Aberford 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 authorit ...

on the eastern outskirts 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, Rothwe ...

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distric ...

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 had a population of 1,059 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated east, north east of

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

in the LS25 Leeds postcode area.

Etymology

The name 'Aberford' comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

woman's name ''Ēadburg'' and ''ford'', which, then as now, meant 'ford'. The name meant 'Eadburg's ford'. This suggests the settlement's once-strategic importance. The name was recorded as ''Ædburford'' in 1176 and ''Ædburgford'' in 1177, ''Ebberford'' in the 13th century and ''Aberford'' from 1208.

History

Aberford was where the ancient Great North Road crossed over the Cock River (now reduced in volume as the Cock Beck). Aberford was the midway point between London and Edinburgh, being around distant from each city until the construction of the

A1(M) motorway A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...

bypass starting at Hook Moor. On the north side of the river the Aberford Dykes earthworks were constructed to defend the crossing. The buried remains of a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

have been found beneath Aberford House. The current bridge dates from the 18th century. Aberford was in the ancient 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 Yorks ...

, the name given to the local

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

. An

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

gold ring, inscribed with the name of

King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...

's sister Æthelswith, was found in a ploughed field near the village in 1870. It was bequeathed by A.W. Franks to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in 1897. In the 17th century the village was a major place for the manufacture of

pins A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

. Aberford's growth has historically been along the road and the village has developed a linear rather than nucleated profile. Since the early 1990s much new housing has been constructed, as increasing affluence allows people to move away from city centres to

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...

and

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

areas.

Geology

Geologically, Aberford lies slightly east of the narrow basal sandstone boundary between the central Leeds'

Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coa ...

and much harder magnesian limestone deposits, and sits in an area shaped heavily by

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...

of the underlying Coal Measures.

Buildings

Aberford is considered "a place of special architectural and historic interest". Some notable buildings are: * St Ricarius Church. The parish church is an 1861 rebuilding of a 12th-century one. * The Gascoigne Almshouses designed by

George Fowler Jones George Fowler Jones (25 January 1818 – 1 March 1905) was an architect and early amateur photographer who was born in Scotland but based for most of his working life in York. Biography and work Jones was born in Inverness in 1818. He studied ...

was built by sisters Mary Isabella and Elizabeth Gascoigne in 1844 to commemorate their father, Richard Oliver Gascoigne and two brothers who died in quick succession. They are grade II* listed buildings. * Aberford House is a classical 18th century mansion on Main Street. * The Swan Hotel, previously a staging post used by those travelling the Great North Road. * The Arabian Horse Inn is one of a very few

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s in the UK with this name, and a landmark with the conservation area. Aberford

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

primary School is affiliated with the parish church adjacent to it. The school was originally a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

and is owned by the Archdeacon of York following its transfer from the Vicar of Aberford. Previously, it and much of the village was owned by

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

, Oxford, which also received tithes from Aberford. At the northern boundary is the

A64 road The A64 is a major road in North and West Yorkshire, England, which links Leeds, York and Scarborough. The A64 starts as the A64(M) ring road motorway in Leeds, then towards York it becomes a high-quality dual carriageway until it is east ...

from Leeds to York and Scarborough. At the south end of Aberford is what used to be Hicklam Mill Farm now a small certified caravan and camping site.

Parlington Estate

The Parlington Estate holds a monument to the independence of the United States, built by Sir Thomas Gascoigne, last of the Gascoigne family blood line. It is inscribed on both elevations with the phrase "Liberty in N.America Triumphant MDCCLXXXIII". The 'Dark Arch', a short curved tunnel along Parlington Lane is reputed to be haunted. It was built to shield the residents of

Parlington Hall Parlington Hall was the seat of the Gascoigne family, Aberford near Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. The Parlington estate contains a number of features: the grade II* listed Triumphal Arch, designed by Thomas Leverton and built around the e ...

from traffic passing along Parlington Lane, mostly horse drawn coal traffic on its way to the village distribution point for onward travel into the local market. The lane was later developed for the private Aberford Railway commonly called the "Fly Line" to transport the coal from the Gascoigne's pits to Garforth. The railway closed in 1924.

was left to run to ruins after the death of Col F. C. T. Gascoigne in 1905, the hall was largely demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, though the west wing is still intact. The estate was used by the army during the First and Second World Wars. The structures, built during the Second World War and still in existence (2009), were constructed by the soldiers of No.3 Vehicle Repair Depot, part of Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

Nellie's Tree Nellie's Tree (also known as the Love Tree) near Aberford, West Yorkshire is a group of three beech trees that have been grafted together in the shape of a letter "N". This arrangement of the trees is a result of a local man trying to impress hi ...

is a local landmark that was voted English and British Tree of the Year for 2018.

Gallery

File:St Ricarius Church, Aberford 31 May 2017.jpg, St Ricarius Church File:White Swan at Aberford.jpg, The Swan a former public house File:Aberford Almshouses 14 June 2017.jpg, Gascoigne Almshouses File:Arabian Horse, Aberford (22nd March 2014) 002.JPG, The Arabian Horse public house File:Aberford Bridge over Cock Beck, Aberford 31 May 2017.jpg, Aberford Bridge over the Cock Beck. The arches show the former width File:Royal Oak at Aberford.jpg, The Royal Oak a former public house

Location grid

References

Sources

* *

External links

Aberford community website with local news and parish council informationA comprehensive History of Parlington Hall, and features associated with the hall like the Ice House, the Dark Arch and the Triumphal Arch.'Aberford C of E School
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20030929025857/http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/contents.htm Details on the Great North Roadbr>The Aberford Railway (Fly Line), at the LNER EncyclopediaPhotos of Aberford and surrounding area on geographLeodis
View photographs of Aberford on the Leeds photographic archive. {{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Places in Leeds Civil parishes in West Yorkshire