Ledston (historically also spelt Ledstone) is a village in the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

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

, in the county of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It is north of

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

and east of

. The parish had a population of 400 in 2001, which decreased slightly to 394 at the 2011 Census.

History

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 of Ledston was executed in 1603 as an accused witch. Ledston was historically a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the ancient parish of Ledsham in the

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, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of C ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. The township became a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1974 Ledston was transferred to the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

in the new county of West Yorkshire. On 1 April 2023 the civil parish was abolished.

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 of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

, 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 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

and

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 a ...

. It is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, 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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the lar ...

, 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 in the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Garforth, Aberford and Brotherton and is close to the A1(M) motorway. The population as of the 2011 Census was 1,893, increased from 1, ...

. 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 that is 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. ...

competition. and the Ledston christmas light switch on.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire City of Leeds Unparished areas in West Yorkshire Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire

History

Ledston Hall

White Horse Inn

See also

References

External links