Woodlesford
| Woodlesford | |
|---|---|
 Woodlesford School |
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 Woodlesford
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| Woodlesford shown within West Yorkshire | |
| Population | 21,010 |
| OS grid reference | SE361290 |
| • London | 160 mi (260 km) SSE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEEDS |
| Postcode district | LS26 |
| Dialling code | 0113 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
Woodlesford is a village in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Leeds city centre. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. Woodlesford was formerly part of the Rothwell Urban District. The village now falls within the Rothwell Ward of the Leeds Metropolitan Council. The village sits on the banks of the Aire and Calder Canal and river system.
The name is first attested between 1188 and 1202, in the form Widlesford, with other medieval forms including Wryd(e)lesford(e). These other forms are closer to the likely origin: Old English *wrīdels 'thicket' + ford 'ford'. The ford in question must have been on the road from Tadcaster to Wakefield, crossing the River Aire.
Much of Woodlesford's expansion took place from the nineteenth century as a mining village. Woodlesford contained four operational pits at Bower's Row by 1896, all owned by T & R W Bower Ltd and managed by W S Blackburn. There was also mining at Rothwell Colliery. When coal production ceased in 1983 the area declined though recovered in large part due to its position for commuters.
The village was the home of Bentley's Yorkshire Bitter, until the brewery was acquired by Whitbread plc in 1968 and closed down four years later. The Bentley family built the brewery, Eshald Mansion and 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 separated from the neighbouring village of Oulton but this is no longer the case due to the residential expansion of both villages. The official boundary between the two villages runs through the centre of the Midland Hotel public house, along Midland Street and then across to Holmsley Field Lane. This places Oulton Library in Woodlesford and Woodlesford Post Office in Oulton. Woodlesford, however, is much larger than Oulton. Woodlesford also extends as far as Bowers Row, formerly the St Aidan's Colliery, and across to the M62.
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