Garforth () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

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 distr ...

of the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

and the

Leeds East Leeds East is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon ...

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. As of 2011, the population of Garforth was 14,957, having decreased since the last census. It is east of Central

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, south-west of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and north of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. It is mostly an Un-Parished area, like much of Greater Leeds.

Etymology

The place-name ''Garforth'' appears first 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Gereford'' and ''Gereforde'', with ''gar-'' spellings first appearing in 1336 in the form ''Garford''. The name seems to derive from the Norse words ''gāra'' ('triangular plot of land', derived from the word ''gār'', 'spear') and ''ford'' ('ford)', and thus meant 'ford at a triangular plot of land'. Or perhaps; Spear of the River Crossing. The plot is thought to have lain at a sharp turn in the road now called The Beck. Spellings beginning with ''ger-'' reflect the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

counterpart of Old English ''gāra'', ''geiri'', and therefore the existence of Norse-influenced pronunciations of the name existing alongside Old English ones.Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 2017). Correspondingly, the district also once included the place Church Garforth, whose name is first attested in the fifteenth century as ''Kirkgarford''; here again the form ''kirk'' reflects the Old Norse form of the word ''church'', ''kirkja''.

History

Garforth owes its size to expansion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries during which the local land-owning

Gascoigne family The Gascoigne Baronetcy, of Barnbow and Parlington in the County of York, was a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 8 June 1635 for John Gascoigne. He had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1604. His daughter, Catherine G ...

ran several coalmines in the area. The surrounding settlements of

Micklefield Micklefield is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Garforth, Aberford and Brotherton and is close to the A1(M) motorway. The population as of the 2011 Census was 1,893, increased from 1, ...

, Kippax,

Swillington Swillington is a village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is situated east from Leeds city centre, north of the River Aire, and is surrounded by streams including Fleaking ...

Methley Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, West Yorkshire, Rothwell, Oulton, West Yorkshire, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Aller ...

and

Allerton Bywater Allerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the south-east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,717. The village itself is north of C ...

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

and

Little Preston Great Preston is a small rural village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It has incorporated the once neighbouring hamlet of Little Preston. Location Great Preston is situated 9 miles south east of Leeds city c ...

are all villages that prospered and grew as a result of the coal industry. Nowadays manufacturing and motor-vehicle repair account for more than a third of the workforce in the area. More recent expansion can also be traced to a combination of overall economic success in Leeds, and that Garforth is served by transport links. The A1 and M1 are minutes away, and both have recently been linked by an extension of the M1 which passes to the west and north of the village, with two nearby access points at Junctions 46 and 47. The M1 extension led to rapid development of commercial, light industrial and residential sites clustered around Junctions 46 and 47. The village rail link to Kippax and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

was closed under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

of the 1960s. Garforth has been home to first Garforth Scout Group since 1908. Garforth & District Lions Club was formed in 1972.

Economy

Originally a coal mining area, the collieries of much of east Leeds and surrounding areas closed in the 1960s, although further south mining was still strong in the 1990s and is still prevalent to some degree today. Garforth has increasingly become a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Leeds, York &

City of Wakefield Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a Local government in England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status and a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settl ...

area. There is a light industrial estate to the north of the village which provides some employment, such as

Ginetta Cars Ginetta Cars Limited is a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire. History 20th century Ginetta was founded in 1958 by four Walklett brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas) in Woodbridge ...

, while the neighbouring Thorpe Business Park in Colton also provides employment. Garforth's rail connections and access to the M1,

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in the UK. 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 capita ...

and M62 have made it a desirable area for commuters to live.

Amenities

Garforth's amenities are similar to some towns in the City of Leeds, such as

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

and

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

. Garforth has two Tescos (Extra and Express), and a

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

supermarket,

the Original Factory Shop The Factory Shop Limited, trading as The Original Factory Shop, is a discount department store chain that was established in 1969. It currently operates almost two hundred stores across the United Kingdom. History The Original Factory Shop was ...

department store, several

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s in the town centre, a

Co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

, Greggs, Dominoes, Budgens, Costa, Subway, and other shops such as newsagents, charity shops, travel agents and banks. Garforth civic amenities include a library and a one stop centre run by

. A coffee shop on Main Street functions partly as a

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ha ...

, giving its profits to projects in the village. There are also a number of take away food outlets. The lively Garforth Community Choir was formed in October 2015 and meets at Garforth Academy on Wednesdays at 7.00 pm, in school term time. Garforth has ten traditional public houses, a mix of restaurants/cafes/wine bars, and a number of social/affiliated clubs. There are two indoor play areas for children and a large

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...

. Garforth also plays home to two brass bands, both of which rehearse and perform in and around the local area. There is Garforth Jubilee Band, currently conducted by Martin Bird, who are a non-contesting brass band, and there is Garforth Brass, who are a contesting brass band.

Transport

Garforth is situated on the A63, which links it with the M1 and the

, the M62 also lies close by to the south of the village. Garforth has two railway stations.

Garforth railway station Garforth railway station serves the town of Garforth in West Yorkshire, England. It is one of the two stations in Garforth, the other being East Garforth railway station, East Garforth, which is situated about east from the main station. It li ...

lies to the north of the village centre, whist East Garforth railway station, which opened in the 1980s, lies to the east of the village, both stations on the mainline route between

and North Eastern England to Scotland, and between Leeds,

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

and

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

and the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

coastal resorts. There are also rail links to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. Garforth's bus services are provided by

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 Fir ...

and

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 ...

High Speed Two

Under proposals released on 28 January 2013, Garforth would see the

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...

railway line built close to the village, running adjacent to the M1 motorway. The High Speed Line would cross the existing railway line close to Thorpe Park to the west of the village. This line would carry the spur away from Leeds, towards the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

Church Fenton Church Fenton is a village and civil parish in the North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about east of Leeds, about south-east from Tadcaster and north from Sherburn in Elmet. Neighbouring vi ...

. (Update) The decision to cancel the eastern leg was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2023 at the Conservative Party Conference

Education

Education establishments in Garforth include a secondary school, primary schools and a vocational performing arts college.

Garforth Academy Garforth Academy (formerly known as Garforth Comprehensive School until September 1992 and Garforth Community College until November 2010) is a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 and is located on Lidgett Lane (B6137) ...

, a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

for pupils aged 11–18 is located on Lidgett Lane in Garforth. The school has over 2,000 pupils and staff. Garforth Community Arts School (situated in Garforth Academy) runs the

Garforth Arts Festival The Garforth Arts Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Garforth, Leeds, England. The events take place over a two-week period in June and July, ending with a full-day ‘Playground Party’ on the final Saturday. The festival fea ...

, which is a display of artistic works. Opposite Garforth Academy is the recently refurbished Strawberry Fields Primary School, formerly known as West Garforth Primary School. Other Garforth schools are Ninelands Primary School, Green Lane Primary Academy, East Garforth Primary Academy and St Benedict's Primary School, which is a

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

. SLP College is a further education college in Garforth, providing specialist vocational training in dance and performing arts. Founded as a dance school, it later developed a full-time performing arts course and is now a course provider for the

Trinity College, London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity College ...

professional performing arts qualifications. The college is accredited to the Council for Dance Education and Training and one of the colleges selected to award the government

Dance and Drama Awards The Dance and Drama Awards are a scholarship scheme which subsidises professional vocational training at some of the leading performing arts schools in the United Kingdom. Established in 1998, the awards are funded and regulated by the British Go ...

Sport

There are two rugby clubs in Garforth, one League and one Union. Garforth Tigers/Tigresses ARLFC play Rugby League and are based at Glebelands Park. They have junior (from ages 3-18) and senior teams (from the age of 16) competing in the Yorkshire League. There is also a men's Rugby Union team: Garforth RUFC, who play their matches on Garforth Academy's playing fields. Local football teams are

Garforth Town A.F.C. Garforth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Wheatley Park. History The club was established in 1964 as Miners Arms, a Sunday league team based at ...

, Garforth Villa Football Club, Garforth W.M.C. A.F.C. and Garforth Rangers A.F.C. Garforth Town play at the Bannister Prentice Community Stadium (formally known as Wheatley Park) which is located in the corner of the Cedar Ridge estate of Garforth. There are also two cricket clubs, Garforth C.C. & Garforth Church Parish C.C., the Squash and Leisure Centre. and a Premier World Fitness Centre. Garforth Golf Club has a course designed by

Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was an English golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the ...

Climate

The nearest weather station is in

, to the north. Garforth is notable for recording one of the latest instances of in the United Kingdom, on 24 April 1908, the temperature fell to .

Notable people

Notable residents and ex-residents of Garforth include:England and Yorkshire cricketer

Chris Silverwood Christopher Eric Wilfred Silverwood (born 5 March 1975) is an English former international cricketer and coach. He is a former head coach of the Sri Lanka Cricket Team and previously the England Cricket Team. Early life and domestic playing c ...

; DJ

Dave Seaman Dave Seaman (born 29 April 1968) is a British DJ and record producer. He was formerly a member of the DMC Publishing, and editor of music magazine ''Mixmag''. Biography He formed Brothers in Rhythm with Steve Anderson and they were later ...

; Andrew White of the

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

; John Birch of

, England & Great Britain rugby league teams; and BAFTA nominated comedian Liam Williams, who created and stars in ''

Ladhood ''Ladhood'' is a British coming of age comedy series that premiered on BBC iPlayer on 24 November 2019. Written by, and starring, Liam Williams, the series details the experiences of his adolescence, and serves as a television adaptation of hi ...

'', a comedy TV series based on his experience of growing up in Garforth. The village was also the birthplace of Second World War airman, Sir Augustus Walker of the Royal Air Force.

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Defender (association football), centre-back for Leeds. He was part of the England ...

owned a menswear shop in the town, and was a resident for a number of years along with a number of sportspeople at various times.

References in literature

The book ''The Modfather'' was set in Garforth in the late 1970s and early 1980s detailing David Lines adolescence in the village and his obsession with

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

Gallery

File:Garforth Main Street.jpg, Main Street, Garforth File:The Original Factory Shop, Garforth.jpg, The Original Factory Shop File:The Miners, Garforth.jpg, The Miners, a pub in Garforth File:St Mary's Church, Garforth - geograph.org.uk - 96466.jpg, St Mary's Church

References

External links

*
Garforth Community College"Garforth Today & Garforth Yesteryear"
Garforth.net (First Bookshop, Bridlington)

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.org.UK {{authority control City of Leeds Towns in West Yorkshire Unparished areas in West Yorkshire Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire