Kirkstall

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Coordinates: 53°49′03″N 1°36′15″W / 53.8175°N 1.6043°W / 53.8175; -1.6043

Kirkstall
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall shown within West Yorkshire
Population	20,673[1]
Metropolitan borough	City of Leeds
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEEDS
Postcode district	LS5
Dialling code	0113
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
European Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Leeds North West
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Kirkstall is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is located on the eastern side of the River Aire. To the west is the suburb of Bramley, the easterly suburb is Headingley and the northerly one is West Park. Kirkstall is around 2 miles (3.2 km) out of the city centre and is becoming an increasingly popular area for Leeds' student population to live, with its proximity to the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University. Its main visitor attraction is Kirkstall Abbey. Another notable architectural feature is St. Stephen's church designed by the architect Robert Dennis Chantrell. Richard Oastler, a reformer and fighter for children's rights, is buried in a visible crypt under the church's east end.

In the 12th century Cistercian monks founded Kirkstall Abbey, a daughter house of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. The Abbey House Museum opposite the Abbey itself tells the story of the community and the town. Henry De Lacey, Baron of Pontefract, gave the land for the foundation of the Abbey, and Kirkstall has a few roads named in his memory. The Abbey Light Railway, in the grounds of the Abbey, is another tourist attraction, where several historical engines are preserved in working order.

The Kirkstall Festival is a popular annual event, held in the Abbey grounds on the second Saturday in July since 1981. It is a festival of music, local arts and crafts, and fun, and is organised by volunteers of the KVCA (Kirkstall Village Community Association).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Kirkstall Abbey 2 Amenities 3 Transport 4 Notable events 5 Other notable landmarks 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

During the English Civil War, the bridge over the Aire at Kirkstall (referred to in a contemporaneous account as 'Churchstall') was blown up by Royalist troops from Leeds. After discovering this, a Parliamentary force lead by Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron - who was from nearby Otley - had to cross the river upstream at Apperley Bridge before its successful capture of Leeds in January 1643.

Kirkstall was historically an important centre of industry, with the large Kirkstall Forge (which lays claim to being the longest continually used industrial site in Britain), founded in the 13th Century by the Cistercian Monks of the Abbey, and a number of printers. The earliest known activity on the site was its use as a medieval Mill Race which supplied the corn mill at Kirkstall Abbey. Iron production took place at the forge from the 1580’s onwards. During the late 1700s the reconstruction of both the upper and lower forge allowed 'shovel and spade production' to commence. A railway was brought to the forge in 1830 and sustained growth at the plant. The Great War brought about large scale growth at the plant, providing axles for military vehicles, by 1930 most lorries and buses made in the UK had a Kirkstall back axle casing. In 2002 the then owners of the site, the Dana Corporation announced the closure of the works, shifting production to India and Spain.^[2] The site is currently under planning for major redevelopment, as is the old Waide's Printers & Kwik Save site. Although printing has, like iron-founding, suffered a decline, several printing companies remain.

Until the late 1970s when it was closed, Kirkstall was dominated by a coal fired power station, however the general move towards larger power stations away from town, such as Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax. The power station was demolished in the early 1980s. The larger Leeds Corporation power station in Stourton remained open until the 1990s.

[edit] Kirkstall Abbey

Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery to the west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, set in grounds which are now a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded c.1152 and was over seventy five years in construction. It was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII. The ruins have been painted by artists such as J.M.W. Turner.

[edit] Amenities

Kirkstall does not have so much a local centre, rather the amenities are stretched along Kirkstall Road and Abbey Road. There are several pubs in Kirkstall, a Morrison's supermarket as well as several other shops set around it on the site of the former Waddingtons factory, including JJB Sports, Dunnes, Boots the Chemist, Halfords and the Carphone Warehouse. For many years Kirkstall boasted a department store called Clover, this was taken over by Allders and is now run by British Home Stores. Most of the independent shops are spread along the A65. Kirkstall also has a library and leisure centre situated on Kirkstall Lane. A small shopping precinct is situated adjacent to the A65 and Kirkstall Lane, this has become dilalpidated in recent years, the centre has an independent discount supermarket, a private members club, library and a book makers, the Post Office and Kirkstall Lites public house have since closed. Amoungst other shops there is a second hand book shop and a shop specialising in selling homebrew equipment. Kirkstall also boasts a recently opened Tapas restaurant. For many years Kirkstall was known for its large American style restuarant the 'Boston Diner', which burnt down in 2005, several years after closing.^[3]

[edit] Transport

Kirkstall is situated along the A65 road which links it with Leeds City Centre, Guiseley, Yeadon and Ilkley. There are two railway lines running through Kirkstall. The Bradford line passes along the Aire Valley but there is no station, a station is however proposed at Kirkstall Forge. The Harrogate line passes near Kirkstall and the Headingley station is a few minutes walk from the centre of Kirkstall. The former Leeds tramway ran through Kirkstall until it was dismantled in 1959, a substation used by the tramway is still visible on Abbey Road. There are many bus routes through Kirkstall. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal also weaves along the River Aire through Kirkstall and its tow path provides walking, running and cycling routes to Leeds and also west to Rodley and Shipley.

Company	Route	Destinations
First	15	Bradford, Farsley, Leeds City Centre
First	18 & 18A	Tinshill, Ireland Wood, West Park, Leeds City Centre, Whitkirk, Garforth, Colton
First	33 & 33A	Leeds City Centre, Horsforth, Rawdon, Guiseley, Yeadon, Menston, Otley
First	38	White Rose Centre, Wortley, Headingley, Gledhow
First	50 50A	Seacroft, Harehills, St James' Hospital, Leeds City Centre, Hawksworth, Horsforth
First	91 91A	Pudsey, Bramley, Headingley, Meanwood, Chapeltown, Harehills, Halton Moor.
First	757	Leeds City Centre, Horsforth, Leeds Bradford International Airport, Otley

^[4][5]

[edit] Notable events

The old Kirkstall Brewery site was recently converted into a large Hall of Residence for students of Leeds Metropolitan University. Other developments in Kirkstall include the Morrisons shopping complex, off the A65 road, by the river.

Filming of The Beiderbecke Affair took place partly in Kirkstall, using houses around Abbeydale Oval in particularly as well as some other scenes being shot throughout the area and nearby Moor Grange.

The Kirkstall Festival takes place every year in the grounds of the abbey.^[6]

[edit] Other notable landmarks

Kirkstall is rich in historic sites and monuments. St. Stephen's church yard has fine nineteenth grave markers. Other landmarks in the Kirkstall district include an elegant early nineteenth century stone monument on the A65 road near the Kirkstall Forge site. A plaque on the monument indicates that Kirkstall is 200 miles from London and 200 miles from Edinburgh.

A re-located but somewhat neglected nineteenth century drinking fountain near the demolished police station at the junction of Abbey Road and Bradford Road proclaims 'Drink and be grateful'.

[edit] See also

• Kirkstall Abbey
• Kirkstall Brewery
• Kirkstall Forge railway station
• Kirkstall valley campaign

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.kirkstall.org.uk - for all things Kirkstall
• The ancient parish of Leeds: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI (Kirkstall was in this parish)

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