Kirkstall

Kirkstall
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall  Kirkstall shown within West Yorkshire
Population	20,673 [1]
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	LS4, LS5
Dialling code	0113
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Leeds West
List of places UK England Yorkshire

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. 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, in the grounds of the abbey, is a tourist attraction, and several historical engines are preserved in working order.

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 Village Community Association).

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

Fred Asquith was a specialist Yorkshire cricket wicketkeeper who was born in Kirkstall.

History

St. Stephen's, Kirkstall

Abbey House Museum

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 led by Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron - from Otley - had to cross the river upstream at Apperley Bridge before retaking Leeds in January 1643.

Kirkstall was historically an important centre of industry. Kirkstall Forge 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 a medieval mill race which supplied water to power the corn mill at Kirkstall Abbey. Iron production took place at the forge from the 1580s onwards. During the late 18th century the reconstruction of the upper and lower forges allowed 'shovel and spade production' to commence. A railway was built at the forge in 1830 and sustained growth at the plant. World War I brought about large scale growth, providing axles for military vehicles and by 1930 most lorries and buses made in the UK had a Kirkstall back axle casing. In 2002 the owners of the site, the Dana Corporation announced the closure of the works, shifting production to India and Spain.^[2] The site is undergoing major redevelopment, as is the old Waide's Printers & Kwik Save site. Printing has, like iron-founding, suffered a decline, several printing companies remain.

Kirkstall Power Station

Until the late 1970s when it was closed, Kirkstall was dominated by a coal fired power station. It was replaced by larger power stations away from town at Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax. The power station was demolished in the early 1980s.

Kirkstall Abbey

Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery set in grounds which are now a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded in about 1152 and took over 75 years to construct. 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 and Thomas Girtin.

Amenities

Kirkstall Leisure Centre

Kirkstall's amenities are stretched along Kirkstall Road and Abbey Road. There are several pubs, a Morrisons supermarket and several other shops around it on the site of the former Waddingtons factory, including JJB Sports, Dunnes, Boots the Chemist, Specsavers, Halfords and the Carphone Warehouse. For many years Kirkstall had a department store, 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 has a library and leisure centre on Kirkstall Lane. A small shopping precinct is situated adjacent to the A65 and Kirkstall Lane has become dilapidated in recent years. The centre has an independent discount supermarket, a private members club and a book makers. The Post Office, the library and a public house have closed. Part of the site has been acquired by Tesco ^[3] who have submitted plans to the council which are currently (in early 2012) pending. There is a second-hand book shop, a shop specialising in selling homebrew equipment, a halal café and an Italian restaurant may open soon (spring 2012).^[4]

Transport

Kirkstall is situated on the A65 road which links it to Leeds city centre, Guiseley, Yeadon and Ilkley. There are two railway lines, 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 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 passes through Kirkstall close to the river and its tow path provides walking, running and cycling routes to Leeds and also west to Rodley, West Yorkshire and Shipley.

Notable events

Abbeydale Oval. The house on the far left was extensively used in filming The Beiderbecke Affair.

The Kirkstall Brewery buildings

The Kirkstall Brewery site was 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 with other scenes shot throughout the area and Moor Grange.

The Kirkstall Festival takes place every year in the grounds of the abbey.^[7]

Landmarks

Equidistant from London and Edinburg (sic)

'Drink and be grateful' fountain

St. Stephen's churchyard monuments

Kirkstall is rich in historic sites and monuments. St. Stephen's churchyard has fine 19th century grave markers. Other landmarks include an elegant early 19th 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.

The re-located 19th century drinking fountain near the demolished police station at the junction of Abbey Road and Bradford Road proclaims 'Drink and be grateful'. The fountain's little garden had been neglected for many a year until local community gardening group Kirkstall In Bloom made it their initial project in 2012.^[8]

Location grid

		West Park
	Bramley		Burley
	Kirkstall
		Armley

See also

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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirkstall.

• 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)