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Kirkstall

Kirkstall
KirkstallAbbey.JPG
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall is located in West Yorkshire
Kirkstall
Kirkstall
Kirkstall shown within West Yorkshire
Population 20,673 
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LEEDS
Postcode district LS3, LS4, LS5
Dialling code 0113
Police West Yorkshire
Fire West Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°48′58″N 1°36′07″W / 53.816°N 1.602°W / 53.816; -1.602Coordinates: 53°48′58″N 1°36′07″W / 53.816°N 1.602°W / 53.816; -1.602

Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. To the west is Bramley, to the east is Headingley, and to the north are Hawksworth and West Park. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,709. Kirkstall is around 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre and is close to the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University. Its main visitor attraction is Kirkstall Abbey. Another landmark 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 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 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, which connected the grounds of the abbey with the Bridge Road commercial area, was closed down in 2012.

The Kirkstall Festival is an 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 is organised by volunteers of the KVCA (Kirkstall Valley Community Association).

Kirkstall is part of the Leeds West parliamentary constituency, whose MP is Rachel Reeves of the Labour Party, first elected in 2010.


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