![Methley Bridge April 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Methley_Bridge_April_2017.jpg)
Methley is a dispersed village 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 ...
, south 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 ...
, West Yorkshire, England. It is located near
Rothwell,
Oulton,
Woodlesford
Woodlesford () is a suburban village in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, south-east of Leeds city centre. Formerly part of the Rothwell Urban District, it is now within the Rothwell ward of Leeds City Council. The village sits ...
,
Mickletown
Mickletown is a district within the village of Methley, south of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The Leeds Country Way and the Trans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern E ...
and
Allerton Bywater
Allerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the south-east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,717. The village itself is north o ...
. The Leeds City Ward is called Kippax and Methley. It is within the triangle formed by Leeds,
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
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
, and between the confluence of 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 ...
and
River Calder. The latter is crossed by Methley Bridge, the
A639 road
List of A roads in Great Britain, A roads in List of A roads zones in Great Britain, zone 6 in Great Britain starting east of the A6 road (Great Britain), A6 and A7 road (Great Britain), A7 roads, and west of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 (ro ...
, () about a mile south-east of the village.
Location and history
![Methley Mining Memorial, April 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Methley_Mining_Memorial%2C_April_2017.jpg)
Today, the village is often described in terms of the area around Church Lane, Main Street and Pinfold Lane. However, the buildings on these streets largely date from the 20th century – and this area does not represent the original geographical centre of the village. The original village was established near to Saint Oswald's Church, and in particular along Church Side. This is reflected in the 17th- and 18th-century buildings along Churchside and parts of Watergate.
[Leeds City Council (2008) Methley Church Side Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan] The village has a history of coal mining. At one stage there were five mines in operation in the village – ''Savile Colliery'', ''Methley Junction'', ''Foxholes'' (Scholey Hill), ''Newmarket'', and ''Newmarket Silkstone''. The last pit (''Saville Colliery'') closed in the mid-1980s.
Part of the village (the area south and west of the
M62 motorway
The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...
) was ceded to the
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district with the status of a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of ...
Metropolitan district council
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 ...
in the 1990s. This area, which includes the hamlets of Newmarket and Scholey Hill, was subject to a planning dispute regarding an industrial and leisure development as villagers feared increased traffic levels – particularly along the A642, B6135 (Newmarket Lane and Watergate), Park Lane and Churchside.
Eric Pickles
Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar (UK Parliament co ...
, the
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction o ...
approved the development on 21 June 2012. The new stadium for
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...
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 ...
club will form part of the development and should be completed by 2015.
Methley was 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, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...
of
Agbrigg
Agbrigg is a suburb of the city of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.
History
The village of Agbrigg was historically within the parish of Sandal Magna and a large area of present-day Agbrigg was common land and can be seen on older maps as ...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1086. Methley was surveyed by the Tudor cartographer,
Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton (c. 1540 – c. 1610) was an English cartographer who produced the first county maps of England and Wales.
Life and family
Saxton was probably born in Sowood, Ossett in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire i ...
, author of the first atlas of England (1577). However, the map is now lost.
Buildings
Methley Hall
Methley Hall was the former seat of the
Earl of Mexborough
Earl of Mexborough, of Lifford in the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 11 February 1766 for John Savile, 1st Baron Pollington, Member of Parliament for Hedon and New Shoreham. He had already been crea ...
. During the fourteenth century the de Waterton family married into the de Methley family and moved to Methley Hall, a large, imposing and solid castellated building, mostly spread over three storeys rising to four by the turreted entrance. An eighteenth century watercolour shows a great hall with a minstrels gallery and grand staircase, decorated and embossed ceiling with a full-length oriel window. Young Richard Plantagenet, Richard of York, lived here from the ages of four to twelve, with Waterton's family until 1423 when national events changed things. Robert Waterton was the custodian of Richard II whilst constable of Pontefract Castle from 1399 and later gaoler of James I of Scotland. He was esquire to Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV. The seat at Methley Hall was conferred in 1410 to Robert's brother John Waterton. The Hall, which featured in a 1907 edition of ''
Country Life'', was demolished in 1964, although the Mexborough Estate are still significant landowners in the district. Queen Mary (
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...
), consort of H. M. King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
, visited the village in 1935 and stayed at the Hall as a guest of the Earl.
Titus Salt
Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet (20 September 1803 in Morley – 29 December 1876 in Lightcliffe), was a manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a la ...
leased Methley Hall from the Earl of Mexborough between 1856 and 1865 according to Salt's biographer Balgarnie.
Church
![St Oswald Methley 28 April 2017 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/St_Oswald_Methley_28_April_2017_01.jpg)
The parish church Saint Oswald's is a 12th century Grade I listed building which had a spire from the mid-18th century to 1937. The spire became unsafe and was dismantled. The
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 ...
-born artist
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
was a frequent visitor to the church.
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
documented the church and Methley Hall as part of his ''
Buildings of England
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...
'' series in the late 1950s.
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 ...
visited the church in December 1998 as mentioned in his collection of writings ''Untold Stories'' (2005), a visit which was filmed as part of a special ''
The South Bank Show
''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...
'' charting the writer's early life.
[Alan Bennett (2006) ''Untold Stories'' (Faber & Faber) page 244]
"Fatty Cake" School House
![Fatty Cake Methley April 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Fatty_Cake_Methley_April_2017.jpg)
The Old Pinder Green school house is a Grade II listed building dating from 1637 at the junction of Watergate and the main Leeds to Pontefract Road.
[British Listed Buildings]
Old Pinder Green School The school closed in 1881 and became a private residence, now known as the Fatty Cake School House.
4-bedroom detached house for sale: Fatty Cake School House, Watergate, Methley, Leeds
Railway
Methley was once served by three railway stations:
Methley North (closed 1957); Methley Junction (closed 1943); and Methley South (closed 1960). The original railway line through the village was built by the
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840.
At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...
in 1840 as part of the
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
to
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 ...
main line. This route now forms part of the Hallam (
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 ...
–
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
) and
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...
Lines. The proposed route of the
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
to Leeds
HS2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
rail line would have passed to the west of the village between Scholey Hill, Clumpcliffe and Lemonroyd Lock, where it would have curved west at that point to take trains into Leeds city centre via
Woodlesford
Woodlesford () is a suburban village in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, south-east of Leeds city centre. Formerly part of the Rothwell Urban District, it is now within the Rothwell ward of Leeds City Council. The village sits ...
. The line has now been axed and will not happen.
Second World War POW camp
Methley was the site of a German
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
camp during the Second World War. The camp was located on the north side of Park Lane near to The Lodge. The foundations of the POW huts are still visible on close inspection. POWs were used as agricultural labourers on the Mexborough Estate as many villagers had been recruited into the armed forces. The POWs were invited to perform
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...
(Silent Night) in German during a Christmas Eve service at St Oswald's Church – an event still remembered by some villagers.
The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
Inside Out programme (5 December 2011) reported that Artur Braun, one of the inmates of the POW camp, produced a large painting (size 8 ft x 8 ft) entitled 'Our Lady of the ruins' during the winter of 1944–45. It featured the Madonna with child in a ruined city surrounded by desperate people appealing to God for protection from war. The painting is believed to depict the artist's wife (as the Madonna) in the ruins of the city of
Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
in Baden-Württemberg, (Germany) (the painting clearly shows
Freiburg Munster
Freiburg Minster (german: Freiburger Münster or Münster Unserer Lieben Frau) is the cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style. The construction c ...
in the background). Braun may have produced the painting after hearing of the death of his wife during an allied air raid on
Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
(Braun's home town) during November 1944. For many years the painting was owned by a convent in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, then was sold at auction in 1997.
Local points of interest
The
Yorkshire Imperial Band, formerly the Yorkshire Imperial Copperworks Band, used to rehearse in the village. The band, who have won the Champions of Great Britain title and three British Open titles, is one of the country's foremost
brass bands and have produced recordings and performed concerts on the BBC.
The composer
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
was friends with the former owner (Mr. Embleton) of 'The Cedars' – now a residential home – and often stayed in the village.
Nick Hodgson
Nicholas James David Hodgson (born 20 October 1977) is an English drummer, backing vocalist, and songwriter, formerly of the indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs.
Early life
He attended St. Mary's Menston with Nick Baines and Simon Rix. He then wen ...
, drummer of the Leeds band 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 ...
, has family connections with the village. The band officially opened the new village primary school on 16 January 2006. Other notable residents of the village have included
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 ...
players
Brian Lockwood
Brian Lockwood (8 October 1946) is an English World Cup winning former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yo ...
,
Dean Mountain,
Daryl Powell
Daryl A. Powell (born 21 July 1965) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and ...
,
Ben Crooks
Ben Crooks (born 15 June 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the Keighley Cougars in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship.
Crooks has previously played for Hull Kingston Rovers and Hull F.C ...
,
Kelvin Skerrett
Kelvin Skerrett (born 22 May 1966) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Hunsle ...
,
Joe Arundel and footballer
Paul Rickers
Paul Steven Rickers (born 9 May 1975) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Oldham Athletic and Northampton Town in the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional as ...
.
.
Each year the village holds a
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 B ...
Festival, a competition in which residents take part.
Methley Cricket Club won the
Village Cup
Village cricket is a term, sometimes pejorative, given to the playing of cricket in rural villages in England and Wales. Many villages have their own teams that play at varying levels in local or regional club cricket leagues.
When organised cric ...
national cricket competition at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
, in 1998.
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
player
Matthew Waite, has represented Methley C.C.
Methley United A.F.C. (formerly ''Methley United JFC'') are the local football club. The original village football club, was
Methley Perseverance F.C. & Methley Rangers F.C. were also a now defunct village side. United were formed in 2002 for local juniors to play football in the village and the club in 2021, now have a staggering 29 teams, made up of junior teams (U5s-u18s), alongside a male vets team and ladies team. The club are one of the fastest growing football clubs in the country.
Methley Warriors A.R.L.F.C and Methley Royals R.L.F.C., are the village
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 ...
teams.
Location grid
See also
*
Listed buildings in Methley
References
External links
Methley Archive personal archive web site
YEP Kippax Today Community Website covering MethleyMethley online*
*
A vision of Britain through time– page about Methley's history
John Savile of Methley Hall 1719–78
{{authority control
Villages in West Yorkshire
Places in Leeds
Rothwell, West Yorkshire