Pudsey is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the City of Leeds Borough 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 ...

, England. It is located midway between

Bradford city centre 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 ...

and

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. C ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, it has a population of 22,408.

History

The place-name ''Pudsey'' is first recorded in 1086 in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ''Podechesai(e)''. Its etymology is rather uncertain: it seems most likely to derive from a putative personal name *''Pudoc'' and the word ''ēg'' meaning 'island' but here presumably referring metaphorically to an 'island' of good ground in moorland. Thus the name would mean 'Pudoc's island'. Other possibilities have been suggested, however. In the early sixth century the district was in the Kingdom of

Elmet Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...

, which seems to have retained its Celtic character for perhaps as many as two centuries after other neighbouring kingdoms had adopted the cultural identity of the

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...

. Around 1775, a cache of a 100 silver

Roman coin Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomi ...

s, many predating the time of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, was found by Benjamin Scholfield of Pudsey on Pudsey Common, to the north of the town, at a place traditionally known as "King Alfred's Camp". The town was famous in the 18th and 19th centuries for

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

manufacture, and, from the 19th century, for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. Yorkshire and England cricketers

Sir Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the tw ...

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...

and

Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...

all learned to play in Pudsey. A 19th century Yorkshire cricketer,

John Tunnicliffe John Tunnicliffe (26 August 1866 – 11 July 1948) was an English, first-class cricketer, who played in 472 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. County career Tunnicliffe was born at Low Town, Pudsey, Yorkshire, England. He ...

, was born in Lowtown. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Pudsey was one of the most polluted areas of the UK due to its position in a slight valley between the two industrial cities 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

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 ...

. As a result, whichever way the wind blew Pudsey became covered in thick soot. The

temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. No ...

created by the valley led to the soot becoming trapped leading to dense smogs. This is believed to have led to jokes that pigeons in

Pudsey Park Pudsey Park is a public park in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England, approximately west of Leeds city centre. The park is the second most popular in Leeds after Roundhay Park. Facilities include a children's playground, a skate park A skatep ...

flew backwards in order to keep the soot out of their eyes.

Governance

Formerly within 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 ...

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

and

Calverley Calverley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, on the A657 road, about from Leeds city centre and from Bradford. The population of Calverley in 2011 was 4,328. It is part of the City of Leeds w ...

Parish,

Pudsey Urban District Pudsey was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1872 to 1974 around the town of Pudsey, covering Farsley, Calverley, Stanningley, Swinnow and Rodley. A local board formed for the parish of Pudsey in 1872. It became a ...

was formed in 1894; it gained

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

status . For many years, despite being joined to the Leeds conurbation, it avoided being made part of the

County Borough of Leeds The County Borough of Leeds, and its predecessor, the Municipal Borough of Leeds, was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1835 to 1974. Its origin was the ancient borough of Leeds, which was reformed by t ...

. In 1937 the

Farsley Farsley is a town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England to the west of Leeds city centre, east of Bradford. Farsley is situated between the two cities and near the town of Pudsey. Before April 1974, Farsley was pa ...

and

urban districts were added to Pudsey. In 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, it became part of 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 ...

of 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 ...

. It sits in the

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

. Pudsey forms part of the Pudsey parliamentary constituency, along with

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...

and

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 ...

. The

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) is

Stuart Andrew Stuart James Andrew (born 25 November 1971) is a Welsh politician serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society since September 2022 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities si ...

Present

There are recreational parks in Pudsey, the largest of which is

. Queens Park is where the Pudsey carnival is held once a year. Pudsey's market operates on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and has recently been refurbished. Pudsey has a monthly

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

with stalls selling meat, fish, dairy produce, organic fruit and vegetables, delicatessen and craft-ware. Pudsey town centre has amenities including high street chain stores and independent retailers, and there are several branches of banks and estate agents. Following the closure of

Kwik Save Kwik Save is a British convenience store chain. Prior to 2007, it was also a discount supermarket chain that had shops across the United Kingdom. It went into administration in July 2007, but was brought back in April 2012. Its shops were sma ...

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

across the country, Pudsey's store was bought by

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

. Until the administration of the group, Pudsey had a

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

on Church Lane. It is now a B&M Home Bargains store. There are three secondary schools situated within Pudsey:

Crawshaw Academy Crawshaw Academy (formerly Crawshaw School) is a secondary school with academy status in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. The Crawshaw Academy logo is a blue and silver shield with motto "Excellence, Purpose, Ambition". The shield features a ...

Co-op Academy Priesthorpe Co-op Academy Priesthorpe is a secondary school, academy and sixth form in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. Curriculum Co-op Academy Priesthorpe conforms to the common English school curriculum pattern of Key Stages. It follows the statutory ...

and

Pudsey Grammar School Pudsey Grammar School is a secondary school with a sixth form in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It serves over 1300 pupils from the town and surrounding area. The school has a large Sixth Form of over 260 students offering 20 A level courses ...

. The latter has been rebuilt under an extensive redevelopment programme adjacent to the current site. The old grammar school building facing Richardshaw Lane, which opened in 1911 and a prominent landmark of Pudsey, will unlike the rest of the old school buildings not be demolished due to its

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 ...

status, but has since been converted into flats.

Pudsey Town Hall Pudsey Town Hall is a municipal building in Robin Lane, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Pudsey Urban District Council from 1912 to 1974. History The building was originally commissioned as a new home for t ...

benefits from a new, energy-efficient lighting project to highlight its most interesting features. The multi-coloured lights can be changed to offer 255 different scenes. During the Easter weekend 2009, the Pudsey Business Forum launched the Pudsey Shop Local campaign. The campaign is to encourage local residents to shop more in Pudsey Town Centre. As part of this campaign they have launched a directory of all local shops. ''Pudsey in Bloom'' was established in 2002. Pudsey Park 02 2 September 2017

Pudsey's business community introduced a Lottery Scheme, aimed at local shoppers. The lottery scheme, encourages shoppers to purchase tickets from local shops within the scheme. At the end of each month a draw takes place and prizes are paid out in Pudsey Pounds that can be spent in participating shops. There are several pubs and clubs in and around the town centre including the Butcher's Arms, The Manor Inn, the Mason's Arms, the Shamrock Inn (now closed), the Crossed Shuttle, the World's End pub, the Britannia pub and (outside the town centre) the Troydale Recreational Club. Pudsey has a Masonic community, there are Lodges which meet at Pudsey Masonic Hall on Church Lane. Locally these lodges support activities within the local community. Next to the Masonic Hall on Church Lane is the former Unitarian Church, now a private residence known as Churchfield House.

Public transport

New Pudsey railway station New Pudsey railway station is in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England, on the Calder Valley line from Leeds to Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester Victoria, and Blackpool North. Lying west of Leeds, it serves as a commuter ...

is on the

Caldervale Line The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes ...

between Leeds and

Bradford Interchange Bradford Interchange is a transport interchange in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, which consists of a railway station and combined bus and coach station adjacent. The Interchange, which was designed in 1962, was hailed as a showpiece of Eur ...

. It was built as a "parkway" station, and is situated over a mile away from the town centre. The frequent no. 16 bus service between Pudsey and Farsley (continuing to Leeds) passes close to the station. The location of the station near to the junction of the main Leeds to Bradford road with the ring road provides easy access for those travelling to the station by car. There is a large car park adjacent to the station. Pudsey's New Bus Station - looking towards Church Lane - geograph

Pudsey's New Bus Station - looking towards Church Lane - geograph

Pudsey bus station serves the town. The bus station is managed and operated by

West Yorkshire Metro Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yor ...

. It is situated at Market Place and consists of six stands in total. Services are operated by

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

Connexionsbuses Harrogate Coach Travel operates local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. History Harrogate Coach Travel was established in February 2002 by Craig and Julie Temple. Initially, the company operated local bu ...

First Leeds First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...

and

HCT Group HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services ...

.Pudsey Bus Station

The original bus station was replaced by a new structure that opened on 14 November 2010. Metro and

re-built it in the style of similar bus stations in West Yorkshire. Buses go from Pudsey to various parts of neighbouring

, such as

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industrial ...

, Bramley,

Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the south east ...

Seacroft Seacroft is an outer-city suburb/township consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area, around east of Leeds city centre. It sits in th ...

(a number of services run from the here to Seacroft bus station) and

White Rose Centre The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most ...

, and as far afield as

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

and

Sport

The

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

cricket captain Sir

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

was born in nearby

Fulneck Fulneck Moravian Settlement is a village in Pudsey in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The village (grid reference ) lies on a hillside overlooking a deep valley. Pudsey Beck flows along the bottom of the va ...

and was called "the man from Pudsey".

Raymond Illingworth Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...

, another former England cricket captain, was born in Pudsey as was the England fast bowler

and the snooker player

Danny Fowler Danny Fowler (born 30 July 1956 in Worksop) is an English former professional snooker player. Early life Danny Fowler was born on 30 July 1956 in Worksop. Fowler played snooker recreationally from the age of 15 to 20, but then stopped playing ...

. For over a hundred years the Yorkshire County Cricket Club had at least one player who came from the old Borough of Pudsey. The England opening batsman

attended Pudsey School and learnt his cricket with the Pudsey St Lawrence and Pudsey Britannia cricket clubs.

Cricket clubs

Pudsey Congs Cricket Club is an English amateur

club with a history of cricket in the village dating back to the 1892. The club has been based on the former Pudsey Britannia Cricket Club ground since they purchased it in 1977. Pudsey Congs field three senior teams. Their 1st and 2nd teams are in the

Bradford Premier League The Bradford Premier League (currently known as the Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is an amateur cricket competition centred in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It has been described as "arguably England's strongest amate ...

and their 3rd team in the Dales Council Cricket League. Their junior training section play competitive cricket in the Bradford Junior Cricket League.

Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club Pudsey St Lawrence is a cricket club in Pudsey, West Yorkshire. Formed in 1845 the club now plays in the Bradford Cricket League. Members of the Bradford league since 1912, the club took until 1956 to win the league title. The club won the Prie ...

was founded in 1845 and is based on Tofts Road. The club has a significant success record, with 10

championship titles to their name. Pudsey St Lawrence field two senior teams in the

and a 3rd team in the Dales Council Cricket League. Their junior training section play competitive cricket in the Airedale & Wharfedale Junior Cricket League, a junior girls league with the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League, and a late summer junior league in the Leeds Cricket League.

Cultural references

In ''

The Meaning of Liff ''The Meaning of Liff'' (UK Edition: , US Edition: ) is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983 and the United States in 1984. Content The book is a " ...

'' a Pudsey is defined as "The curious-shaped flat wads of dough left on a kitchen table after someone has been cutting scones out of it." Toward the beginning of the Monty Python episode " You're No Fun Anymore", the two characters, Mr and Mrs Samuel Brainsample can be seen walking along the platform of

. Pudsey is also mentioned frequently in the

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

TV series Ripping Yarns. Pudsey has given its name to " Pudsey Bear", the mascot of 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 ...

's annual fundraising marathon '' Children in Need'', as this was where Pudsey logo designer Joanna Lane's grandfather was mayor. In

bellringing Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bell (instrument), bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are bellfounding, founded, musical tuning, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of b ...

Pudsey is one of the "Standard Eight" Surprise Major

methods Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

, the most commonly rung complex pieces of ringing for eight bells.

References

External links

*
This is Pudsey – Community website with local news, sport, events and local information

YEP Pudsey Today Community WebsiteCalverley.info
Pudsey & Calverley genealogical and historical data
Pudsey.com
Pudsey Online Community Website.
BBC ''Children in Need''Pudsey Carnival

at

GENUKI GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. It "provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland". It gives access to a large collection of information, with the emphas ...

: Pudsey was in this parish {{authority control Towns in West Yorkshire City of Leeds Market towns in West Yorkshire Unparished areas in West Yorkshire