Robin Hood is a village 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
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 ...
, within 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, with
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, ...
WF3, and
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 popula ...
LS26 postcodes. It is situated on the
A61 and
A654 between
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 popula ...
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, ...
, close to
Rothwell and
Lofthouse.
It forms part of the
Ardsley and Robin Hood ward of
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 ...
and the
Morley and Outwood parliamentary constituency.
The centre of Robin Hood is believed to be the Halfway House public house, situated at the main junction of the
A61 and
A654. The public house gained its name from its location being half-way between
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 popula ...
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, ...
, located exactly 4 miles in either direction on the
A61. It used to be known as "The Old Halfway House" and a public house or inn has been located on that site for centuries.
History
![The Halfway House, Robin Hood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/The_Halfway_House%2C_Robin_Hood._-_geograph.org.uk_-_258512.jpg)
Robin Hood was originally part of nearby
Carlton village, the original inhabitants were chiefly miners and quarrymen and as such it was built on its large mining history. Its mines at their peak, employing several hundred underground workers for the firm J&J Charlesworth, but the last mine closed in the 1960s. There has been considerable residential and commercial development in recent years, and has now grown to a population of around 3,573 according to the 2011 census.
Name
The name Robin Hood was first applied to a spring or well situated near the old quarries, it is believed the well-trough, had an iron ladle chained to it. The well no longer exists, and is believed to have been covered up with quarry refuse. It is believed that the well still runs underground and feeds the local streams in the area. There was local opinion that the ceremony of well-dressing, and a country dance called Robin Hood might have been performed there.
The folk hero connection
The area has a suspected link with the medieval folk hero
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
, as some of the original legends do mention an "Outwoods" (quite possibly the
Outwood 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, ...
nearby) and the original legends also mention a "Stane Lea" (potentially the nearby village of
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
). Also, most of the original Robin Hood ballads have him operating in and around
Barnsdale forest which is close to Wakefield and surrounding areas.
Mining history and Robin Hood Colliery
Mining has been performed at various locations in Robin Hood, dating all the way back to the late 1600s. The most notable mining operation was Robin Hood Colliery, which was located opposite the Halfway House pub, and on land located between the
A61 and Thorpe Lower Lane
A654. The mine opened in 1854 and was operated by J&J Charlesworth, who owned many large collieries in the area. Most of them named after his daughters, including the Robin Hood Colliery which was known as "Jane Pit". The pit closed in the 1960s after being nationalised by the
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
in the early 1900s, it stood derelict on the site until the 1980s and used as a ventilation shaft for other main collieries in the area. It is now occupied by a large housing estate built in the 1990s.
Robin Hood Quarries and Brickworks
Robin Hood was also home to some large stone quarries and an associated brickworks. The main quarry site was located to the left of Thorpe Lower Lane where it meets Middleton Lane, and it was known as "Robin Hood Quarries". This operated from the late 1800s and closed in the 1950s. Associated with the quarry was Armitage Brickworks, their offices and stone yard was located at the back of the Robin Hood Colliery and extended up Thorpe Lower Lane towards the quarries. Most of this old site is now occupied by the
M1 Motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...
built in the 1960s. Their major Brickworks operation site was located next to the quarries and further along Middleton Lane where it meets Thorpe Lane.
Robin Hood station and railways
Robin Hood had its own passenger station, located between Leadwell Lane
A654 and Matty Lane (now known as Hopefield Walk). It opened in 1904 and only lasted for 6 months, it continued to be used for excursions and coal traffic. Finally closed and further demolished in the 1960s. The station was part of a large network of railway lines that operated in the Robin Hood,
Lofthouse and
Rothwell areas known as the
East and West Yorkshire Union Railway
The East and West Yorkshire Union Railway was promoted in 1883 to connect the Hull and Barnsley Railway at Drax, North Yorkshire, Drax with Leeds. The company was unable to raise the money it needed to build the line, and it substantially reduced ...
. The line was built mainly for colliery traffic and linked all the major collieries in the area, starting at
Lofthouse and joining the
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...
just past
Stourton in
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 popula ...
. A large embankment carried the railway from the
A61 near the Gardeners Arms Pub and through to Leadwell Lane
A654 where a bridge crossed over and into the station, the embankment still stands today and is now part of the Rothwell Greenway. One half of the old Leadwell Lane bridge abutment still stands today at the end of the embankment.
There were numerous branches off this railway located all over the Robin Hood area, including a road crossing on the
A61 at what is known as Robin Hood Bridge (where West Beck crosses underneath the road). There was also a further road crossing on Thorpe Lower Lane just before the present
M1 underpass, and a large railway junction beyond Robin Hood Station towards
Rothwell. It also had branches from Thorpe Lower Lane and up to Castle Pit located off Middleton Lane and the Armitage Brickworks and Robin Hood Quarries.
Not much remains of this line today, apart from a few rails buried just under the surface of Milner Lane and overgrown embankments and cuttings along the route to
Rothwell.
Telegraph Repeater Station and RAF Bunker
There was a large GPO Telegraph Repeater Station located on the corner of Sharpe Lane where it meets the
A61 Wakefield Road. It is believed that this was used to boost the strength of electric telephone signals. It also had an associated underground bunker and shelter known as "RAF Rothwell" located just behind the GPO building. It was a large concrete building with blast proof doors and was believed to be associated with
RAF Menwith Hill
Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. The site contains an extensive sat ...
. The GPO Repeater building was demolished around 2007, the concrete bunker still stands today and is now located on a private residence.
Football club
Robin Hood Athletic Football Club were crowned champions of the
West Yorkshire Football League Division One in 2013–14 and have since played in its Premier Division.
The team play from the Coach Ground located just behind the Coach and Horses pub on the
A61.
Notable former residents
*
Karl Davey
*
Mark Davey
*
Ernie Field
*
Sidney Parkinson
References
External links
{{Commons category, Robin Hood, West Yorkshire
The ancient parish of Rothwellat
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 ...
: Robin Hood was in this parish
*Robin Hood Athletic Football Club:
Places in Leeds
Rothwell, West Yorkshire