Wortley, West Yorkshire
Encyclopedia
Wortley is a district of Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It begins one mile to the west of the city centre
.
In the 1086 Domesday Book
it is mentioned as Wirtlei, also Wirtleie and Wrleia. Later it was known as Wirkelay until about 1700. Wortley was a weaving
township independent of Leeds before it became industrial with coal
pits, brick
works, railway yards and engine sheds
—including a roundhouse
, on Wellington Road. This Listed building, originally constructed to house a dozen or so steam locomotives, is now the premises of a major commercial vehicle hire company. In the 1880s, Wortley became incorporated into the expanding (then) town of Leeds.
Wortley is divided into three areas: New Wortley, Upper Wortley and Lower Wortley.
New Wortley is the area closest to Leeds city centre, Armley
and Holbeck
and close to HMP Leeds. It is largely made up of 1960s high-rise flats and maisonettes.
Upper Wortley is situated between Armley and Lower Wortley; specifically between the boundaries of Tong Road to the north and Oldfield Lane/ Green Hill Lane to the south. It consists of a variety of Victorian terraces, 1950's semi-detached houses and modern low-rise flats and houses.
Lower Wortley is furthest from the city centre, closer to Farnley and between the boundaries of Oldfield Lane/ Green Hill Lane to the north and Gelderd Road to the South. Housing in Lower Wortley is predominantly 1950's semi-detached with some modern low-rise flats and houses. Lower Wortley is home to Makro
and Matalan
as well as many car dealership
s, including main dealers for brands such as Lotus
, Aston Martin
, Kia
, Maserati
, Honda
, Porsche
, Ford and Mazda
. These are popular in this area of the city due to Lower Wortley's convenient location close to the Leeds Outer Ring Road
and the M621 motorway
.
. While Wortley was home to some smaller industrial works, its proximity to the industrial centres of Armley and Holbeck encouraged gradual growth. Perhaps Wortley's most notable features at this time were the vast array of railway junctions and its two gasworks, a smaller one in Lower Wortley and Leeds' largest gasworks in New Wortley which is still marked by the presence of a large spiral guided gasholder.
The landscape of Wortley changed considerably following World War II
, when both the Leeds Corporation
and private developers redeveloped the Victorian slum areas which had characterised Wortley since it developed. New Wortley was largely developed through the building of social housing, mainly in the form of high rise flats and prefabricted houses. Despite being built opposite what was then a gas works and is now a storage facility, the prefabricated houses were built with 'all-electric' heating, as was common at the time. In 2009, as part of a fuel poverty scheme the homes were connected to gas.
Lower Wortley and Upper Wortley saw less development than New Wortley with many of their larger Victorian through terracing still remaining and the redevelopment largely being undertaken by private developers who favoured low rise developments using more traditional methods of construction.
and Armley
Town Street (which offers a broader range of amenities than Wortley), there are still many parades of smaller local shops. There is a supermarket in Upper Wortley on Oldfield Lane operated by Netto
, although this was originally an Asda
store. This store will convert to an 'Asda Supermarket' later in 2011, following the purchase of Netto stores in the UK by Asda in 2010. There are about 12 pubs, and although there are no restaurants there are numerous take-away establishments.
There are three main parks: Wortley Recreation Ground, Cliffe Park and Western Flats Park
Wortley Recreation Ground is closest to the city centre, and offers surprisingly good views of surrounding areas, including the city centre. Often also referred to as New Worley Recreation Ground, it includes a children's playground, a skateboard park, three bowling greens and a number of pitches are marked out for football and rugby. The bowling greens and club building were a major filming location for the four-part Yorkshire Television
comedy drama the Beiderbecke Connection, broadcast in 1988. Other brief scenes were filmed in the locality, including on Colmore Grove and Highfield Avenue.
Cliffe Park and Western Flats Park form one large park, though they were once the grounds of separate mansions – Cliffe House and Western Flats House. The latter was demolished a long time ago, but in the 1930s the former was handed over to the then Leeds Education Committee and turned into a residential school for 'difficult' boys, though now it has been lying derelict for many years.
is at the old West Leeds site. Farnley Park College also lies nearby, while further West, Crawshaw School
is also close.
was born in Wortley.
The area has associations with three first world war
Victoria Cross
recipients. George Sanders
was born in New Wortley in 1894, while the grave of Arthur Poulter
is located in New Wortley cemetery and the grave of Wilfred Edwards
is in Oldfield Lane cemetery.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It begins one mile to the west of the city centre
Leeds City Centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...
.
In the 1086 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...
it is mentioned as Wirtlei, also Wirtleie and Wrleia. Later it was known as Wirkelay until about 1700. Wortley was a weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
township independent of Leeds before it became industrial with coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
pits, brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
works, railway yards and engine sheds
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
—including a roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
, on Wellington Road. This Listed building, originally constructed to house a dozen or so steam locomotives, is now the premises of a major commercial vehicle hire company. In the 1880s, Wortley became incorporated into the expanding (then) town of Leeds.
Wortley is divided into three areas: New Wortley, Upper Wortley and Lower Wortley.
New Wortley is the area closest to Leeds city centre, Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
and Holbeck
Holbeck
Holbeck is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 Leeds postcode area. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since...
and close to HMP Leeds. It is largely made up of 1960s high-rise flats and maisonettes.
Upper Wortley is situated between Armley and Lower Wortley; specifically between the boundaries of Tong Road to the north and Oldfield Lane/ Green Hill Lane to the south. It consists of a variety of Victorian terraces, 1950's semi-detached houses and modern low-rise flats and houses.
Lower Wortley is furthest from the city centre, closer to Farnley and between the boundaries of Oldfield Lane/ Green Hill Lane to the north and Gelderd Road to the South. Housing in Lower Wortley is predominantly 1950's semi-detached with some modern low-rise flats and houses. Lower Wortley is home to Makro
Makro
Makro is a Dutch chain of Warehouse clubs, also called cash and carries. The first one opened in 1968 in Amsterdam. In the following years more stores opened in the Netherlands and in several other countries within Europe. In the 1970s and 1980s Makro extended its business to the Americas and...
and Matalan
Matalan
Matalan is a British retailer that specialises in shoes and clothes. It was founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. It currently has 200 stores across the UK. The 200th store opened on 22 September 2006 in Croydon...
as well as many car dealership
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
s, including main dealers for brands such as Lotus
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
, Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
, Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
, Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, Ford and Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
. These are popular in this area of the city due to Lower Wortley's convenient location close to the Leeds Outer Ring Road
Leeds Outer Ring Road
The Leeds Outer Ring Road is a main road that runs around most of the perimeter of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The ring road is approximately long and consists of single and dual carriageways....
and the M621 motorway
M621 motorway
The M621 motorway is a short loop of motorway in England that takes traffic into central Leeds between the M1 and M62 motorways. It is the second longest motorway in the United Kingdom to carry a three digit number although it carries more junctions than any other three digit motorway within the...
.
History
Wortley grew, much like surrounding areas during the industrial revolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. While Wortley was home to some smaller industrial works, its proximity to the industrial centres of Armley and Holbeck encouraged gradual growth. Perhaps Wortley's most notable features at this time were the vast array of railway junctions and its two gasworks, a smaller one in Lower Wortley and Leeds' largest gasworks in New Wortley which is still marked by the presence of a large spiral guided gasholder.
The landscape of Wortley changed considerably following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when both the Leeds Corporation
County Borough of Leeds
The County Borough of Leeds, and its predecessor, the Municipal Borough of Leeds, was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1835 to 1974. Its origin was the ancient borough of Leeds, which was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835...
and private developers redeveloped the Victorian slum areas which had characterised Wortley since it developed. New Wortley was largely developed through the building of social housing, mainly in the form of high rise flats and prefabricted houses. Despite being built opposite what was then a gas works and is now a storage facility, the prefabricated houses were built with 'all-electric' heating, as was common at the time. In 2009, as part of a fuel poverty scheme the homes were connected to gas.
Lower Wortley and Upper Wortley saw less development than New Wortley with many of their larger Victorian through terracing still remaining and the redevelopment largely being undertaken by private developers who favoured low rise developments using more traditional methods of construction.
Amenities
Wortley is largely a residential area, with a fairly high population density. Although it is close to Leeds city centreLeeds City Centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...
and Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
Town Street (which offers a broader range of amenities than Wortley), there are still many parades of smaller local shops. There is a supermarket in Upper Wortley on Oldfield Lane operated by Netto
Netto
Netto is Danish/Norwegian/Swedish/Dutch/German for "net" . In most European languages the word "netto" refers to net worth or net pay.It may also refer to:...
, although this was originally an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
store. This store will convert to an 'Asda Supermarket' later in 2011, following the purchase of Netto stores in the UK by Asda in 2010. There are about 12 pubs, and although there are no restaurants there are numerous take-away establishments.
There are three main parks: Wortley Recreation Ground, Cliffe Park and Western Flats Park
Wortley Recreation Ground is closest to the city centre, and offers surprisingly good views of surrounding areas, including the city centre. Often also referred to as New Worley Recreation Ground, it includes a children's playground, a skateboard park, three bowling greens and a number of pitches are marked out for football and rugby. The bowling greens and club building were a major filming location for the four-part Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
comedy drama the Beiderbecke Connection, broadcast in 1988. Other brief scenes were filmed in the locality, including on Colmore Grove and Highfield Avenue.
Cliffe Park and Western Flats Park form one large park, though they were once the grounds of separate mansions – Cliffe House and Western Flats House. The latter was demolished a long time ago, but in the 1930s the former was handed over to the then Leeds Education Committee and turned into a residential school for 'difficult' boys, though now it has been lying derelict for many years.
Education
Wortley has one high school, Swallow Hill High School, Swallow Hill Community CollegeSwallow Hill Community College
Swallow Hill Community College is a new comprehensive school, built to replace the former West Leeds High School and Wortley High Schools. The school opened in September 2009 using two sites, the main site on the previous West Leeds High fields and the Wortley High buildings for the lower...
is at the old West Leeds site. Farnley Park College also lies nearby, while further West, Crawshaw School
Crawshaw School
Crawshaw School is a secondary school in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It gained specialist humanities status in 2005. The 2011 Ofsted inspection report gave the school an overall grade 2 ....
is also close.
Landmarks
Perhaps the two most prominent structures in Wortley are the New Wortley gas holder (the largest in Leeds) situated on Welington Road adjacent to the Armley Gyratory and the Clyde Grange Flats situated off Tong Road which are the tallest buildings in the Wortley area.Notable people
The Aston Villa and former Leeds United footballer James MilnerJames Milner
Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...
was born in Wortley.
The area has associations with three first world war
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...
Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
recipients. George Sanders
George Sanders (VC)
George Sanders VC MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
was born in New Wortley in 1894, while the grave of Arthur Poulter
Arthur Poulter
Arthur Poulter VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
is located in New Wortley cemetery and the grave of Wilfred Edwards
Wilfred Edwards
Major Wilfred Edwards VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
is in Oldfield Lane cemetery.