Menston 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 ...

in the

City of Bradford The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and v ...

in the county of

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. Along with

Burley in Wharfedale Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from Leeds, ...

, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the

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 ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. The remainder of Menston is in the Leeds City Council area. At the 2011 census it has a population of 4,498 (down from 4,660 in 2001).

Landmarks

Menston's

Anglican parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

is dedicated to St John the Divine, and is part of the Diocese of Leeds. Other notable buildings include the former

High Royds Hospital High Royds Hospital is a former psychiatric hospital south of the village of Menston, West Yorkshire, England. The hospital, which opened in 1888, closed in 2003 and the site has since been developed for residential use. History The estate on ...

and

St. Mary's Menston St Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy (formerly St Mary's Catholic High School) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Menston, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1964 and ...

Catholic Academy, both of which are in the Leeds part of Menston. The site of

, originally the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which is just inside 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, has been converted to housing called "Highroyds Village". This is a reflection of Menston's growing size. In the past 20 years there has been increased demand for much needed housing in the area. The population of Menston has been steadily increasing. As a result, Menston Primary School, which was threatened with closure in the 1980s, has increased student numbers.

Transport

It lies on the A65, approximately ten miles north-west of the centre 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 ...

and 9 miles north of

centre, between

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

and

Burley-in-Wharfedale Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from Leeds, ...

. Menston also has a railway station between Guiseley and Burley on the Wharfedale Line, with direct trains to

, Bradford Forster Square and

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

. There are bus services to

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

and

Wetherby Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...

(an infrequent bus service run by Utopia). Menston once had rail links to Otley, via the (now closed)

Arthington Arthington is a small village in Wharfedale, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is a civil parish which, according to the 2011 census, had a population of 532 and is in the LS21 postcode district with Ot ...

to Menston Line.

Cultural references

Highroyds is mentioned in the

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

song of the same name, from the album, '' Yours Truly Angry Mob''. The Kaiser Chiefs met and formed in the same class at St Mary's Catholic High School, now

Gallery

File:Shops in Menston1.jpg, Shops on Main Street and Burley Lane junction File:Malt Shovel, Menston.jpg, The Malt Shovel File:Menston Arms.jpg, Menston Arms File:St.-Mary's-Menston-Aerial-photo-June-2012CreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlike3.0UnportedLicense.jpg, St. Mary's Catholic High School aerial photo File:StMarysMenstonMorseEntrance2011CreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlike3.0UnportedLicense.jpg, St. Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Visitor Entrance

Sport

Menston is home to football club, Menston Town FC who currently play in the Wharfedale Triangle Division 2 after being established in 2010. Menston cricket club, which plays at the Fox Ground. Offering 1st, 2nd and 3rd team seniors men cricket, has recently merged with CromPark adding two more Saturday 1st and 2nd senior men's teams to the rosta. The club boasts a large junior section which contributed 16 teams (from U18 - U9) to the AWJCL. Menston Cricket Club is an active promoter of girls and women's participation in cricket. With 2 all girls teams, and a women's team flying high in the inaugural women's cricket league. Home also to Menston Juniors Football Club (MJFC).

Notable residents

Paul Jewell Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town. Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...

, a retired footballer and the former manager of

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and most recently

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, has lived in the village since the 1990s.

Dean Windass Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played spells at Bradford City and contributed to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008. Windass started ...

, the former Bradford City and Hull City footballer, lives in the village. Nick Hodgson, Nick Baines and Simon Rix, all members of the rock band, the Kaiser Chiefs, met while attending St. Mary's Roman Catholic High School in Menston. Born in Menston were:

Smith Wigglesworth Smith Wigglesworth (10 June 1859 – 12 March 1947) was a British evangelist who was influential in the early history of Pentecostalism. Early life Smith Wigglesworth was born on 10 June 1859 in Menston, Yorkshire, England, to an impoverished ...

, a notable early Pentecostal preacher (1859);

Eric Knight Eric Mowbray Knight (10 April 1897 – 15 January 1943) was an English novelist and screenwriter, who is mainly known for his 1940 novel ''Lassie Come-Home'', which introduced the fictional collie Lassie. He took American citizenship in 1942 s ...

, the author who created the fictional collie, Lassie (1897); Annie Margaret Barr, a Unitarian minister and founder of the Kharang Rural Centre in the Khasi Hills, North East India (1899); and actor

Sam Riley Samuel Peter W. Riley (born 8 January 1980) is an English actor and singer.James Mottram: The only people for me are the mad ones. ''Independent on Sunday: The New Review'', 30 January 2011, pp 10–13 He is best known for his performance in t ...

(1980).

Bill Bowes William Eric Bowes (25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) was an English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947 who played in 372 first-class matches as a right arm fast bowler and a right-handed tail end batsman. He took 1,639 wickets ...

(25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947

References

External links

Menston Village

'Alternative' Menston website
*
St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy

St John's church, Menston

Menston information from local councillor Matt Palmer

Menston Town FC
{{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Wharfedale Geography of the City of Bradford Civil parishes in West Yorkshire