Ledston is a 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 authority ...

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 the ...

and east 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 ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 village is in 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 A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

. It had a population of 400 in 2001, which decreased slightly to 394 at the 2011 Census. Ledston is first mentioned in 1086, and on through the Middle Ages, in forms like ''Ledestun(e)'', ''Ledestona''. The name seems to refer to Leeds (or the Old English precursor of this name, ''Loidis'', which denoted a region rather than a town), meaning the ''tūn'' ('settlement, estate') belonging to Leeds.

Mary Pannal Mary Pannal (died 1603) was an English herbalist and cunning woman who was accused of, and executed for, witchcraft in 1603. Biography Mary lived in Ledston, West Yorkshire where she had a reputation as a cunning woman or witch. She was accused ...

of Ledston was executed in 1603 as an accused witch.

Ledston Hall

Ledston or Ledstone Hall was the home of

Lady Elizabeth Hastings Lady Elizabeth Hastings (19 April 1682 – 21 December 1739), also known as Lady Betty, was an English philanthropist, religious devotee and supporter of women's education. She was an intelligent and energetic woman, with a wide circle of conn ...

, daughter of the 7th

Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland (David I of Scotland, David of Scotland). The seventh and most rec ...

, known as "Lady Betty". The hall was originally a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

built by the monks of

Pontefract Priory Pontefract Priory was a Cluniac monastery dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, founded about 1090 by Robert de Lacy, 2nd Baron of Pontefract, and located in Yorkshire, England. It existed until the dissolution of the monasteries. The Church and ...

. It is a grade I

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 ...

, and several associated buildings and garden features are also listed. Ledston Hall featured in the television show ''Most Haunted:Live'' on 27 October 2007, but was called "Wheler Priory" for security reasons at the time (Wheler being the surname of the last family owning the hall). Ledston is also home to the Ledston Equine Centre located in the stables of Ledston Hall. Ledston lies to the east of the

A656 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

, and there was a railway station named after the village on the Castleford to Garforth line, though this station was actually adjacent to Allerton Bywater Colliery. The village also had a colliery named after it, Ledston Luck, which was connected to the railway via a narrow gauge railway line up to Peckfield Colliery in

Micklefield Micklefield is a village and civil parish east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Garforth, Aberford and Brotherton and is close to the A1 Motorway. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The population as of the 2 ...

. The colliery, like the railway station, was some distance away from the village from which it took its name, being actually only east of Kippax. Ledston Luck Colliery closed in 1986 and the site is now a local nature reserve.

White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn is a 15th-century public house. It was 2019 regional winner of North East Pubs in Bloom, and supports various local activities such as the Ledston in Bloom, a village

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

competition. and the Ledston christmas light switch on.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{authority control Places in Leeds Villages in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire

Ledston Hall

White Horse Inn

See also

References

External links