford Road in 1816. During the nineteenth century, the Wakefield Asylum played a central role in the development of British psychiatry, with Henry Maudsley
Henry Maudsley
Henry Maudsley was a pioneering British psychiatrist.-Biographical sketch:Henry Maudsley was born on an isolated farm near Giggleswick in the North Riding of Yorkshire and educated at University College London. He was an outstandingly brilliant medical student, collecting ten Gold Medals and...
and James Crichton-Browne
James Crichton-Browne
Sir James Crichton-Browne MD FRS was a leading British psychiatrist famous for studies on the relationship of mental illness to neurological damage and for the development of public health policies in relation to mental health...
amongst its medical staff. Most of it is now demolished. The old House of Correction of 1595 was rebuilt as Wakefield Prison in 1847. Wakefield Union workhouse was built on Park Lodge Lane, Eastmoor in 1853 and Clayton Hospital was built in 1854 after a donation from Alderman Thomas Clayton. Up to 1837 Wakefield relied on wells and springs for its water supply, supply from the River Calder was polluted, and various schemes were unsuccessful until reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s on the Rishworth Moors and a service reservoir at Ardsley were built providing clean water from 1888. On 2 June 1906, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
opened the library on Drury Lane which had been built with a grant of £8,000 from the Carnegie Trust.
There are seven ex-council estates
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
in Wakefield which the council started to build after 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...
, the oldest, Portobello, the largest, Lupset, Flanshaw
Flanshaw
Flanshaw is a suburb located to the west of Wakefield city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is administrated by City of Wakefield. Part of the area is a council estate housing estate. The local primary school is Flanshaw J & I School....
, Plumpton, Peacock, Eastmoor and Kettlethorpe
Kettlethorpe
Kettlethorpe, originally a separate village, is a suburb of Wakefield in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire.-External links:...
. The estates were transferred to a registered social landlord, Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in 2005. The outlying villages of Sandal Magna, Belle Vue and Agbrigg have become suburbs of Wakefield.
The glass and textile industries closed in the 1970s and 1980s. During Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's contraction of the coal industry, six pits within a two mile (3 km) radius of the city centre were closed between 1979 and 1983. At the time of the 1984 miners' strike there were 15 pits in the district and demonstrations of support took place in the city. The West Riding County Council, based in Wakefield, was abolished in 1974 and the West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, also based in Wakefield from its inception in that same year, was abolished in 1986.
Governance
Wakefield was anciently a market and parish town in the Agbrigg division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and MorleyAgbrigg and Morley
Agbrigg and Morley was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into two divisions, which in the mid-nineteenth century became wapentakes in their own right....
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
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...
. It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
. In 1836 the Wakefield Poor Law Union
Poor Law Union
A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...
was formed following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 with an elected Board of Guardians. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
with elected councillors in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Wakefield was the de facto seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the Local Government Act of 1888. After Wakefield was elevated to diocese in 1888, Wakefield Council sought city status which was granted the same year. Wakefield became a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in 1913. In 1974, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the City of Wakefield
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...
district. Today the city is the headquarters of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber and the West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing West Yorkshire in England. It is the fourth largest force in England and Wales by number of officers, with 5671 officers....
.
Wakefield is covered by five electoral wards, Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield Rural, Wakefield South and Wakefield West, of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority. As of 2009, nine ward councillors are members of the Conservative Party and six ward councillors are members of the Labour Party who control the council.
Wakefield
Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
's MP is Mary Creagh
Mary Creagh
Mary Helen Creagh is a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wakefield since 2005. She was appointed to the shadow cabinet on 7 October 2010.- Background :...
who has represented the parliamentary seat for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
since the 2005 General Election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. From 10 June 2009 until the 2010 election she was an Assistant Whip. She was re-elected in 2010 with a reduced majority.
Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue in the south of the city are represented by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's Jon Trickett
Jon Trickett
Jon Hedley Trickett is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election...
who has been MP for Hemsworth
Hemsworth (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1940s :- Elections in the 1930s :- Elections in the 1920s :...
since 1996. He was re-elected in May 2010.
Geography
Wakefield is 9 miles (14.5 km) southeast of Leeds and 28 miles (45.1 km) southwest of York on the eastern edge of the PenninesPennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
in the lower Calder Valley. The city centre is sited on a low hill on the north bank of the Calder close to a crossing place where it is spanned by a 14th-century, nine-arched, stone bridge and a reinforced concrete bridge built in 1929–1930. It is at the junction of major north-south routes to Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster and west-east routes to Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Pontefract.
Wakefield is within the area of the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire coalfield and lies on the middle coal measures and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s laid down in the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period.
Wakefield includes the former outlying villages of Alverthorpe
Alverthorpe
Alverthorpe is a suburb of, and former village in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.-History:After the start of the Industrial Revolution woollen and worsted yarns were spun and woollen and worsted cloth woven in...
, Thornes, Sandal Magna, Agbrigg
Agbrigg
Agbrigg is a village in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield....
, Lupset, Kettlethorpe, Newton Hill and Flanshaw.
Neighbouring towns and places
Demography
| Wakefield Compared in 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 UK Population Estimates | Wakefield | Yorkshire and the Humber | England |
| Total population | 322,300 | 5,213,200 | 51,446,200 |
| White | 95.7% | 90.6% | 88.2% |
| Asian | 2.4% | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Black | 0.5% | 1.3% | 2.8% |
In 2001 the Wakefield urban area had a population of 76,886 comprising 37,477 males and 39,409 females.
Also at the time of the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the City of Wakefield
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...
had a total population of 315,172 of whom 161,962 were female and 153,210 were male. Of the 132,212 households in Wakefield, 39.56% were married couples living together, 28.32% were one-person households, 9.38% were co-habiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
couples and 9.71% were lone parents. The figures for lone parent households were slightly above the national average of 9.5%, and the percentage of married couples was above the national average of 36.5%; the proportion of one person households was below the national average of 30.1%.
The population density was 9.31 /km2. Of those aged 16–74 in Wakefield, 39.14% had no academic qualifications
National Qualifications Framework
The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
, much higher than 28.9% in all of England. Of Wakefield's residents, 2.53% were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.41% of the population.
The number of theft-from-a-vehicle offences and theft of a vehicle per 1,000 of the population was 7.9 and 3.9 compared to the English national average of 6.3 and 2.3 respectively. The number of sexual offences was 0.9, in line with the national average. The national average of violence against another person was 16.7 compared to the Wakefield average of 15. The figures for crime statistics were all recorded during the 2008–09 financial year.
Population change
| Population growth in Wakefield from 1881–1961 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | ||
| Population | 22,173 | 23,315 | 24,107 | 43,588 | 52,891 | 59,122 | 56,963 | 60,371 | 61,268 | ||
Wakefield RSD 1881 - 1911 Wakefield MB/CB 1921 - 1961 |
|||||||||||
Economy
| Wakefield Compared | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.... |
Wakefield | WY Urban Area West Yorkshire Urban Area The West Yorkshire Urban Area is a term used by the Office for National Statistics to refer to a conurbation in West Yorkshire, England, based around the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, and the large town of Huddersfield... |
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... |
|
| Population (16-74) | 55,789 | 1,072,276 | 35,532,091 | |
| Full time employment | 39.7% | 39.5% | 40.8% | |
| Part time employment | 12.4% | 12.1% | 11.8% | |
| Self employed | 6.7% | 6.3% | 8.3% | |
| Unemployed | 4.1% | 3.8% | 3.3% | |
| Retired | 14.1% | 12.8% | 13.5% | |
| Source: Office for National Statistics | ||||
The economy of Wakefield declineded in the last quarter of the 20th century as the coal mines and traditional manufacturing industries closed contributing to high rates of unemployment. In terms of deprivation, Wakefield, as a whole, is ranked 54th out of 354 Local Authority Districts (1 being the worst). Employment grew by 12% between 1998 and 2003 as the economy recovered and enjoyed growth as the economic base of the district was diversified. Growth has been supported by inward investment from European and United Kingdom government funding which has impacted on the regeneration of the area. Manufacturing remains an important employment sector although the decline is projected to continue whilst distribution and the service industries are now among the main employers.
At the 2001 census, there were 33,521 people in employment who were resident within Wakefield. Of these, 20.74% worked in the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 14.42% worked within manufacturing industry; 11% worked within the health and social work sector and 6.49% were employed in the transport, storage and communication industries.
Wakefield is a member of the Leeds City Region Partnership, a sub-regional economic development partnership covering an area of the historic county of Yorkshire.
Regeneration
Regeneration projects in Wakefield included the Trinity WalkTrinity Walk
Trinity Walk is a shopping centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. England. Opened on 6 May 2011, Wakefield Council describe it as "the most important City Centre development for more than 20 years."-Retail scheme:...
retail development to the north east of the city centre, including department stores, a supermarket and shop units. Work began in autumn 2007 but was halted in 2009, restarted in 2010 and opened in 2011. The central square at the Bull Ring has been redesigned with a water feature and the Ridings Shopping Mall refurbished. Wakefield Westgate Station goods yard and land on Westgate and Balne Lane have been developed to create retail, residential and commercial space including new offices, a multi-storey carpark serving the station and an hotel. Developments by the river and canal, the "Wakefield Waterfront", include the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Navigation Warehouse and office, retail, restaurant and cafe units. The development includes The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield is an art gallery in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, which opened on 21 May 2011. The gallery, is situated on the south side of the River Calder and takes its name from artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth who was born and educated in the city.The gallery was designed by...
named in honour of local sculptor, Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
which opened in May 2011. The gallery has ten internal spaces, exhibiting many examples of Hepworth's work. It is hoped the gallery will add about £3m to the local economy and attract 150,000 visitors in its first year. Flats and offices were built at Chantry Waters, on an island between the river and canal.
Landmarks
The most prominent landmark in Wakefield is Wakefield CathedralWakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of All Saints Wakefield is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of Wakefield and is the seat of the Bishop of Wakefield. The cathedral has Anglo Saxon origins and the tallest cathedral spire in Yorkshire...
, which at 247 feet (75.3 m) has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Other landmarks include the Civic Quarter on Wood Street which includes the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
Wakefield Crown Court of 1810, the Town Hall built in 1880 and the Queen Anne Style
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
County Hall
County Hall, Wakefield
County Hall or West Riding County Hall stands at the corner of Bond Street and Cliff Parade in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It is the main headquarters of Wakefield City Council....
of 1898. St John's Church and Square, St John's North and South Parade are part of residential development dating from the Georgian period.
The old Wakefield Bridge with its Chantry Chapel, Sandal Castle and Lawe Hill in Clarence Park are ancient Monuments.
Another prominent structure is the 95-arch railway viaduct, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks in the 1860s on the Doncaster to Leeds railway line. At its northern end is a bridge with an 80 feet (24.4 m) span over Westgate and at its southern end a 163 feet (49.7 m) iron bridge crossing the River Calder.
Transport
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
and M62
M62
M62 or M-62 may refer to:* M62 motorway, a motorway in England.* M-62 , a state highway in Michigan.* M62 locomotive, a Soviet heavy freight diesel locomotive.* BMW M62, a 1994 automobile engine....
motorways, junctions 42/29, is to the north west and the M1 to the west is accessed at junctions 39, 40 and 41. The A1(M) is to the east of the district. Wakefield is crossed by the A61
A61 road
The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...
, A638
A638 road
The A638 is a main road in England that runs between the A1 at Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire and Chain Bar Junction 26 of the M62 motorway south of Bradford in West Yorkshire....
, and A642
A642 road
The A642 is an A-road in West Yorkshire, England which runs from Huddersfield to the A64 near Leeds. It connects with the M1, M62 and A63.The road begins at Waterloo east of the town centre before going on via Lepton, Grange Moor, Middlestown, Horbury into Wakefield City Centre.The road then goes...
roads and is the starting point of the A636 and A650 roads.
The Council is working with Metro, the other four West Yorkshire district councils and transport operators to provide an integrated transport system for the district through the implementation of the West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan
Local Transport Plan
Local transport plans, divided into full local transport plans and local implementation plans for transport are an important part of transport planning in England...
.
A network of local buses, coordinated by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
(WYPTE) and departing from the bus station in the town centre, serves Wakefield and district. Buses are operated by Arriva, B L Travel, Poppletons, Stagecoach Yorkshire and National Express.
Wakefield Kirkgate
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station, Kirkgate is unstaffed and served mostly by local trains...
was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway
Manchester and Leeds Railway
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
in 1840. Wakefield Kirkgate is unstaffed and operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
who operate trains to Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, Meadowhall
Meadowhall
Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies three miles north east of Sheffield city centre and four miles from Rotherham town centre....
, Sheffield, Normanton
Normanton
Normanton is the name of several places:In England:*Normanton, Derbyshire*Normanton, Leicestershire*Normanton, Lincolnshire*Normanton, Nottinghamshire*Normanton, Rutland*Normanton, West Yorkshire**Normanton...
, Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
, Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
, Leeds, Castleford
Castleford
Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...
and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. The station serves the Hallam Line
Hallam Line
The Hallam Line is the name given to rail services operated by Northern Rail, in the West Yorkshire Metro/ Travel South Yorkshire area of northern England which connect Leeds and Sheffield via Barnsley. It is the slower of the two routes between Leeds and Sheffield, with faster services provided...
, Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
and the Pontefract Line
Pontefract Line
The Pontefract Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. The service is operated by Northern Rail, and links Wakefield and Leeds with Goole via Pontefract...
of the MetroTrain network. Grand Central Trains operating between London King's Cross and Bradford Interchange stop at Kirkgate. In 2009 CCTV was installed at the station, but it has acquired a reputation for being one of the country's worst stations.
Wakefield Westgate
Wakefield Westgate railway station
Wakefield Westgate railway station is the mainline railway station for the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the western edge of the main city centre, on the opposite side from Wakefield's other station, Kirkgate.-Services:...
opened in 1867 on the Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
to Leeds line. It has connections to the
East Coast Mainline, trains to Leeds, Doncaster, and stations towards London King's Cross. CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
trains go to Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
. East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
also run trains via Sheffield, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
to St Pancras International
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
. Wakefield Westgate is on the Wakefield Line
Wakefield Line
The Wakefield line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro/South Yorkshire P.T.E. area of northern England. The service connects Leeds and Wakefield with Sheffield and Doncaster. The section of the line between Leeds and Doncaster forms part of the East Coast Main...
of the MetroTrain network. The line was electrified in 1989. Wakefield is served by inter city express trains from both its railway stations. London can be reached in less than two hours.
The nearest airport is Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, northwest of Leeds city centre itself...
, 19 miles (30.6 km) to the north of the city at Yeadon.
The Aire and Calder Navigation is 33 miles (53.1 km) from Leeds to Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
, and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from Wakefield to Castleford
Castleford
Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...
and was created by Act of Parliament in 1699, it was opened to Leeds in 1704 and to Wakefield in 1706 enabling craft carrying 100 tons to reach Wakefield from the Humber. It is still used by a small amount of commercial traffic and leisure craft.
The Calder and Hebble Navigation was created by Act of Parliament in 1758 with the intention of making the Calder navigable to Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge is a market town that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in the county of West Yorkshire, in northern England.-Geography:Sowerby Bridge is situated on the edge of Halifax, about three miles from its centre...
. The route was originally surveyed by John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
remains open and is used by leisure craft. The Barnsley Canal, a broad canal with 20 locks, opened in 1799 connecting Barnsley to the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield and was abandoned in 1953.
Education
Wakefield's oldest surviving school is Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, QEGS Wakefield, a boys' only school established in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth I by Royal Charter.The original building in Brook Street is now the 'Elizabethan Gallery'. QEGS moved to Northgate in 1854.
The school was administered by the Governors of Wakefield Charities who opened Wakefield Girls High School, WGHS
Wakefield Girls High School
Wakefield Girls' High School is an independent school in Wakefield, England established in 1878 in Wentworth House, its current location. The school has grown from 59 pupils when it first began to nearly 750 in the present day .-Education:...
on Wentworth Street in 1878. These two schools today are independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
s. National school
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
s were opened by the Church of England including St Mary's in the 1840s and St John's in 1861. The original St Austin's Catholic School opened about 1838. A Methodist School was opened in Thornhill Street in 1846. Pinders Primary School, originally Eastmoor School is the only school opened as a result of the Education Act 1870 which remains open today.
Wakefield College
Wakefield College
Wakefield College is a Further Education College in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It has provided education within the city since 1868 .-History:...
has its origins in the School of Art and Craft of 1868 and today is the major provider of 6th form and further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
in the area, with around 3,000 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and campuses in the city and surrounding towns. In 2007 Wakefield City Council and Wakefield College announced plans to establish a University Centre of Wakefield but a bid for funding failed in 2009. Other schools with sixth forms include: QEGS, Wakefield Girls High School, and Cathedral High School, which is now a Performing Arts College for ages 11 to 18.
Religion
| Religion in Wakefield 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Census 2001 United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.... |
Wakefield | 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... |
England |
| Christian | 78.21% | 73.07% | 71.74% |
| No religion | 11.74% | 14.09% | 14.59% |
| Muslim | 1.14% | 3.81% | 3.1% |
| Buddhist | 0.10% | 0.14% | 0.28% |
| Hindu | 0.20% | 0.32% | 1.11% |
| Jewish | 0.04% | 0.23% | 0.52% |
| Sikh | 0.08% | 0.38% | 0.67% |
| Other religions | 0.18% | 0.19% | 0.29% |
| Religion not stated | 7.57% | 7.77% | 7.69% |
Wakefield's oldest church is All Saints, now Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of All Saints Wakefield is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of Wakefield and is the seat of the Bishop of Wakefield. The cathedral has Anglo Saxon origins and the tallest cathedral spire in Yorkshire...
, a 14th century parish church built on the site of earlier Saxon and Norman churches, restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
in the 19th century and raised to cathedral status in 1888. The first bishop of Wakefield
Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...
was William Walsham How
William Walsham How
William Walsham How was an English bishop.The son of a Shrewsbury solicitor, How was educated at Shrewsbury School, Wadham College, Oxford and University College, Durham. He was ordained in 1846, and for upwards of thirty years was actively engaged in parish work at Whittington in Shropshire and...
.
In 1356 the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin
Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield
The Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield is a chantry chapel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England and is designated a Grade I Listed building by English Heritage. It is located south of the city centre on the medieval bridge over the River Calder. It is the only survivor of four...
on Wakefield bridge was built originally in wood, and later in stone. This chapel is one of four chantry chapels built around Wakefield and the oldest and most ornate of the four surviving in England.
Wakefield is also known for the Wakefield Cycle, a collection of 32 mystery play
Mystery play
Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
s, dating from the 14th century, which were performed as part of the summertime religious festival of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
and revived in recent times.
St John's Church was built in 1795 in the Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style. Three new Anglican Commissioners' church
Commissioners' church
A Commissioners' church is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act of 1818 and 1824. They have been given a number of titles, including Commissioners' churches, Waterloo churches and Million Act churches...
es, partly financed by the "Million Fund" were built as chapels of ease in the surrounding districts and were St Peter at Stanley in 1824, St Paul at Alverthorpe in 1825 and St James at Thornes in 1831. Holy Trinity in George Street was built in 1838-9. St Andrew's Church opened on Peterson Road in 1846 and St Mary's Church on Charles Street was consecrated in 1864. St Michael's was consecrated in 1861. In the nineteenth century Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent Methodist chapels were opened and the Baptists opened a chapel in George Street in 1844.
The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Wakefield covers parishes mainly in West Yorkshire, parts of South Yorkshire and five parishes in North Yorkshire. The Rt. Revd. Stephen Platten is the 12th Bishop of Wakefield
Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...
. There are sixteen Church of England churches in the Wakefield deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
.
Wakefield has two Catholic parishes - in the north St. Martin de Porres incorporates the churches of St. Austin's, Wentworth Terrace opened in 1828 and English Martyrs opened in 1932 on Dewsbury Road, Lupset, and in the south, St Peter and St Paul's off Standbridge Lane which has a modern church built in 1991. Wakefield is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.
Agbrigg Muslim Association have a Zakaria Masjid Mosque in Wakefield.
Culture
The ruins of Sandal CastleSandal Castle
Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue, the opening of one of William Shakespeare's plays, and was the source for a common children's nursery rhyme.-The...
, with its visitor centre, are open to the public. The Theatre Royal Wakefield
Theatre Royal, Wakefield
The Theatre Royal Wakefield is a theatre in Wakefield, England, which dates back to 1894. The theatre was originally known as the Theatre Royal and Opera House....
on Westgate, designed by architect Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham was a famous English theatrical architect. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.-Early career:...
opened in 1894 and currently presents a programme of entertainment including musicals, drama, live music, stand up comedy and dance. Wakefield Museum
Wakefield Museum
Wakefield Museum is a local museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, north England, covering the history of the city of Wakefield and the local area from preistoric times onwards.- Overview :...
is in the city centre. In May 2011 The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield is an art gallery in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, which opened on 21 May 2011. The gallery, is situated on the south side of the River Calder and takes its name from artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth who was born and educated in the city.The gallery was designed by...
art gallery opened on the south bank of the River Calder near Wakefield Bridge and the chantry chapel, with works by local artists Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
and Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
and other British and international artists. The gallery designed by architect David Chipperfield
David Chipperfield
Sir David Alan Chipperfield CBE, RA, RDI, RIBA is a British architect, born in London. He has offices in London, Berlin and Milan, and a representative office in Shanghai...
is thought to be the largest purpose-built gallery to open in the United Kingdom since 1968.
Wakefield Library in Balne Lane manages a regional collection of over 500,000 items of music and 90,000 copies of plays for Yorkshire Libraries & Information (YLI). In October 2011 the collection was threatened with closure, to take effect in April 2012. West Riding Registry of Deeds on Newstead Road is the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Archive Service housing records from the former West Riding and West Yorkshire counties as well as being the record office for the Wakefield Metropolitan District.
Wakefield's three contiguous parks have a history dating back to 1893 when Clarence Park opened on land near Lawe Hill, the adjacent Holmefield Estate was acquired in 1919 followed by Thornes House in 1924 making a large park to the south west of the city. A Music Festival for local bands is held annually in Clarence Park.
Two children's nursery rhymes with Wakefield connections are "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is a 1967 British film made based on the novel of the same name by Hunter Davies. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France....
" which may have been sung by women inmates at Wakefield prison. and
"The Grand Old Duke of York
The Grand Old Duke of York
‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ is an English children's nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. The Duke of the title has been argued to be a number of the holders of that office, particularly Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany and its lyrics have become proverbial for futile action...
" which may allude to the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, referring to Richard Plantagenet
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III...
, the 3rd Duke of York.
Wakefield is known as the capital of the Rhubarb Triangle
Rhubarb Triangle
The Rhubarb Triangle is a triangle in West Yorkshire, England located between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell famous for producing early forced rhubarb. It includes Kirkhamgate, East Ardsley, Stanley, Lofthouse and Carlton. The Rhubarb Triangle was originally much bigger covering an area between...
, an area notable for growing early forced rhubarb
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short, thick rhizomes. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular-shaped with long fleshy petioles...
. In July 2005 a statue was erected to celebrate this facet of Wakefield which also hosts an annual Rhubarb Festival.
Wakefield has two newspapers, The Wakefield Express
Wakefield Express
The Wakefield Express is the newspaper serving the City of Wakefield district in West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1852 and was the subject of a centenary film produced by Lindsay Anderson in 1952...
and the Wakefield Guardian, and a radio station, Ridings FM
Ridings FM
Ridings FM is the Independent Local Radio station serving Wakefield and the Five Towns area since 3 October 1999. It is owned by the Lincs FM Group....
.
The National Coal Mining Museum for England
National Coal Mining Museum for England
The National Coal Mining Museum for England is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1988 as the Yorkshire Mining Museum and was granted national status in 1995.-History:...
(an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
), the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
and Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
are within the metropolitan area as is Walton Hall
Walton Hall, West Yorkshire
Walton Hall is a stately home in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Wakefield. It was built in the Palladian style around 1767 on an island within a 26 acre lake, on the site of a former moated medieval hall. It was the ancestral home of the naturalist and traveller Charles Waterton, who...
, a Georgian mansion set in what was the world's first nature reserve, created by the explorer Charles Waterton
Charles Waterton
Charles Waterton was an English naturalist and explorer.-Heritage and Life:"Squire" Waterton was born at Walton Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire to Thomas Waterton and Anne Bedingfield. He was of a Roman Catholic landed gentry family descended from Reiner de Waterton...
, now a hotel.
Sport
Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
is a rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club currently playing in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. The club, founded in 1873, was one of the initial founders of the Northern Union
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
after the split from the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
in 1895. The club plays at Belle Vue
Belle Vue (Wakefield)
Belle Vue is a rugby league stadium in Wakefield, England. It is the home stadium of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. It is located beside the A638 Doncaster Road, approximately one mile south of Wakefield City Centre.- Description :Currently, the East stand has a covered stand with seating, with some...
. Several local teams play in different leagues of the British Amateur Rugby League Association
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
, BARLA.
They include Wakefield City, Westgate Wolves, Crigglestone All Blacks, Kettlethorpe and Eastmoor Dragons.
Rugby Union Football is played at Sandal RFC and was played by Wakefield RFC
Wakefield RFC
Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901, and which dropped out of the English leagues in 2004 as a result of the effects of professionalism...
at College Grove from 1901 to 2004 when the club ceased to play..
Wakefield F.C.
Wakefield F.C.
Wakefield F.C. is an English football club based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The club was previously known as Emley A.F.C. from 1903 to 2002.-History:...
play in the Northern Premier League Division One North after moving from the village of Emley
Emley, West Yorkshire
Emley is a village in West Yorkshire, England between Huddersfield and Wakefield with a population of 1,867 according to the 2001 census. It is east of Huddersfield and west of Wakefield. The village lies in moorland close to the Emley Moor TV Transmitter...
in 2001. The club played at Belle Vue until the end of the 2005/6 season when it moved to Wakefield RFC's former ground at College Grove for the 2006/7 season. Wakefield Sports Club at College Grove also has the Yorkshire Regional Hockey Academy, Wakefield Bowls Club and Wakefield Squash Club on the same site.
The Wakefield Archers meet at QEGS in Wakefield or at Slazengers Sports Club, Horbury and has archers shooting Olympic re-curve bows, compound bows and longbows.
Thornes Park Athletics Stadium is home to Wakefield Harriers A.C. Members Martyn Bernard
Martyn Bernard
Martyn John Bernard is a British athlete competing in high jump.He has won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and a bronze medal in the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.In Osaka in 2007 he set an outdoor best of 2.29 in qualifying, and in the final after...
and Emily Freeman
Emily Freeman
Emily Kaye Freeman is a British senior female runner. She is currently associated with the Yorkshire / Wakefield Harriers & AC....
competed in the Beijing Olympics.
Local teams Newton Hill and Wakefield Thornes are members of the Leeds-West Riding Cricket League.
There is a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) watersports lake at Pugneys Country Park
Pugneys Country Park
Pugneys Country Park is a park located on the A636 between Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England and Junction 39 of the M1 motorway.The area was developed from a former opencast mine and a sand and gravel quarry and was opened to the public in 1985...
catering for non-powered watersports such as canoeing, sailing and windsurfing. Golf clubs include the municipal course at Lupset and the private Wakefield Golf Club at Sandal.
Wakefield has two successful current senior international swimmers
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
(Ian Perrell and Rachel Jack). Both former city of Wakefield swimming club members.
Public services
Wakefield PrisonWakefield (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison, located in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is the largest maximum security prison in the United Kingdom...
, originally built as a house of correction in 1594, is a maximum security prison. Wakefield is policed by the West Yorkshire Police force and is within the DA, Wakefield division, which covers the whole district. The statutory emergency fire and rescue service
Fire service in the United Kingdom
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
is provided by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England...
, from Wakefield fire station. Hospital services are provided by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and community health services, including GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
s, district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are co-ordinated by Wakefield District Primary Care Trust.
Waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
is co-ordinated by the local authority. Wakefield's Distribution Network Operator
Distribution Network Operator
Distribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....
for electricity is CE Electric
CE Electric UK
Northern Powergrid Holdings Company is an electrical distribution company based in Newcastle Upon Tyne in England...
via Yorkshire Electricity
Yorkshire Electricity
Yorkshire Electricity was an electricity distribution utility in the UK serving much of Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.-History:...
. Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its origins in the Yorkshire Water Authority, one of ten...
manages Wakefield's drinking
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and waste water.
Notable people
Sculptor Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield in 1903. David StoreyDavid Storey
David Rhames Storey is an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a former professional rugby league player....
born in Wakefield in 1933 was a novelist and playwright who in 1960 wrote "This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life is a 1963 British film based on a novel of the same name by David Storey which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. It tells the story of a rugby league footballer, Frank Machin, in Wakefield, a mining area of Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting...
" which was made into a film in 1963. Former Archbishop of York, David Hope, born 1940, The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Hope of Thornes
David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes
David Michael Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes KCVO PC was the Archbishop of York in the Church of England from 1995 to 2005.-Early career:...
KCVO PC, was born in Thornes.
Twin cities
Wakefield is twinned with several towns and cities including: CastresCastres
Castres is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Hénin-Beaumont
Hénin-Beaumont
Hénin-Beaumont is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Hénin-Beaumont used to be a coalmining and is now a light industrial town situated some east of Lens, at the junction of the N43, D919 and the D39 roads...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Konin
Konin
Konin is a city in central Poland.Konin may also refer to:*Emperor Kōnin , emperor of Japan who reigned 770–781**Kōnin , a Japanese era name for the years 810–824...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Alfeld (Leine)
Alfeld
For the town in the district of Nürnberger Land, see Alfeld, Bavaria.Alfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the Leine river in the district of Hildesheim and on the German Framework Road.-History and main sights:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Castrop-Rauxel
Castrop-Rauxel
-Geography:Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum , Herne , and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.- Urban Area :The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...