Gipton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gipton is an early twentieth-century council estate between Harehills and Seacroft in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The estate has a long-term reputation for having serious social problems, and is sometimes ranked as one of the most troubled areas in the whole country.
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[edit] Housing
Gipton is comprised of semi-detached houses, with some terraced houses and some high-rise flats: these are common around this area of Leeds, as they are in Seacroft.
[edit] Etymology of place-name
Gipton derives from Old English: the first element is a personal name: in this case, it is Gippa (same as in Ipswich, although almost certainly not the same man) and tun "village, settlement, farm" (here, it refers to a village). The town's name was recorded as Cepetun, suggesting village with a market, suggesting a trading-town, or residence of the traders, as with Market Weighton. The first element of the name in the Domesday Book record wrongly suggests Old English ceap "market, trading-place", but it was a corruption of the personal name, Gippa. However, a record from 1018 as Gipentune proves that the first element is a personal name, not a noun.
[edit] General information
In local parlance, those that live in or originate from Gipton are known as "Giptoners", or more recently, youths have adopted the term "Giptonites" [rhymes with Kryptonite].
The large Church of the Epiphany located on Beech Lane was constructed in 1936-1938 by N.F. Cachemaille-Day, and is a Grade I listed building.
St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Primary School on St Wilfrid's Circus was opened in 1975 after the old school off Harehills Road ran into a dilapidated state. The first Headteacher at the new school was Mrs. Fleming. The school was once again re-built in 1993 after a fire destroyed the whole building early one morning in 1990.
Some people call the area "Mother Shipton" (rhymes with Gipton) or "Corned Beef Island" - relating to a corned beef robbery that took place in the area during World War 2. It is also home to the Harehills rugby team - playing out of the Gipton WMC.
[edit] External links
- Images of England — details from listed building database (465473) - Church of the Epiphany
- The Ancient Parish of Leeds. GENUKI. Historical and genealogical resource for area including Gipton
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