Allerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the south-east of the
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, W ...
metropolitan borough in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,717. The village itself is north of
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...
, with neighbouring villages
Kippax and
Great Preston all providing local amenities.
St Aidan's Nature reserve borders the village attracting many visitors with its beauty and charm. Additionally "The Lines Way" bridle path which runs from
Garforth
Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...
through to Allerton following the old train track provides a pleasant route for walkers, joggers and cyclists alike.
The
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
flows through the village to the south-west.
Allerton Bywater is built up of several smaller communities, mainly old mining villages such as Brigshaw, Hollinhurst and Bowers Row.
Etymology
The name ''Allerton'' is first attested in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
, in the forms ''Alretun'', ''Alretune'' and ''Alretona''. It comes from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
word ''alor'' ('alder tree'), in its
genitive plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
form ''alra'', and the word ''tūn'' ('farmstead, estate'). Thus it originally meant 'farmstead of the alder trees'.
[Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Names Society, 2017).]
Since ''Allerton'' is a common place-name in Yorkshire, the name 'by water' was added to distinguish it from places such as
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...
and
Moor Allerton
Moor Allerton is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area is situated in North Leeds, near to King Lane and the Leeds Outer Ring Road.
Description
The majority of Moor Allerton is situated in the Alwoodley ward of Leeds City Counci ...
; it refers to the village's proximity to the River Aire. This appellation is first attested in Latin form, as 'Allerton juxta aquam' ('Allerton next to water'), in 1258. The name is first recorded in English in 1430 as 'Allerton by þe water'.
The settlement also comprises Allerton Ings, first attested in 1554 as ''Allerton ynges''. The last element of this name comes from the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
word ''ing'' ('meadow'), itself borrowed from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
''eng'' (of the same meaning).
Early history
Coal mining
Coal mining in the area can be traced back to the 15th century. In the 17th century
Bell pit mining took place in the south east corner of Hollinhurst Wood. The first colliery in the village operated from 1756 to 1820 mining the shallow Warren House seam. From 1840 to 1875 the 140 yard deep Haigh Moor seam was exploited. The Allerton Bywater Colliery was the third colliery in the village and operated from 1875 until its closure in 1992. Other pits operated in the neighbouring communities of Hollinhurst and Bowers Row, including Allerton Main Collieries (Albert and Victoria Pits), Lowther Colliery and Allerton Colliery. The human cost of mining coal was high. At least 99 miners died in the village collieries between 1856 and 1991, including 14 boys under the age of 18. The worst disaster was an
explosion in March 1930 which killed five men. When Allerton Bywater Colliery closed, 1,060 jobs were lost and millions of tonnes of coal were abandoned underground.
Allerton Pottery
Robinson Brothers operated as earthenware and pottery manufacturers at premises on Main Street, Allerton Bywater. A fire at the pottery in 1888 caused £700 worth of damage to the upper storey and roof of a building measuring 20 yards long by 8 yards wide. 2 tons of straw were lost in the blaze which was caused by a pan of wax boiling over. A map of Allerton Bywater dated 1893 shows the site of the pottery between the River Aire and Main Street at the northern end of the street.
The brothers, John and Tom, also operated a pottery in Castleford known as Eleven Acres Pottery. Examples of their red earthenware flower pots can be found in the Wakefield Museum Collections.
In 1898 the Robinson Brothers partnership was dissolved by mutual consent. Thereafter, John Robinson continued to carry on business at the Castleford Pottery and Tom Robinson continued at the Allerton Pottery.
By 1902 Tom was in financial difficulties and a receiving order was made in respect of his bankruptcy.
The Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks gives two marks for the Allerton Pottery: R.B. for Robinson Brothers (1897–1904) and J.R & S. for John Robinson & Son (1905–1933).
Bowers Row
Bowers Row was originally a mining community comprising eight streets, 120 houses, a school house and a chapel. Nearly every male resident worked at one of the two pits (Bowers Victoria and Bowers Albert) to the north of the village. The school was built in 1865 by the local landowners, the Lowthers. The first chapel, known as Bowers Allerton Mission Hall, was built in 1896. The current Mission Hall was started in 1927. The original houses were demolished in the 1950s and the school became the Alexander Rose sewing factory.
Recent history
A recent development within Allerton Bywater is the Millennium Village. The Allerton Bywater Millennium Village, part of the
Millennium Communities Programme will provide 520 homes (including low cost housing) and 25,000 m
2 of commercial and community space.
![The Victoria Pub, Main Street, Allerton Bywater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/The_Victoria_Pub%2C_Main_Street%2C_Allerton_Bywater._-_geograph.org.uk_-_234677.jpg)
In June 2007 residents and motorists were rescued from floodwaters by firefighters and RAF helicopter after torrential rain. Heavy rain in November 2000 also forced nearby residents from flooded homes. Allerton Bywater is approximately 1 mile from
St Aidan's, a 400 hectare wetland.
Allerton Bywater was in local and national news in 2008 when the Congregation of St John's Catholic church protested against the closure of their Parish Church, chaining themselves to railings when assessors came around to assess the value of the church and lands. This was followed by a strong campaign of letters and e-mails and interviews with the BBC. The congregation remaining loyal to their Priest petitioned the Vatican and employed a Catholic Canon Lawyer to defend their case. This was the strongest opposition to the closure of a Catholic Church in Yorkshire since 1989 when the Church of Mount St Marys in Leeds was closed which was seen at the time as a scandal.
The east Leeds bikers club is based in Allerton Bywater and holds meetings every Wednesday.
Jessica Learmonth, who in 2021 won the gold medal in the triathlon mixed relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, lives in Allerton Bywater.
Location grid
See also
*
Brigshaw High School
Brigshaw High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the village of Allerton Bywater, West Yorkshire, England.
History
The school was opened in September 1972 with only 3 buildings within the school grounds, the ...
*
List of Yorkshire Pits
References
External links
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{{authority control
Places in Leeds
Villages in West Yorkshire
Civil parishes in West Yorkshire
Millennium Communities Programme
Mining communities in England