Headingley is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the
A660 road
The A660 is a major road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportati ...
. Headingley is the location of the
Beckett Park campus of
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
and
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The grounds a ...
.
The vast majority of the area sits in the
Headingley and Hyde Park ward of
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
and
Leeds North West
Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Sobel, of Labour Co-op.
Boundaries
1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Far He ...
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
.
History
![OriginalOakLS6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/OriginalOakLS6.jpg)
![Headingley Avenue - Canterbury Drive - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Headingley_Avenue_-_Canterbury_Drive_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1102435.jpg)
Headingley was mentioned 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 manusc ...
'' in 1086 as ''Hedingelei'' or ''Hedingeleia'' when it was recorded that Ilbert de Lacy held 7 carucates (about 840 acres) of land. The name is thought to derive from Old English ''Head(d)inga'' 'of the descendants of Head(d)a' + ''lēah'' 'open ground', thus meaning "the clearing of Hedda's people". Headda has sometimes been identified with Saint
Hædde
Hædde (died 705) was a medieval monk and Bishop of Winchester.
Life
Hædde is believed to have been born in Headingley, Leeds, and became a monk of Whitby Abbey.Benedictine Monks of Ramsgate. ''The Book of Saints'' p.254Hunt. ''Dictionary of N ...
.
A stone coffin found near
Beckett Park in 1995 suggests there may have been an earlier settlement in late
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
or post-Roman times.
From
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
times, Headingley was the centre of the
Skyrack
Skyrack was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the parishes of Aberford, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Thorne ...
wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...
or ''Siaraches'', the "
Shire oak
The English folk legend of a shire oak, under the spreading limbs of which the ancient Anglo-Saxon open-air folkmoots and ''things'' were held, is a feature of Merry England:
"In olden times the rude hustings, with its noisy surging crowds, was ...
". The name may refer to an oak tree that was a meeting place for settling legal disputes and raising armies.
An ancient oak, said to be the Shire Oak, stood to the north of St Michael's Church until 1941, and gives its name to two public houses, the Original Oak and the Skyrack.
During the 13th century William de Poiteven gave land in Headingley to
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...
, and in 1341 the remainder of the township of Headingley-cum-Burley was given to the monastery by the owner, John de Calverley.
![Shire oak in Headingley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Shire_oak_in_Headingley.jpg)
A map of 1711 shows Headingley as having a chapel, cottages and farmsteads scattered around a triangle of land formed by the merging of routes from north, west and south. Enclosed fields were situated around the settlement with a large tract of common land, Headingley Moor, to the north. In an 1801
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Headingley's population was given as 300.
An 1829 Act of Parliament enclosed Headingley Moor and the land was placed for sale. Around 30 workers' cottages encroached on the fringes of the moor before 1829. Land here was generally cheaper than that at Headingley Hill as it failed to attract the building of affluent villas. This brought about the building of smaller terraced housing around Moor Road and Cottage Road. In the mid 19th century,
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
had begun to develop over what was largely unclaimed common land.
Headingley was a village until the expansion of Leeds during the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and became a popular suburb where the rich moved to escape the filth and pollution of the city.
In 1840,
Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens
Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens, also known as Headingley Zoo and later Leeds Royal Gardens, was open between 1840 and 1858 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, approximately two miles out of the city centre and covering the area now o ...
opened but despite the opening of the nearby
Headingley railway station
Headingley railway station (formerly known as Headingley and Kirkstall railway station until some point early in the 20th century) is off Kirkstall Lane in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the Harrogate Line, north west of Leeds. The stati ...
in 1849, the zoo was loss-making and closed in 1858.
The bear pit survives on Cardigan Road.
Meanwood Beck
The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Carr ...
, to the east of the village, was a source of water for the early inhabitants and later provided a source of power for the Victorians of Leeds.
The
Leeds Tramway
Leeds Corporation Tramways formerly served the city of Leeds, England. The original trams were horse-drawn, but the city introduced Britain's first overhead-powered electric trams in 1891, and by 1901, electrification had been completed. The tr ...
terminated at a depot at Far Headingley between 1875 and 1959. The trams improved the accessibility of Headingley from
Leeds city centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters.
C ...
, which facilitated growth and attracted affluent middle class inhabitants. The tramway perhaps ended Headingley's village status and made it into a suburb.
With exception of
Beckett Park and the surrounding area, most of Headingley had been developed by the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1911 census the population of Headingley was in excess of 46,000.
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
(formerly Leeds Metropolitan University) has a campus at Beckett Park in Headingley. Much of the housing around Kirkstall Lane is rented to students. The conversion of Leeds Polytechnic into a university and its subsequent growth brought about an increased student population.
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The grounds a ...
hosts
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
test matches and
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
matches bringing many spectators to the area. The cricket ground has been enlarged to maintain its eligibility for test matches and in 2006 the eastern terraces on the rugby ground were replaced with the Carnegie stand. The winter shed cricket pavilion has been replaced with a new stand and media centre.
Sports
Professional
Headingley is also known in sporting circles; its stadium is known as
Headingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...
– earlier spelt Headingly. The stadium is home to the
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...
as well as the
Leeds Rhinos
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
and
Yorkshire Carnegie
Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1.
The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
clubs.
For many decades the stadium remained largely unchanged. Since 2000, however, the
cricket ground
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
has been nearly entirely rebuilt in order to retain
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
status. The winter shed was demolished in 2008 and replaced by a new stand and media centre, giving the approach to the north entrance a distinctive and modern waymark. The
rugby ground also saw development with the building of the Carnegie Stand which replaced the former Eastern Terraces. This was built with co-operation from
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
who retain lecture rooms in the building.
Amateur
Headingley also boasts an amateur
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, Headingley AFC. The club nearly folded after losing its home ground, however in 2008, the club was offered a new ground by the
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...
, before moving to Weetwood Playing Fields, owned by the University of Leeds. They attracted media attention in January 2019 for featuring a shirt sponsor warning of the dangers of gambling. There is also two amateur cricket clubs
Headingley Bramhope CC& St. Chads CC) in
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
.
Politics
Politically, almost all of Headingley is in the
Leeds North West
Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Sobel, of Labour Co-op.
Boundaries
1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Far He ...
constituency. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is
Alex Sobel (
Labour Party) who succeeded
Greg Mulholland
Gregory Thomas Mulholland (born 31 August 1970) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the MP for Leeds North West.
He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected wi ...
(
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
) in the
2017 general election. At a local government level, the ward of
Headingley and Hyde Park has three Labour
councillors
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
, Al Garthwaite, Jonathan Pryor and Neil Walshaw.
A small part of Headingley, specifically the area around Queenswood Drive, sits in the
Kirkstall ward and the
Leeds West
Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of elect ...
constituency, where the current MP is
Rachel Reeves
Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.
Born in Lewis ...
of
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
.
Amenities
![Headingley Taps 3388](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Headingley_Taps_3388.jpg)
Headingley has two renowned fish and chip shops/fish restaurants
which have been operating since the 1930s: Brett's, a 19th-century stone building on North Lane, and The Fisherman's Lodge (formerly Bryan's), a more modern building on Weetwood Lane. There are several pubs and bars plus extensive shopping areas. The pub Headingley Taps is so called because it was formerly a water pumping station.
Other pubs and bars include the famous Original Oak, Skyrack, Head of Steam, Arcadia and Manahatta (formerly Arc). Close by in Far Headingley are in close proximity The New Inn, The Three Horseshoes and Woodies. In Headingley Central (formerly the
Arndale Centre
Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the United Kingdom. In total, twenty three Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a ped ...
) there is a
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
(formerly a
Somerfield
Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...
), a
Wilko, a
Boots the Chemist
Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists), trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and other countries and territories including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand an ...
and several other chain shops as well as a small
multi-storey car park
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
. Headingley also has a small library on North Lane. There are many banks, building societies, restaurants, cafes and charity shops. Along Otley Road there is a large Oxfam bookshop. Until 2005, Headingley had two cinemas, 'The Lounge' and '
The Cottage Road Cinema' (usually referred to as 'Cottage Road'). The Lounge Cinema in the centre of Headingley has since closed and is being redeveloped as office and living accommodation, leaving only Cottage Road in
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
. The area's
Woolworths closed in the 1990s. Until the 1980s, the Arndale Centre boasted a
bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
. The Arndale Centre began undergoing an external facelift in 2009. The nearest large supermarket is a
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...
in
Kirkstall
Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. The area sits in the Kirkstall ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds West parliamentary constituency, represented by Rachel Reeves. Th ...
, approximately a mile away from the centre of Headingley. There is a
Premier Inn
Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...
hotel above the Arndale Centre in the tallest building in Headingley, formerly an office block. Headingley is also famous for the
Otley Run
The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The route shares much in common with the Headingley Mile (a similar crawl in LS6) but usually incorporating more pubs on the A660 road, typically those towards Leeds City Centre.
The Ot ...
, which is a pub crawl starting at Woodies Ale House in
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
and finishing at the Dry Dock near Leeds City Centre. Typically the Otley run is done in fancy dress.
People
Many famous writers, past and present, are connected with Headingley:
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...
, best known perhaps for the children's classic ''
Swallows and Amazons
''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, ...
'', was born there,
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
the writer and author of ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', lived there when he worked at the university, playwright
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...
once lived over a butcher's shop (now a dry cleaner's) opposite the Three Horseshoes and TV writer
Kay Mellor
The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own r ...
lived in Weetwood. Many writers and poets who currently live in the area participate in the annual Headingley LitFest, which takes place each March, using venues like the Heart Centre, The New Headingley Club, various cafés and private houses. The tenth LitFest took place in 2017. Reviews of all talks and performances are online on the LitFest blog.
In the time of Queen Victoria,
Prince Alemayehu
''Dejazmatch'' Alemayehu Tewodros, often referred to as HIH Prince Alemayehu or Alamayou of Ethiopia (23 April 1861 – 14 November 1879) was the son of Emperor Tewodros II and Empress Tiruwork Wube of Ethiopia.
Biography
Alemayu's father, Emp ...
of Abyssinia, brought to England after the defeat of his father
King Tewedros, died of pneumonia at an address in Hollin Lane,
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
.
Edward Baines, editor of the ''
Leeds Mercury
The ''Leeds Mercury'' was a newspaper published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was published from 1718 to 1755 and again from 1767. Initially it consisted of 12 pages and cost three halfpennies. In 1794 it had a circulation of about 3,00 ...
'' in the 19th century, lived at Headingley Lodge, north of Kirkstall Lane, and then St Ann's Hill on St Ann's Lane.
The social reformer, suffragist and writer
Isabella Ford
Isabella Ormston Ford (23 May 1855 – 14 July 1924) was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and worker's rights. After becoming concerned wi ...
was born in Headingley in 1855.
Yorkshire Ripper
Peter Sutcliffe
Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
committed two of his 20 attacks in Headingley. He killed 20-year-old Jacqueline Hill – the last of the 13 women he killed – in the area on 17 November 1980. On 24 September that year, he had also attacked
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
born doctor Upadhya Bandara, 34, in the area, but she survived his assault. Sutcliffe was arrested within two months of Hill's murder and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for a total of 13 murders and seven attempted murders.
Headingley Development Trust
![Headingley and Far Headingley map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Headingley_and_Far_Headingley_map..jpg)
HDT is a community benefit society, founded in 2005 by local residents, organisations and small businesses, with the aim of promoting and developing a sustainable, balanced community in Headingley. It is a community business that is self-financing and achieves it aims by delivering, brokering and supporting a range of initiatives that benefit the local community. HDT now has over 1,200 members, making it one of the largest Development Trusts of its kind in the UK. In 2018 it successfully raised over £480,000 through a community share offer to create the Headingley Investment Fund (HIF) will enable it to further extend its work.
HDT activities currently include:
Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre (HEART) opened in 2011 in the old Bennett Road primary school building which was completely refurbished and extended. It is to date Headingley's biggest ever community project. HEART accommodates rehearsal and meeting spaces and training rooms on the ground floor, a café with outdoor and conservatory seating areas and Pulse a 'catalyst’ business centre on the first floor particularly targeted at the arts and media industry. HEART is a true community business which runs without any grant support.
The Headingley Greengrocer became HDT's latest venture when they stepped in to buy the business in April 2019 from RK Harris and Son who were retiring after running it for over 40 years. The site has been a greengrocers shop for over 100 years and a much loved part of the Headingley shopping centre. The Headingley Greengrocer will extend this tradition providing high quality fruit and vegetables and local produce wherever possible and reducing reliance on single use plastics.
Headingley Farmers’ Market has been held every month for over thirteen years on the Rose Garden in the centre of Headingley, providing a community focus as well as where people can buy good quality, food from local Yorkshire producers. There is music at every market and a very popular children's game.
Headingley Homes is an initiative that aims to help balance the Headingley neighbourhood by providing affordable homes for people who want to put down roots here. It intervenes directly in the housing market, owning property and also leasing it from public-spirited local owners.
Promoting Headingley aims to celebrate Headingley as a desirable place to live, work and explore for current and prospective long-term residents and businesses.
Headingley Cafe Scientifique meets to hear about and debate ideas in science and technology through talks from local experts. All are welcome and meetings are on the second Monday of each month in the New Headingley Club.
Talking Heads at HEART is a monthly gathering which aims to stimulate, inform and enliven. Expert speakers introduce and host discussion on topics concerning culture, politics, economics or social issues and often aiming to set a national issue within a local context.
Films at HEART organises a monthly programme of films, drawing on the best of contemporary, independent feature films and documentaries from European and World cinema. It works with local festivals and film-makers.
The Headingley Community Orchard group finds unused bits of land and plants fruit trees and bushes. It aims to improve the local environment, protect green spaces and help bio-diversity, involve local people and provide learning for new skills.
The Headingley Graffiti Working Group group aims to help residents and businesses tackle illegal tagging and to promote positive alternatives such as supporting the development of street art and murals.
Table Tennis at HEART offers weekly sessions on Monday evenings. Players are aged 9 to 69 of all standards and new players are very welcome.
HDT has also worked with local businesses and helped set up the Natural Food Store on North Lane, now a successful independent co-operative.
Churches
Headingley Parish Church is dedicated to
St Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and All
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s, and is a large, grade II*
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
, steepled church on the corner of
Otley Road and St Michael's Road, opposite the Skyrack public house.
The Church was built between 1884 and 1886 as the third church on this site. There is a separate parish of
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.
The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...
, with its parish church of
St Chad's
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
(also a large steepled church and grade II* listed).
South Parade
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
church (1908 and 1925, part of Cornerstone Baptist Church since 2020) and Headingley
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
Church (1840–45 and later extensions) are both grade II listed. St Columba's
United Reformed
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Origins and history
The United Reformed Church resulte ...
church is a modern building, as is the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
parish church of St Urban's, located to the east of the area. Hinsley Hall in Headingley is the pastoral and conference centre for the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds is a Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite centred on Leeds Cathedral in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley, which h ...
. The small
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
church of St Luke's in Alma Road was converted from the coach house and stable of a Victorian villa.
The
Anglican Bishop of Leeds
The Anglican Bishop of Leeds is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York.
The diocese and see were created by The Dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield Reorganisation Scheme 2013 on 20 Apr ...
and the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds
The Bishop of Leeds is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds in the Province of Liverpool, England.
The Vicariate Apostolic of the Yorkshire District was elevated to diocese status as the Diocese of Beverley on 29 September 185 ...
both live within the Headingley area.
File:St Chad Headingley 6 August 2018 2.jpg, St Chad's Church
File:Headingley St Columba.jpg, St Columba United Reformed Church
File:The Ashwood Centre, Headingley Lane (geograph 4773162).jpg, Headingley Hill Congregational Church
Headingley Hill Congregational Church is a redundant church, redundant Unitarianism, Unitarian church at the corner of Headingley Lane and Cumberland Road, in the Headingley area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The church, which is a Grade II ...
File:South Parade Baptist Church 14 July 2018 2.jpg, South Parade (now Cornerstone) Baptist Church
File:Headingley Methodist Church 14 July 2018.jpg, Headingley Methodist Church
File:St Urban's Catholic Church - Grove Road, Headingley - geograph.org.uk - 379998.jpg, St Urban's Catholic Church
File:Ebenezer Particular Baptist Church - Grove Lane - geograph.org.uk - 783503.jpg, Ebenezer Partiucular Baptist Church
File:St Luke's Alma Rd 8 Sep 2017.jpg, St Luke's Lutheran Church
File:St Luke's Alma Rd inside 8 Sep 2017.jpg, St Luke's: interior
Buildings of architectural interest
![The Golden Beam, Headingley (entrance), June 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/The_Golden_Beam%2C_Headingley_%28entrance%29%2C_June_2021.jpg)
![Spring_House,_St_Michaels_Road,_Headingley,_Leeds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Spring_House%2C_St_Michaels_Road%2C_Headingley%2C_Leeds.jpg)
![Headingley Hall, Shire Oak Road - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Headingley_Hall%2C_Shire_Oak_Road_-_geograph.org.uk_-_141200.jpg)
According to one source ''"Headingley has the most important group of large and small villas and mansions in the city.''"
and has more than 100 listed buildings.
Parts of Headingley are included in
Conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s established by
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
.
Individual
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s include
St Michael's Church and associated buildings,
the
Hyde Park Picture House
The Hyde Park Picture House is a cinema and Grade II listed building in the Hyde Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Built by Thomas Winn & Sons, it opened on 7 November 1914. It features many original features, such as an ornate ba ...
,
the
Elinor Lupton Centre,
Moorfield House in Alma Road
and the former
St Margaret of Antioch church building on Cardigan Road.
The mid-19th century
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
Spring House in St Michael's Road, Headingley, was operating as a
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
centre during the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was the permanent address for matters relating to
VAD nurses during this time;
Olive Middleton, great-grandmother of the
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton).
The title was firs ...
, gave her permanent address as "Spring House, St Michael's Road, Headingley" when living and working at
Gledhow Hall
Gledhow Hall is an English country house in Gledhow, Leeds, West Yorkshire. A house, built in the 17th-century by John Thwaites, was remodelled for a new owner by the Yorkshire architect John Carr. It is a Grade II* listed building and has bee ...
and elsewhere as a VAD nurse during the Great War. Residing with her at Spring House at this time were her two sisters-in-law; Gertrude Middleton (1876–1942), a former
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
student who also worked as a VAD nurse at Gledhow Hall and her sister Ellen Middleton (1872-1949) who volunteered as "
head cook" at Gledhow Hall.
A number of premises were named Spring House in and around Leeds, at times operating as a Home for Friendless Girls in the early decades of the 20th century.
Headingley Castle was built in 1846 and was owned in 1866 by cloth merchant Arthur Lupton (1809–1889) of the
Lupton family
The Lupton family in Yorkshire achieved prominence in ecclesiastical and academic circles in England in the Tudor era through the fame of Roger Lupton, provost of Eton College and chaplain to Henry VII and Henry VIII. By the Georgian era, ...
. It was the home from 1909 to 1943 of entrepreneur and art collector
Frank Harris Fulford
Frank Harris Fulford was an entrepreneur, art collector and businessman. Born in Canada in 1868, Fulford was educated in Leipzig then he returned to Brockville, a city in Eastern Ontario, where he worked as a dealer in music. He married sometime be ...
, and later used to house a school for the blind.
Headingley also has a typical example of a 1960s
Arndale Centre
Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the United Kingdom. In total, twenty three Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a ped ...
. Housing in Headingley is generally
Victorian and early 20th century and mostly of little architectural note.
Headingley in media
The
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
television series ''
Fat Friends
''Fat Friends'' (also known as ''Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends'') is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in Leeds, the series explores the lives of several slimm ...
'' was set in Headingley. Large amounts of the eighties ITV ''
Beiderbecke Trilogy'' was filmed in and around Headingley and
Beckett Park, along with
Moor Grange and
Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...
. Parts of Headingley stood in for Northern Ireland in ''
Harrys Game
''Harry's Game'' is a British television drama mini-series made by ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television for ITV (TV network), ITV in 1982, closely based on the 1975 novel ''Harry's Game'' by Gerald Seymour, a former journalist. Apart from brief sc ...
'', and ''
A Touch of Frost
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' used locations in the area.
Gallery
Images of Headingley
File:Headingley War Memorial 14 July 2018.jpg, Headingley War Memorial
File:Arndale Headingley 2011.jpg, Arndale Centre
Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the United Kingdom. In total, twenty three Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a ped ...
Image:Arndale House.jpg, Arndale House, on top of the Arndale Centre, taken from the centre's roof
Image:Headingley2.jpg, A view of Headingley from the Arndale Centre
File:HinsleyHallLS2 2BX.jpg, Hinsley Hall (1867)
File:St Chads Headingley Tom.jpg, St. Chad's Church at twilight
File:Bear pit, Headingley 22 July 2018 1.jpg, The bear pit
A bear pit was historically used to display bears, typically for entertainment and especially bear-baiting. The pit area was normally surrounded by a high fence, above which the spectators would look down on the bears.
The most traditional form o ...
See also
*
Listed buildings in Leeds (Headingley Ward)
*
Elmet
Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...
*
Otley Run
The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The route shares much in common with the Headingley Mile (a similar crawl in LS6) but usually incorporating more pubs on the A660 road, typically those towards Leeds City Centre.
The Ot ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
YEP Headingley Today Community WebsiteHeadingley.org community web sitemaintained by residents.
Headingley Development TrustThe HEART project
Headingley LitFestBlog for the annual Headingley LitFest, which takes place in March
Headingley Methodist ChurchHeadingley Community Websitemaintained by the council.
*
{{Authority control
Student quarters
Leeds Blue Plaques
Places in Leeds