Chapeltown, West Yorkshire
Encyclopedia
Chapeltown is a suburb
of north-east Leeds
, in West Yorkshire
, England, and is the centre of the city's British African-Caribbean community
. It is approximately one mile north of Leeds city centre
. Along with neighbouring Harehills
, Chapeltown has in the past suffered from rioting, with disturbances in 1975, 1981, 1987 as well as disturbances during the 2011 England riots
.
Chapeltown does not have any official boundaries. It is not recognised by the Land Registry or the Post Office, but is widely recognised by residents of Leeds. According to the Ordnance Survey
Chapeltown is a relatively small area around National Grid Coordinates
SE430500, 437500, north of Harehills Lane (B6159) and east of the Harrogate Road. Chapeltown Road runs north through Potternewton to Harehills Lane - that is it leads to Chapeltown but is not on it. According to one source a wider definition is in "the LS7 postal region, and can be mapped through four points; where Scott Hall Lane runs to north to where it intersects with Potternewton Lane, where Harehills Lane runs east and intersects with Avenue Hill, where Spencer Place runs south and intersects with Roundhay Road, to the very bottom and beginning of Chapeltown Road." This follows the LS7 postcode boundary on the East, with LS8 being Harehills. However, Roundhay Road could also be considered the boundary between them. Harehills
is adjacent, and the areas are commonly considered together.
Neighbouring areas to Chapeltown in Leeds include Chapel Allerton
to the North, Scott Hall
to the West, Gledhow
to the North-East, and Potternewton
either to the South or included.
Taking the larger area, the main thoroughfare of Chapeltown is Chapeltown Road which runs through the centre of the area north-south for approx. 2 miles (3.2 km), linking Sheepscar
Interchange (at the edge of Leeds city centre) and Harehills Lane/Chapel Allerton. Spencer Place
in the east is another major through route, and once well-known as a red light district
although the area's popularity with prostitutes has reportedly recently declined.
so that they can be two names for the same area. Potternewton is an historic village and most maps prioritise the name Potternewton over Chapeltown, but most residents of Leeds refer to the area as Chapeltown. Transport Direct uses both names, defining them as separate areas, but Potternewton is defined as a very small area around the north of Scott Hall Road and most of the area is classified as Chapeltown.
Potternewton Park is a spacious and attractive park in the north-east of the area, but - as with most poorly lit urban spaces - can be dangerous at night. Norma Hutchinson Park, a smaller playground and sports field, lies in the south of Chapeltown; it was previously named Buslingthorpe Recreation Ground and was renamed in 2009 to commemorate Jamaican-born local councillor Norma Hutchinson who died in 2004.
, writing in 1715, records Chapel-Town as a common name for the township of Chapel Allerton
, describing it as "well situated in pure Air, upon a pleasant Ascent, which affords a Prospect of the Country ten or twelve miles". The open space to its east and north of Potter-Newton was "a delicate Green commonly call'd Chapel-Town Moor"."
Chapeltown Moor was in the manor of Newton (whence Potternewton), some 300 acres, used for races, archery contests, and in 1765 one of the first known cricket matches in Yorkshire, between "the Gentlemen of Chapeltown and the Gentlemen of Sheffield". By 1809 it was mostly enclosed.
In the nineteenth century, the area began to be constructed as a wealthy suburb, and many large terraces and villas from the period remain, though a large proportion have fallen into disuse or are divided up into smaller, low-rent flats. However the area remains leafy and architecturally notable. Buildings have been adapted over the years by successive communities who have settled in the area as places of worship and for a range of social uses. For example, the Union Chapel on Chapeltown Road became a synagogue and then a Sikh temple, although it is now disused following a period of disrepair and fire damage.
A map made of Leeds
in 1834 shows the area that is now Chapeltown was pasture land between Chapel Allerton
and Potternewton
villages and Leeds
. Through the centre of this farmland, which was already earmarked at this time as a planned 'New Town of Leeds' suburb, ran the Leeds-Harrogate Turnpike Road which later became Chapeltown Road. Much of this land, called 'Squire's Pastures' was part of Earl Cowper
’s estate. The Earl first sold this land for development in 1825, but planning and building was slow, and the sale was not completed until 1873. Before selling his land, the Earl also set out a Deed of Arrangement defining the residential character of any future building including the limitation of livestock, heavy industry and public houses in the area.
Further north towards 'Potter Newton' work began in 1856 on Newton Grove. Work continued for the Lupton family on their Newton Park estate following the housing designs of Charles Chorley and John Connon. The development continued to expand, including the addition of Sholebroke Avenue south of the Newton Park Estate by the 1880s.
In the next decade, the popularity of Chapeltown appears to have waned, in favour of areas further from the city. The remaining empty plots were filled with smaller, cheaper, terraced housing. By the turn of the century, the area was almost completely filled with housing.
The Lupton family residence of Newton Hall was demolished in the 1920s and the grounds were replaced with streets of semi-detached housing.
Little building work took place in Chapeltown throughout the twentieth century, unlike many other areas which were subject to slum clearances. Neighbouring Harehills was much the same. One reason that could have led to Chapeltown being left was the quality of its housing stock, although they now largely achieve low rents, the houses are generally well built as they were originally built for the influx of Leeds' new middle class brought on by the industrial revolution.
Ashkenazi Jews
fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe
towards the end of the 19th century that moved to Leeds tended to settle in the inner city area of Leylands. As families became more established many moved to the more desirable area of Chapeltown.
In 1932 the Chapeltown Road New Synagogue, a large domed Byzantine style building, was opened. The opening was in time for the High Festivals of that year, with Rabbi Hurwitz delivering that first Shabbat Shuvah sermon. The artist David Hillman was commissioned, in 1935, to design three stained-glass windows for the shul in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of King George V. These have since been moved to Shadwell Lane Synagogue. In the following decades the Jewish population in Chapeltown began to decline with many families moving further north to the Moortown area. In 1985 the synagogue closed and the building was bought by Leeds City Council. It is now home to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
The British African-Caribbean community
in Leeds mostly came to the UK between the end of World War II
and the early 1960s. Many of the first Jamaicans to settle in Leeds were ex-servicemen. In order to try to encourage mass immigration from the countries of the British Empire
and Commonwealth
to fill shortages in the labour market, the 1948 British Nationality Act
gave British citizenship to all people living in Commonwealth countries, and full rights of entry and settlement in Britain. Many of the first generation of Jamaicans living in Chapeltown today immigrated in this period. The Jamaica Society was formed, with its headquarters in 277 Chapeltown Road to support the needs and celebrate the contributions of the African-Caribbean population in West Yorkshire and Leeds.
Chapel Allerton Hospital
is found in the area, and is one of Leeds' main hospitals, though it does not have an Accident and Emergency department.
Every August bank holiday weekend the area hosts the Leeds Carnival, second only in size to London's Notting Hill Carnival
, and is Europe's longest-standing Caribbean carnival.
Arthur France, a Leeds University student from Saint Kitts
helped to organise the first West Indian Carnival in Britain in Leeds in 1967. That year Vicki Celto was the first Carnival Queen for Leeds in a costume titled "Sun Goddess".
Northern School of Contemporary Dance is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organization devoted to promoting excellence in contemporary dance, ballet, acting, technical theatre and circus arts.
In July 1981 it was one of the areas of English cities home to the widespread race riot
s of that year. There have been sporadic moments of social unrest since then including a riot in 1987 and a night of rioting in neighbouring Harehills
in June 2001.
The most recent riot occurred on 29 July 1991, when around 100 youths (predominantly of West Indian origin) went on a spree of looting and vandalism throughout the area. Police believed that the main culprits of the riot were members of a local drugs gang.
There was also unrest during the 2011 England riots
after a local man was shot in the face and later died in hospital.
and then a Sikh Temple until the new one was constructed. Near the South end, the Holy Rosary Church was built in 1937 for the Irish Catholic community. Until 1985 the next building down was an impressive purpose-built synagogue, the largest in Leeds, which is now the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
The longest-established Christian Church on Chapeltown Road is the Roscoe Methodist Church, a new building opened in 1974 and extended in 1981. These premises are situated at the corner of Francis Street and Chapeltown Road,and was the former site of Willow House built in 1849 by Benjamin Randall Vickers of Vickers Oils, Leeds who founded the first Wesleyan congregation on Willow House premises The present facilities replace the former Roscoe Place Methodist Church which was opened in 1862 and extended in 1882 siutated at the Sheepscar end of Chapeltown Road next tp the Archives Libray building. Roscoe Place Methodist Church was closed in 1974 prior to moving to the new building.
Elsewhere, a former United Reform Church (1906) has become the Chapeltown Community Church by Potternewton Park. The Church of the Three Hierarchs in Harehills Avenue is a former Methodist chapel reopened as a Greek Orthodox
church in 1966. As late as 1993, maps showed four synagogues in the area including the main one, but these have all closed. The first mosque in Leeds was created in a house in Leopold Street in 1958. With the influx of Muslims from India and Pakistan in the 60s and 70s, larger buildings were acquired in 1974 and 1982 to become the main mosque in Leeds, and finally in 2001 the Central Jamia Mosque was completed on Spencer Place.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of north-east Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England, and is the centre of the city's British African-Caribbean community
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
. It is approximately one mile north of Leeds city centre
Leeds City Centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...
. Along with neighbouring Harehills
Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64 .- Overview :...
, Chapeltown has in the past suffered from rioting, with disturbances in 1975, 1981, 1987 as well as disturbances during the 2011 England riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
.
Location and boundaries
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
Chapeltown is a relatively small area around National Grid Coordinates
British national grid reference system
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using latitude and longitude....
SE430500, 437500, north of Harehills Lane (B6159) and east of the Harrogate Road. Chapeltown Road runs north through Potternewton to Harehills Lane - that is it leads to Chapeltown but is not on it. According to one source a wider definition is in "the LS7 postal region, and can be mapped through four points; where Scott Hall Lane runs to north to where it intersects with Potternewton Lane, where Harehills Lane runs east and intersects with Avenue Hill, where Spencer Place runs south and intersects with Roundhay Road, to the very bottom and beginning of Chapeltown Road." This follows the LS7 postcode boundary on the East, with LS8 being Harehills. However, Roundhay Road could also be considered the boundary between them. Harehills
Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64 .- Overview :...
is adjacent, and the areas are commonly considered together.
Neighbouring areas to Chapeltown in Leeds include Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
to the North, Scott Hall
Scott Hall, Leeds
Scott Hall is a suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, adjacent to Chapeltown and Meanwood. It is made up largely of council housing and has an industrial past, with a number of disused factories to the west in Meanwood Valley.-Location:...
to the West, Gledhow
Gledhow
Gledhow is a suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. A major feature of the area is Gledhow Valley, a strip of mixed deciduous woodland with a beck and lake. A bathhouse dating from 1671, the Gipton Spa, is in the woods...
to the North-East, and Potternewton
Potternewton
Potternewton is a suburb and parish of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton, mainly in the LS7 postcode. It is between Scott Hall Road on the West and Roundhay Road on the East, with Harehills Lane on the North...
either to the South or included.
Taking the larger area, the main thoroughfare of Chapeltown is Chapeltown Road which runs through the centre of the area north-south for approx. 2 miles (3.2 km), linking Sheepscar
Sheepscar
Sheepscar is an inner city district of Leeds in West Yorkshire England, lying to the north east of Leeds city centre. It is overlooked by the tower blocks of Little London and Lovell Park to the west, and gives way to Meanwood in the north-west, Chapeltown in the north-east and Burmantofts in the...
Interchange (at the edge of Leeds city centre) and Harehills Lane/Chapel Allerton. Spencer Place
Spencer Place
Spencer Place is a road that runs approximately North-South between Harehills and Chapeltown in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England....
in the east is another major through route, and once well-known as a red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
although the area's popularity with prostitutes has reportedly recently declined.
Chapeltown and Potternewton
There is overlap between the areas referred to as Chapeltown and PotternewtonPotternewton
Potternewton is a suburb and parish of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton, mainly in the LS7 postcode. It is between Scott Hall Road on the West and Roundhay Road on the East, with Harehills Lane on the North...
so that they can be two names for the same area. Potternewton is an historic village and most maps prioritise the name Potternewton over Chapeltown, but most residents of Leeds refer to the area as Chapeltown. Transport Direct uses both names, defining them as separate areas, but Potternewton is defined as a very small area around the north of Scott Hall Road and most of the area is classified as Chapeltown.
Potternewton Park is a spacious and attractive park in the north-east of the area, but - as with most poorly lit urban spaces - can be dangerous at night. Norma Hutchinson Park, a smaller playground and sports field, lies in the south of Chapeltown; it was previously named Buslingthorpe Recreation Ground and was renamed in 2009 to commemorate Jamaican-born local councillor Norma Hutchinson who died in 2004.
History
Ralph ThoresbyRalph Thoresby
Ralph Thoresby , born in Leeds and is widely credited with being the first historian of that city. He was besides a merchant, non-conformist, fellow of the Royal Society, diarist, author, common-councilman in the Corporation of Leeds, and museum keeper.-Upbringing:Ralph Thoresby was the son of John...
, writing in 1715, records Chapel-Town as a common name for the township of Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
, describing it as "well situated in pure Air, upon a pleasant Ascent, which affords a Prospect of the Country ten or twelve miles". The open space to its east and north of Potter-Newton was "a delicate Green commonly call'd Chapel-Town Moor"."
Chapeltown Moor was in the manor of Newton (whence Potternewton), some 300 acres, used for races, archery contests, and in 1765 one of the first known cricket matches in Yorkshire, between "the Gentlemen of Chapeltown and the Gentlemen of Sheffield". By 1809 it was mostly enclosed.
In the nineteenth century, the area began to be constructed as a wealthy suburb, and many large terraces and villas from the period remain, though a large proportion have fallen into disuse or are divided up into smaller, low-rent flats. However the area remains leafy and architecturally notable. Buildings have been adapted over the years by successive communities who have settled in the area as places of worship and for a range of social uses. For example, the Union Chapel on Chapeltown Road became a synagogue and then a Sikh temple, although it is now disused following a period of disrepair and fire damage.
The building of Chapeltown
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in 1834 shows the area that is now Chapeltown was pasture land between Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
and Potternewton
Potternewton
Potternewton is a suburb and parish of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton, mainly in the LS7 postcode. It is between Scott Hall Road on the West and Roundhay Road on the East, with Harehills Lane on the North...
villages and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Through the centre of this farmland, which was already earmarked at this time as a planned 'New Town of Leeds' suburb, ran the Leeds-Harrogate Turnpike Road which later became Chapeltown Road. Much of this land, called 'Squire's Pastures' was part of Earl Cowper
Earl Cowper
Earl Cowper was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1718 by George I for William Cowper, 1st Baron Cowper, his first Lord Chancellor, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to his younger brother, Spencer Cowper...
’s estate. The Earl first sold this land for development in 1825, but planning and building was slow, and the sale was not completed until 1873. Before selling his land, the Earl also set out a Deed of Arrangement defining the residential character of any future building including the limitation of livestock, heavy industry and public houses in the area.
Further north towards 'Potter Newton' work began in 1856 on Newton Grove. Work continued for the Lupton family on their Newton Park estate following the housing designs of Charles Chorley and John Connon. The development continued to expand, including the addition of Sholebroke Avenue south of the Newton Park Estate by the 1880s.
In the next decade, the popularity of Chapeltown appears to have waned, in favour of areas further from the city. The remaining empty plots were filled with smaller, cheaper, terraced housing. By the turn of the century, the area was almost completely filled with housing.
The Lupton family residence of Newton Hall was demolished in the 1920s and the grounds were replaced with streets of semi-detached housing.
Little building work took place in Chapeltown throughout the twentieth century, unlike many other areas which were subject to slum clearances. Neighbouring Harehills was much the same. One reason that could have led to Chapeltown being left was the quality of its housing stock, although they now largely achieve low rents, the houses are generally well built as they were originally built for the influx of Leeds' new middle class brought on by the industrial revolution.
Population
Throughout its history Chapeltown has been home to successive emigre communities that have each added a new dimension to the culture, religious practices and heritage of the area.Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
towards the end of the 19th century that moved to Leeds tended to settle in the inner city area of Leylands. As families became more established many moved to the more desirable area of Chapeltown.
The British African-Caribbean community
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
in Leeds mostly came to the UK between the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the early 1960s. Many of the first Jamaicans to settle in Leeds were ex-servicemen. In order to try to encourage mass immigration from the countries of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
to fill shortages in the labour market, the 1948 British Nationality Act
History of British nationality law
- Early English and British nationality law :British nationality law has its origins in medieval England. There has always been a distinction in English law between the subjects of the monarch and aliens: the monarch's subjects owed him allegiance, and included those born in his dominions and...
gave British citizenship to all people living in Commonwealth countries, and full rights of entry and settlement in Britain. Many of the first generation of Jamaicans living in Chapeltown today immigrated in this period. The Jamaica Society was formed, with its headquarters in 277 Chapeltown Road to support the needs and celebrate the contributions of the African-Caribbean population in West Yorkshire and Leeds.
Recent history
In May 2003, Leeds City Council designated parts of Chapeltown as a conservation area in recognition of its special architectural and historic interest and to protect its character from harmful change. This enlarges the St Mary's Road (Chapeltown) conservation area which was first designated in December 1974.Culture and environment
The area is home to a wide range of community and creative organisations including the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, the Chapletown house choir, the Host Media centre, and Leeds West Indian Centre (now famous for its club nights, particularly the monthly SubDub).Chapel Allerton Hospital
Chapel Allerton Hospital
Chapel Allerton Hospital is located in the area of Chapel Allerton, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is operated by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The main entrance is on Chapeltown Road, with vehicle exits onto Harehills Lane and Newton Road...
is found in the area, and is one of Leeds' main hospitals, though it does not have an Accident and Emergency department.
Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
, and is Europe's longest-standing Caribbean carnival.
Arthur France, a Leeds University student from Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
helped to organise the first West Indian Carnival in Britain in Leeds in 1967. That year Vicki Celto was the first Carnival Queen for Leeds in a costume titled "Sun Goddess".
Northern School of Contemporary Dance
The NSCD is a modern conservatoire dance school with its origins in the Leeds dance education of the 1970s and 80s. Two years after the founding of the school in 1985, it moved to its current home in Chapeltown in 1987. The Riley Theatre was built in the former synagogue, and over the next ten years a number of new dance studios were created on the site and the Brandsby Lodge was renovated. Today the school is recognised as a world-class contemporary dance institution with nearly 200 students.Northern School of Contemporary Dance is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organization devoted to promoting excellence in contemporary dance, ballet, acting, technical theatre and circus arts.
Crime
As a neighbourhood with a history of economic downturn, Chapeltown has a huge association with crime. The area has suffered some serious social problems, including some street drug dealing and a fear of gun crime in the last decade. However, its reputation might be outdated, as recent figures from West Yorkshire Police show that the area has crime rates below the average for West Yorkshire.In July 1981 it was one of the areas of English cities home to the widespread race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s of that year. There have been sporadic moments of social unrest since then including a riot in 1987 and a night of rioting in neighbouring Harehills
Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64 .- Overview :...
in June 2001.
The most recent riot occurred on 29 July 1991, when around 100 youths (predominantly of West Indian origin) went on a spree of looting and vandalism throughout the area. Police believed that the main culprits of the riot were members of a local drugs gang.
There was also unrest during the 2011 England riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
after a local man was shot in the face and later died in hospital.
Religion
The changing population of the area is shown by the religious buildings, particularly along the Chapeltown Road. At the North end, by Chapel Allerton Hospital, is the 1976 Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Czestochowa & St. Stanislaw Kostka, serving the Polish community. (The Warsaw Stores on Chapeltown Road was a major source of Polish food in Leeds before a proliferation of Eastern European shops.) Further down is St Martin's Church, the original Anglican parish church of the village of Potternewton, now with a mainly West Indian congregation. Then comes the Church of God of Prophecy, a Pentecostal church with a mainly Afro-Caribbean congregation. Next door is the new Sikh Temple, the largest in Leeds. Opposite, now out of use, is a church which was originally a Union Chapel, then a SynagogueSynagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and then a Sikh Temple until the new one was constructed. Near the South end, the Holy Rosary Church was built in 1937 for the Irish Catholic community. Until 1985 the next building down was an impressive purpose-built synagogue, the largest in Leeds, which is now the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
The longest-established Christian Church on Chapeltown Road is the Roscoe Methodist Church, a new building opened in 1974 and extended in 1981. These premises are situated at the corner of Francis Street and Chapeltown Road,and was the former site of Willow House built in 1849 by Benjamin Randall Vickers of Vickers Oils, Leeds who founded the first Wesleyan congregation on Willow House premises The present facilities replace the former Roscoe Place Methodist Church which was opened in 1862 and extended in 1882 siutated at the Sheepscar end of Chapeltown Road next tp the Archives Libray building. Roscoe Place Methodist Church was closed in 1974 prior to moving to the new building.
Elsewhere, a former United Reform Church (1906) has become the Chapeltown Community Church by Potternewton Park. The Church of the Three Hierarchs in Harehills Avenue is a former Methodist chapel reopened as a Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
church in 1966. As late as 1993, maps showed four synagogues in the area including the main one, but these have all closed. The first mosque in Leeds was created in a house in Leopold Street in 1958. With the influx of Muslims from India and Pakistan in the 60s and 70s, larger buildings were acquired in 1974 and 1982 to become the main mosque in Leeds, and finally in 2001 the Central Jamia Mosque was completed on Spencer Place.
Notable residents
- Aaron LennonAaron LennonAaron Justin Lennon is an English footballer who plays as a right winger for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and the England national team.-Early life:...
Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer. - Brian DeaneBrian DeaneBrian Christopher Deane is an English former footballer.Signed for £40,000 from Doncaster Rovers in the close season of 1988, Deane first played and scored for Sheffield United in an 8–1 victory against Skegness Town...
Former footballer. - Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
International singer. - Frank KidsonFrank KidsonFrank Kidson was an English folksong collector and music scholar.He was born in Leeds, where he lived for most of his life. He worked briefly with his brother in an antique business, then turned to landscape painting, for which he travelled widely, which gave him the opportunity to get to know...
English folksong collector and music scholar. - Jason RobinsonJason RobinsonJason Thorpe Robinson OBE is an English former international rugby union and rugby league player of the 1990s and 2000s. Playing at wing or fullback, he won fifty-one rugby union international test caps in total for England, and in rugby league he won twelve caps for Great Britain and seven for...
MBE Wigan and Great Britain Rugby League Player and English Rugby Union Player. - Kieron Harvey Musician and reality television star.
- Mel B Former Spice Girl, Scary Spice.
- Micah RichardsMicah RichardsMicah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...
Manchester City and England footballer.
Location grid
External links
- Arthur France MBE - Moving Here Stories
- Max Farrar The Zone of the Other: Imposing and Resisting Alien Identities in Chapeltown, Leeds, During the Twentieth Century
- Chapeltown Carnival Queen 2005 Flickr
- Chapeltown Carnival Leeds 2004 Flickr Historical and genealogical resource for area including Chapeltown