Ledston is a village and civil parish north of Castleford and east of Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The village is in the City of Leeds

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 ...

. It had a population of 400 in 2001, which decreased slightly to 394 at the 2011 Census. Ledston is first mentioned in 1086, and on through the Middle Ages, in forms like ''Ledestun(e)'', ''Ledestona''. The name seems to refer to Leeds (or the Old English precursor of this name, ''Loidis'', which denoted a region rather than a town), meaning the ''tūn'' ('settlement, estate') belonging to Leeds.

Mary Pannal Mary Pannal (died 1603) was an English herbalist and cunning woman who was accused of, and executed for, witchcraft in 1603. Biography Mary lived in Ledston, West Yorkshire where she had a reputation as a cunning woman or witch. She was accused ...

of Ledston was executed in 1603 as an accused witch.

Ledston Hall

Ledston or Ledstone Hall was the home of

Lady Elizabeth Hastings Lady Elizabeth Hastings (19 April 1682 – 21 December 1739), also known as Lady Betty, was an English philanthropist, religious devotee and supporter of women's education. She was an intelligent and energetic woman, with a wide circle of conn ...

, daughter of the 7th Earl of Huntingdon, known as "Lady Betty". The hall was originally a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and chapel built by the monks of Pontefract Priory. It is a grade I listed building, and several associated buildings and garden features are also listed. Ledston Hall featured in the television show ''Most Haunted:Live'' on 27 October 2007, but was called "Wheler Priory" for security reasons at the time (Wheler being the surname of the last family owning the hall). Ledston is also home to the Ledston Equine Centre located in the stables of Ledston Hall. Ledston lies to the east of the

A656 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

, and there was a railway station named after the village on the Castleford to Garforth line, though this station was actually adjacent to Allerton Bywater Colliery. The village also had a colliery named after it, Ledston Luck, which was connected to the railway via a narrow gauge railway line up to Peckfield Colliery in Micklefield. The colliery, like the railway station, was some distance away from the village from which it took its name, being actually only east of Kippax. Ledston Luck Colliery closed in 1986 and the site is now a local nature reserve.

White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn is a 15th-century public house. It was 2019 regional winner of North East Pubs in Bloom, and supports various local activities such as the Ledston in Bloom, a village scarecrow competition. and the Ledston christmas light switch on.

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* * * * * * {{authority control Places in Leeds Villages in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire

Ledston Hall

White Horse Inn

See also

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