Woodlesford

Woodlesford is a village in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, four miles south-east of Leeds City Centre. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough.

Woodlesford is now a residential part of the commuter belt that services the city of Leeds. It has a diverse history. It once had a number of industries, including its own pottery, match factory, quarries, and Brewery. It was divided into two parts "Old Woodlesford" and "New Woodlesford". The old part of the village is situated to the north of the park up on the hill and contains the school, the chapel and former church. New Woodlesford related to the area on Aberford Road which is now dominated by 19th century terraces and the CO-OP store.

It was the Home of Bentley's Yorkshire Bitter, until the brewery closed down in the latter half of the 20th century. The Bentley family left their mark upon the landscape building not only the brewery, but also Eshald Mansion & All Saints Church. The Church opened in 1880s and closed in the 1990s. It has since been redeveloped as a house and the Mansion divided into flats.

Originally Woodlesford was clearly separated from the neighbouring village of Oulton but this is no longer the case due to the residential expansion of both villages. An official border runs between the two villages running through the centre of the Midland Hotel Pub and along Midland Street and then across to Holmsley Field Lane. Ironically, this places Oulton Library in Woodlesford and Woodlesford Post Office in Oulton. Woodlesford however is much larger in scale than Oulton. Woodlesford also extends as far as Bowers Row, formerly the St Aidan's Colliery and across to the M62.

Much of Woodlesford's expansion took place since the 19th century as a mining village. Woodlesford boasted four operational pits at Bower's Row by 1896 all owned by T & R W Bower Ltd, managed by WS Blackburn. There was also mining at Rothwell Colliery. When coal production ceased in 1983 the area went into decline though quickly recovered in large part due to its ideal position for commuters. This is because many major roads are located nearby including the M1, M62, A1 and a newly constructed M1/A1 link road. There is also a small railway station to the north-east of the village which provides frequent trains to Leeds, Barnsley, Sheffield & Goole from which services can be caught to all major cities throughout the country.

Most young children in the area attend the local Woodlesford Primary School. The school dates to the 19th Century and has steadily expanded the number of buildings on site including a major expansion in recent years. Woodlesford Primary is currently one of the highest scoring schools in the Leeds area for English, Maths and Science and actively encourages pupils to participate in a wide range of sports. Many other young children attend the nearby Oulton Primary School. Most children between 11 and 16 attend the nearby Royds School located in Rothwell, many others commute further to either Brigshaw, Rodillian or Garforth secondary schools.

At the centre of the village is a small park which contains a football pitch and recently constructed children's play area and skatepark. The closest sports facility is Rothwell Sports Centre located in neighbouring Oulton. Night-life in the village is provided by three pubs and other pubs and restaurants in the nearby area. Many people in the area often travel into Leeds or Wakefield especially on Friday and Saturday nights. The village also contains a post office, petrol station, convenience store, library, three newsagents and various other shops and food outlets.

Music

Musically Woodlesford is currently home to one quarter of Hot Contents, a pop-rock band that are creating some controversy on the Leeds Music Scene Forums and are building up a following in Wakefield. The band itself have been reviewed positivley in the Wakefield Express and finished 2nd in WTP Music's 'Battle Of The Bands' competition. They since performed to a standing ovation on the Nokia stage at the Carling Festival in Leeds.

Besides Hot Contents, Alt-Rock band Kram are also hailing from Woodlesford. Compromising of Si Elvin, James Wall and Jack Peat originally the band achieved success and glowing reviews amongst [http://www.leedsmusicscene.net Leeds Music Scene] journalists. However when Jack left for university Kyle Coleman was brought in. They recently released a double A side single and are currently recording new material

References

* [http://www.leeds.gov.uk Leeds City Council]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/04/school_tables/primary_schools/html/383_2314.stm BBC | School League Tables]

External links

* [http://www.ls26.org.uk/content LS26.org.uk - area website]

* [http://www.myspace.com/ac_midland AC Midland Myspace Webpage - Local Sunday League Team]

* [http://www.theatreworksgroup.com TheatreWorks - Part-Time Performing Arts School based in Woodlesford/Oulton]
* - Woodlesford was in this parish