Garforth

Garforth
Entering from the west on the A63 road
Garforth  Garforth shown within West Yorkshire
Population	15,394 (2001)
OS grid reference	SE403330
Metropolitan borough	City of Leeds
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEEDS
Postcode district	LS25
Dialling code	0113
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Elmet and Rothwell
List of places UK England Yorkshire

See also People named Garforth.

Garforth /ˈɡɑrfərθ/ is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward: 80.57% of whom are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people.^[1] Garforth was in the parliamentary constituency of Elmet until the 2010 general election, when it was incorporated into the new constituency of Elmet and Rothwell.

History

St Mary's church

It owes its size to expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries during which the local land-owning Gascoigne family ran several coalmines in the area. The surrounding settlements of Micklefield, Kippax, Swillington, Methley and Allerton Bywater are all villages that prospered and grew as a result of the coal industry. Nowadays manufacturing and motor-vehicle repair account for more than a third of the workforce in the area ^{[citation needed]}

More recent expansion can also be traced to a combination of overall economic success in Leeds, and the fact that Garforth is well served by transport links. The A1 and M1 are minutes away, and both have recently been linked by an extension of the M1 which passes to the West and North of the town, with two nearby access points at Junctions 46 and 47. The M1 extension has led to rapid development of commercial, light industrial and residential sites clustered around Junctions 46 and 47. There are two railway stations, Garforth and East Garforth, both on the mainline route between Leeds, York, and North Eastern England to Scotland, and between Leeds, Selby and Hull and the Yorkshire coastal resorts. Effectively, people can commute to or visit a wide variety of destinations quite easily and still live in a self-contained township surrounded by open countryside, woodlands and rural villages.

Garforth has been home to 1st garforth scout group since 1908.

People

Some famous residents and ex-residents of Garforth include, Chris Silverwood, Dave Seaman and Andrew White, of the Kaiser Chiefs, John Birch (Rugby League Player for Leeds,England and Great Britain) The town was also the birthplace of Second World War airman, Sir Augustus Walker of the Royal Air Force.

Transport

Garforth is situated on the A63, which links it with the M1 and the A1(M), the M62 also lies close by to the South of the town. Garforth has two railway stations, Garforth railway station lies to the North of the town centre, whist East Garforth railway station which opened in the 1980s lies to the East of the town. Here the town is linked to Leeds, York, Selby, Kingston upon Hull, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Liverpool and Blackpool via the rail links. The town rail link to Kippax and Castleford was closed under the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. Garforth's bus services are provided by First Leeds and Arriva.

High Speed Two

Under proposals released on 28 January 2013, Garforth would see the High Speed 2 railway line built close to the town, running adjacent to the M1 motorway. The High Speed Line would cross the existing railway line close to Thorpe Park to the West of the town. This line would carry the spur away from Leeds, towards the East Coast Mainline at Church Fenton.^[2]

Education

Garforth Community College

Education establishments in Garforth include a secondary school, primary schools and a vocational performing arts college.

Garforth Academy, a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 is located on Lidgett Lane in Garforth. The school itself has over 2000 students and staff^{[citation needed]}. Furthermore, Garforth Community Arts School (situated in Garforth Community College) runs the Garforth Arts Festival, which is a display of artistic works.

Across from Garforth Academy is the recently refurbished Strawberry Fields Primary school, formerly known as West Garforth Primary School. As well as Strawberry Fields, Garforth is home to Ninelands primary school, Green Lane Primary School, East Garforth Primary School and St Benedict's Primary School, which is a Catholic school.

SLP College is a further education college located in Garforth, providing specialist vocational training in dance and performing arts. Originally founded as a dance school, it later developed a full-time performing arts course and is now a course provider for the Trinity College, London professional performing arts qualifications. The college is accredited to the Council for Dance Education and Training and one of the colleges selected to award the government Dance and Drama Awards.

Sport

Genix Healthcare Stadium

Local football teams are Garforth Town, Garforth A.F.C., Garforth W.M.C. A.F.C and Garforth Rangers A.F.C. Garforth Town play at the Genix Healthcare Stadium (formally known as Wheatley Park) which is located in the corner of the Cedar Ridge estate of Garforth.

There are two rugby clubs in Garforth: Garforth RUFC,^[3] and Garforth Tigers ARLFC,^[4]

There are also two cricket clubs^[5] and a Squash and Leisure Centre.^[6][7]

Garforth Golf Club has a course designed by Alister MacKenzie.^[8]

Economy

Originally a coal mining area, the collieries of much of East Leeds and surrounding areas closed in the 1960s, although further South mining was still strong in the 1990s and is still prevalent to some degree today. Garforth has increasingly become a commuter town of Leeds ^{[citation needed]} There is a light industrial estate to the North of the town which provides some employment, such as Ginetta Cars, while the neighbouring Thorpe Business Park in Colton also provides employment. Garforth's rail connections and access to the M1, A1(M) and M62 have made it a desirable area for commuters to live.

Amenities

Garforth offers fewer amenities than other towns in the City of Leeds, such as Otley and Wetherby. The town centre now resembles a local centre rather than a town centre. Garforth has a Tesco supermarket, The Original Factory Shop department store, several pubs in the town centre, a Co-operative, and several other shops such as newsagents, charity shops, travel agents and banks. Garforth also has civic amenities such as a library and a One Stop Centre run by Leeds City Council. A relatively new appearance on Garforth Main Street is the Baraka Coffee House, which gives all of its profits back to projects in the town, functioning as a Social Enterprise.

Garforth has eight traditional public houses and a number of social/affiliated clubs. The pubs are Miller & Carter Steakhouse (Formerly The Old George), The Gaping Goose, The Crusader, The Podger, The Bird in Hand, The Newmarket Inn, The Miners Arms and The Lord Gascoigne. Some locals refer to these pubs as the "Garforth Gallon".

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  Garforth Main Street

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  The Original Factory Shop

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  The Miners, a pub in Garforth

References in literature

The book The Modfather was set in Garforth in the late 1970s and early 1980s detailing David Lines adolescence in the town and his obsession with Paul Weller.^[9]

Location grid

		Barwick-in-Elmet
	Austhorpe		Micklefield
	Garforth
		Kippax

See also

• Garforth Town A.F.C.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garforth.

• Garforth Community College
• Garforth's Website
• YEP Garforth Today Community Website
• Garforth Town
• Garforth Jets Badminton Club
• Garforth Rangers
• Garforth Art Festival
• LS25 Community Web site
• 1st Garforth Scout Group
• Baraka Garforth
• Miller & Carter Garforth
• The Lord Gascoigne
• The Gaping Goose

• "The Ancient Parish of Garforth". GENUKI.  Historical and genealogical resource