Northgate is a street in the city centre of

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, ...

, in

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 ...

, in England.

History

The street dates from the Mediaeval period, when it was one of three major roads in the town, heading towards

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 ...

. It was at the centre of one of the town's three quarters. A gatehouse was constructed across the street, near the location of the Chantry of St John the Baptist, later the location of the grammar school. The part of the street near the town became built up with

burgage plot Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or " burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenemen ...

s, although there were fewer than on

Westgate Westgate or West Gate may refer to: Companies * Westgate Resorts, a real estate company and timeshare company * Westgate Department Stores, the department store division of Anglia Regional Co-operative Society in the United Kingdom Events * Westg ...

and Kirkgate. Numerous buildings on the street were demolished in the 1960s. The Transforming Cities Fund describes the road as "a key route between the city centre, St Johns and the M1".

Layout and architecture

The street starts at a junction with Westgate and Kirkgate. It runs north, past the west end of Wakefield Cathedral, and junctions with Bread Street and Cross Square. It then opens out into the Bull Ring square, off which Marygate, Westmorland Street, Union Street and Radcliffe Place run. It then turns north-west, past junctions with Talbot and Falcon Yard, Cross Street, Providence Street, Gill's Yard, Rishworth Street, and Upper York Street. At a roundabout, it meets Marsh Way, and becomes the

A61 road A61 or A-61 may refer to: * A61 road (England), a road connecting Derby and Thirsk * A61 motorway (France), a road connecting Narbonne and Bordeaux * A61 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Venlo and Hockenheim * Benoni Defense The Benoni Defense ...

. It has junctions with Cardigan Terrace, Arundel Street, Wentworth Terrace, Howard Street, Albion Street, and North Road Terrace, before terminating at a crossroads with St John's North and Westfield Road. Beyond this, its continuation is Leeds Road. Listed buildings on the street include 2–10 Northgate, dating from around 1800; the late-15th century timber-framed 53 and 55 Northgate; the 16th-century 57 Northgate, part of which was formerly the warehouse of Wright and Elwick furniture makers; the large houses at 71 an 95 Northgate, dating from about 1800; the early-19th century terrace of 87–93 Northgate and similarly-dated 97 and 99 Northgate; the buildings of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School; and an early-19th century house at 158 Northgate. Another notable building is the Talbot & Falcon pub, which has lain on the street since 1700.{{cite web , title=03 Historic Pubs of Northgate , url=https://wakefieldcivicsociety.org.uk/03-historic-pubs-of-northgate/ , website=Wakefield Civic Society , access-date=3 November 2023

References

Streets in England Wakefield