Headingley

This article is about the suburb of Leeds, England. For the cricket and rugby stadium, seeHeadingley Stadium.For the Canadian municipality, seeRural Municipality of Headingley.

"Headingly" redirects here. For the Australian pastoral lease, seeHeadingly Station.

Headingley
Clockwise from top left:St Chad's Church,Arndale Centre,Headingley StadiumSouth Stand (rugby), Carnegie Pavilion (cricket),St Michael's Church,war memorial and Skyrack pub
Headingley Headingley Location withinWest Yorkshire
OS grid reference	SE278362
Metropolitan borough	City of Leeds
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEEDS
Postcode district	LS6
Dialling code	0113
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Leeds Central and Headingley

Headingleyis asuburbofLeeds,West Yorkshire,England,approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along theA660 road.Headingley is the location of theBeckett Parkcampus ofLeeds Beckett UniversityandHeadingley Stadium.

The area sits in theHeadingley and Hyde Parkward ofLeeds City CouncilandLeeds Central and Headingleyparliamentary constituency.

History

The centre of Headingley

The Original Oak,named after the Skyrack Oak which grew opposite.

The Skyrack,historical remnants of theWapentake.

Terrace houses typical of the southern districts of Headingley.

Headingley is mentioned in theDomesday Bookof 1086 as Hedingelei or Hedingeleia when Ilbert de Lacy held 7 carucates, equivalent to about 840 acres, of land. The name is believed to originate fromOld English,combining Head(d)inga, meaning 'of the descendants of Head(d)a,' with lēah, signifying 'open ground.' In essence, it translates to "the clearing of Hedda's people".Headda has sometimes been identified with SaintHædde.A stone coffin found nearBeckett Parkin 1995 suggests there may have been an earlier settlement in lateRomanor post-Roman times.

FromVikingtimes, Headingley was the centre of theSkyrackwapentakeorSiaraches,the "Shire oak".The name may refer to an oak tree that was a meeting place for settling legal disputes and raising armies.An ancient oak, said to be the Shire Oak,stood to the north of St Michael's Church until 1941, and gives its name to two public houses, the Original Oak and the Skyrack.

During the 13th century, William de Poiteven gave land in Headingley toKirkstall Abbey.In 1341, the monaster received the remainder of the township of Headingley-cum-Burley from John de Calverley.

The shire oak in 1890

A map of 1711 shows Headingley as having a chapel, cottages and farmsteads scattered around a triangle of land formed by the merging of routes from north, west and south. Enclosed fields were situated around the settlement with a large tract of common land, Headingley Moor, to the north. In an 1801census,Headingley's population was given as 300.

An 1829 Act of Parliament enclosed Headingley Moor and the land was placed for sale. Around 30 workers' cottages encroached on the fringes of the moor before 1829. Land here was generally cheaper than that at Headingley Hill as it failed to attract the building of affluent villas. This brought about the building of smaller terraced housing around Moor Road and Cottage Road. In the mid 19th century,Far Headingleyhad begun to develop over what was largely unclaimed common land.

Headingley was a village until the expansion of Leeds during theIndustrial Revolutionand became a popular suburb where the rich moved to escape the filth and pollution of the city.

In 1840,Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardensopened but despite the opening of the nearbyHeadingley railway stationin 1849, the zoo was loss-making and closed in 1858.The bear pitsurvives on Cardigan Road.

Meanwood Beck,to the east of the village, was a source of water for the early inhabitants and later provided a source of power for the Victorians of Leeds.

TheLeeds Tramwayterminated at a depot at Far Headingley between 1875 and 1959. The trams improved the accessibility of Headingley fromLeeds city centre,which facilitated growth and attracted affluent middle class inhabitants. The tramway perhaps ended Headingley's village status and made it into a suburb.

With exception ofBeckett Parkand the surrounding area, most of Headingley had been developed by the beginning of the 20th century. In the1911 censusthe population of Headingley was in excess of 46,000.

Leeds Beckett University(formerly Leeds Metropolitan University) has a campus at Beckett Park in Headingley. Much of the housing around Kirkstall Lane is rented to students. The conversion of Leeds Polytechnic into a university and its subsequent growth brought about an increased student population.

Headingley StadiumhostsEnglandtest matches andrugby leaguematches bringing many spectators to the area. The cricket ground has been enlarged to maintain its eligibility for test matches and in 2006 the eastern terraces on the rugby ground were replaced with the Carnegie stand. The winter shed cricket pavilion has been replaced with a new stand and media centre.

Sports

See also:Headingley Stadium,Leeds Rhinos,Yorkshire Carnegie,andYorkshire County Cricket Club

Headingley Stadium cricket ground during an England game.

The Carnegie Stand at Headingley Stadium rugby ground

Professional

Headingley is also known in sporting circles; its stadium is known asHeadingley– earlier spelt Headingly.The stadium is home to theYorkshire County Cricket Club,theNorthern Superchargersfranchise cricket team,theLeeds Rhinosrugby leagueandYorkshire Carnegierugby unionclubs.Northern Diamondsplay some of their games at Headingley in theCharlotte Edwards CupandRachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Since 2000, the stadium'scricket groundhas been nearly entirely rebuilt in order to retainTest matchstatus. The winter shed was demolished in 2008 and replaced by a new stand and media centre. Therugby groundalso saw development with the building of the Carnegie Stand which replaced the former Eastern Terraces. This was built with co-operation fromLeeds Beckett Universitywho retain lecture rooms in the building.

Amateur

Headingley is also home to an amateurassociation footballteam, Headingley AFC. The club nearly folded after losing its home ground, but was offered a new ground in 2008 by theUniversity of Bradford.It nows plays in Weetwood Playing Fields, owned by the University of Leeds.They attracted media attention in January 2019 for featuring a shirt sponsor warning of the dangers of gambling.There are also two amateur cricket clubs (Headingley Bramhope CC& St. Chads CC) inFar Headingley.

Politics

Headingley is in theLeeds Central and Headingleyconstituency. The current Member of Parliament (MP) isAlex Sobel(Labour Party) who has represented the area since the2017 general election.The ward ofHeadingley and Hyde Parkhas two Labourcouncillors,Abdul Hannan and Jonathan Pryor and oneGreencouncillor, Tim Goodall.

Amenities

Brett's Fish Restaurant, North Lane

Headingley railway stationbefore redevelopmemt in 2019.

The Headingley Taps, a pub on North Lane

Headingley has two renowned fish and chip shops/fish restaurantswhich have been operating since the 1930s: Brett's, a 19th-century stone building on North Lane, and the now permanently closed Catch Seafood Headingley (formerly Bryan's and then The Fisherman's Lodge), a more modern building on Weetwood Lane whose parent company entered administration in October of 2022.There are several pubs and bars plus extensive shopping areas. The pub Headingley Taps is so called because it was formerly a water pumping station.In Headingley Central (formerly theArndale Centre) there are large retailers and several other chain shops as well as a smallmulti-storey car park.Headingley also has a small libraryon North Lane. There are many banks, building societies, restaurants, cafes and charity shops. Along Otley Road there is a large Oxfam bookshop. Until 2005, Headingley had two cinemas, 'The Lounge' and 'The Cottage Road Cinema' (usually referred to as 'Cottage Road'). The Lounge Cinema in the centre of Headingley has since closed and is being redeveloped as office and living accommodation, leaving only Cottage Road inFar Headingley.The area'sWoolworthsclosed in the 1990s. Until the 1980s, the Arndale Centre boasted abowling alley.The Arndale Centre began undergoing an external facelift in 2009. The nearest large supermarket is aMorrisonsinKirkstall,approximately a mile away from the centre of Headingley. There is aPremier Innhotel above the Arndale Centre in the tallest building in Headingley, formerly an office block.Headingley is also famous for theOtley Run,which is a pub crawl starting at Woodies Ale House inFar Headingleyand finishing at the Dry Dock near Leeds City Centre. Typically the Otley run is done in fancy dress.

People

Many famous writers, past and present, are connected with Headingley:Arthur Ransome,best known perhaps for the children's classicSwallows and Amazons,was born there,J. R. R. Tolkienthe writer and author ofThe Lord of the Rings,lived there when he worked at the university, playwrightAlan Bennettonce lived over a butcher's shop (now a dry cleaner's) opposite the Three Horseshoes and TV writerKay Mellorlived in Weetwood. Many writers and poets who currently live in the area participate in the annual Headingley LitFest, which takes place each March, using venues like the Heart Centre, The New Headingley Club, various cafés and private houses. The tenth LitFest took place in 2017. Reviews of all talks and performances are online on the LitFest blog.

In the time of Queen Victoria,Prince Alemayehuof Abyssinia, brought to England after the defeat of his fatherKing Tewedros,died of pneumonia at an address in Hollin Lane,Far Headingley.

Edward Baines,editor of theLeeds Mercuryin the 19th century, lived at Headingley Lodge, north of Kirkstall Lane, and then St Ann's Hill on St Ann's Lane.

The social reformer, suffragist and writerIsabella Fordwas born in Headingley in 1855.

Yorkshire RipperPeter Sutcliffecommitted two of his 20 attacks in Headingley. He killed 20-year-old Jacqueline Hill – the last of the 13 women he killed – in the area on 17 November 1980.On 24 September that year, he had also attackedSingapore-born doctor Upadhya Bandara, 34, who survived the assault. Sutcliffe was arrested within two months of Hill's murder and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for a total of 13 murders and seven attempted murders.

Headingley Development Trust

Headingley street map

The Headingley Development Trust (HDT) is a community benefit society, founded in 2005 by local residents, organisations and small businesses. It is a community business that is self-financing and supports. a range of initiatives that benefit the local community. HDT has over 1,200 members,making it one of the largest Development Trusts of its kind in the UK. In 2018 it successfully raised over £480,000 through a community share offer to create the Headingley Investment Fund (HIF).Since 2011, HDT has operated the Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre (HEART).It also runs several publicly-operated local businesses and a variety of cultural initiatives.

Churches

Headingley Parish Church

Headingley Parish Churchis dedicated toSt Michaeland AllAngels.It is a large, grade II*listed,steepled church on the corner ofOtley Roadand St Michael's Road, opposite the Skyrack public house.The Church was built between 1884 and 1886 as the third church on this site. There is a separate parish ofFar Headingley,with its parish church ofSt Chad's(also a large steepled church and grade II* listed).

South ParadeBaptistchurch (1908 and 1925, part of Cornerstone Baptist Church since 2020)and HeadingleyMethodistChurch (1840–45 and later extensions) are both grade II listed.St Columba'sUnited Reformedchurch is a modern building, as is theRoman Catholicparish church of St Urban's, located to the east of the area. Hinsley Hall in Headingley is the pastoral and conference centre for theRoman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.The smallLutheranchurch of St Luke's in Alma Road was converted from the coach house and stable of a Victorian villa.

TheAnglican Bishop of Leedsand theRoman Catholic Bishop of Leedsboth live within the Headingley area.

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  St Chad's Church
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  St Columba United Reformed Church
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  Headingley Hill Congregational Church
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  South Parade (now Cornerstone) Baptist Church
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  Headingley Methodist Church
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  St Urban's Catholic Church
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  Ebenezer Partiucular Baptist Church
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  St Luke's Lutheran Church
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  St Luke's: interior

Buildings of architectural interest

Former Elinor Lupton Centre, nowThe Golden Beam

Spring House

Headingley Hall, Shire Oak Road

According to one source"Headingley has the most important group of large and small villas and mansions in the city."and has more than 100 listed buildings.Parts of Headingley are included inConservation areasestablished byLeeds City Council.

Individuallisted buildingsincludeSt Michael's Churchand associated buildings,theHyde Park Picture House,theElinor Lupton Centre,Moorfield Housein Alma Roadand the formerSt Margaret of Antioch churchbuilding on Cardigan Road.

The mid-19th centurylisted buildingSpring House in St Michael's Road, Headingley,was the address forVADnurses during this time;Olive Middleton,great-grandmother of thePrincess of Wales,was attached to "Spring House, St Michael's Road, Headingley" when working atGledhow Halland elsewhere as a VAD nurse during the Great War. Residing at Spring House were Olive's two sisters-in-law; Gertrude Middleton (1876–1942), a formerOxford Universitystudent who also worked as a VAD nurse at Gledhow Hall and her sister Ellen Middleton (1872-1949) who volunteered as "head cook"at Gledhow Hall.Another of Olive's sisters-in-law was Caroline Middleton (1876-1961) who worked as a VAD nurse at the 2nd Northern General Hospital, Leeds.A number of premises were named Spring House in and around Leeds, at times operating as a Home for Friendless Girls in the early decades of the 20th century.

Headingley Castle

Headingley Castlewas built in 1846 and was owned in 1866 by cloth merchant Arthur Lupton (1809–1889) of theLupton family.It was the home from 1909 to 1943 of entrepreneur and art collectorFrank Harris Fulford,and later used to house a school for the blind.

Headingley also has a typical example of a 1960sArndale Centre.Housing in Headingley is generallyVictorianand early 20th century and mostly of little architectural note.

Headingley in media

TheITVtelevision seriesFat Friendswas set in Headingley. Large amounts of the eighties ITVBeiderbecke Trilogywas filmed in and around Headingley andBeckett Park,along withMoor GrangeandPudsey.Parts of Headingley stood in for Northern Ireland inHarrys Game,andA Touch of Frostused locations in the area.

Gallery

Images of Headingley

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  Headingley War Memorial
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  Arndale Centre
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  Arndale House, on top of theArndale Centre,taken from the centre's roof
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  A view of Headingley from theArndale Centre
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  Hinsley Hall (1867)
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  St. Chad's Church at twilight
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  Headingley Bear Pit

See also

• Listed buildings in Leeds (Headingley Ward)
• Elmet
• Otley Run

Further reading

• Bradford, Eveleigh (2008).Headingley, 'This Pleasant Rural Village': Clues to the Past.Jeremy Mills Publishing.ISBN978-1-906600-37-2.
• Cruickshank, John Louis (2012).Headingley-cum-Burley c.1540-c.1784.The Thoresby Society.ISBN978-0-900741-72-2.
• Reed, Michael E. (2020).A Regal Yorkshire Family Tree – Blood Relations: The Barons Airedale and the Middleton Family.J. G. K. Nevett.ISBN9780648862604.

External links

• YEP Headingley Today Community Website
• Headingley.org community web sitemaintained by residents.
• Headingley Development TrustThe HEART project
• Headingley LitFestBlog for the annual Headingley LitFest, which takes place in March
• Headingley Methodist Church
• Headingley Community Websitemaintained by the council.
• The ancient parish of Leeds:historical and genealogical information atGENUKI(Headingley was in this parish).