Middleton, Leeds
Encyclopedia
Middleton is a suburb of Leeds
4 miles (6 km) south of Leeds city centre
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It originated as an agricultural and pit village
in south Leeds
and is mentioned as Mildentone and Mildetone village in the 1086 Domesday Book
.
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales" described Middleton as:
Coal mining in Middleton ceased in 1968 when Broom Pit, the last of the Middleton Collieries closed. When Leeds Corporation embarked on a programme of extensive slum clearance in Hunslet
the early 1920s, Middleton became the location for one of the vast council estates built on the city outskirts. Today Middleton is a residential suburb of South Leeds. Most residents of Middleton are employed elsewhere in the city. The area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
The name Middleton is derived from the OE middel-tun, in this case the middle settlement or farm on the road from Morley
to Rothwell
.
Flint and bronze
weapons have been discovered in the neighbourhood of Middleton showing
evidence of habitation during the Palaeolithic
and Bronze Ages
ages.
Roman
discoveries were made in 1607 and 1823.
Middleton was mentioned in the Domesday Book
as having 3 carucate
s of land. Much of the area was woodland. The land was given to Ilbert de Lacy who had a castle at Pontefract
.
Middleton Park is a remnant of the manorial estate which existed after the Norman Conquest. In the twelfth century the boundary between Middleton and Beeston
became the focus of a protracted legal dispute between William Grammary and Adam de Beeston. The dispute was over where the boundary lay through the dense woodland which then covered the area. The dispute was settled in 1209 by "single combat" and the construction of a boundary bank and ditch, a stretch of which can still be seen in Middleton Woods.
The Creppings were Lords of the Manor
followed by the Leigh or Legh family. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
, held the Manor from 1363–1370 and Simon Simeon, whose will mentioned coal mines, from 1401 - 1406. The Leighs held the manor for much of the time between 1300 until 1697 when Anne Leigh married Ralph Brandling of Felling, Co Durham. Middleton Hall on Town Street, built in the 18th century was the Brandling's Middleton home but they chose to live mainly in their Durham home. Charles John Brandling of Gosforth House
was Member of Parliament
for Newcastle
1798-1812 and for Northumberland 1820-1826. He married Henrietta Armitage, heiress of Middleton. John Blenkinsop, the colliery manager was the Middleton Hall's occupant in 1809. Middleton Hall was destroyed in a fire in 1962.
In 1760 the Brandlings built a new residence, Middleton Lodge, designed by James Paine in what is now the park possibly where the original manor house stood. Members of the Brandling family lived there until 1860 including R.H. Brandling who donated the site on which the church is built. The estate was sold in 1862 to the Middleton Estate & Colliery Company. In 1871 William Henry Maude, partner in Middleton Estate & Colliery Co. lived there with his sister. He died in a carriage accident in the park in 1911. His sister kept tenancy of the Lodge after the land had been acquired by the council in 1920 until her death in 1933. After her death the Lodge became headquarters of Middleton Golf Club until 1986 when it was demolished.
. There is evidence of coal mining dating back to the Middle Ages in the shaft mounds, waggonways
and similar archaeological features resulting from early mining activity in Middleton Woods. The earliest pits were bell pit
s in the 17th century or earlier. Adits or day holes were dug horizontally into the hill sides. In 1669 Frances Conyers of New Hall had "cole pits" in Middleton. Gin pits with brick lined shafts and wooden headgear to haul up the buckets of coal and horses to turn the windlass were the next development. This type of mine was in operation when Anne Leigh married Ralph Brandling. The pits were small and many worked for a short time. The Brandlings owned six collieries in Durham. The 1,200 acre Middleton Hall estate supplied coal to Leeds but was disadvantaged in the trade by poor roads. Deep mining arrived with the advent of steam engines which pumped water out of the mines and kept the workings dry and made it possible to raise coal quickly from greater depths. In 1780 a Newcomen
engine was installed at Middleton. The market for coal grew as Leeds and its industries expanded.
The mine employed 90 hewers and 60 putters by 1808.
The Middleton Railway
founded in 1758 is the oldest continuously working railway in Britain, and was established by an Act of Parliament
. This was England's first railway Act. The railway, owned by Charles Brandling
, (1733-1802), was a horse drawn wooden waggonway linking the collieries at Middleton with Cassons Close near Leeds Bridge
. Its purpose was to transport coal from the mines to the centre of Leeds.
In 1810 John Blenkinsop
, Brandling's manager at Middleton Colliery was looking for cheaper ways to move coal to Leeds. Blenkinson designed the world's first rack railway
and Matthew Murray
built "Salamanca
", the first Middleton Railway locomotive at his Round Foundry
in Holbeck
. The first run was reported in The Leeds Mercury
on 27 June 1812. It was "witnessed by thousands of spectators and crowned a complete success....".
Three more locomotives were built. The Middleton Railway locomotives had a toothed cog wheel which meshed into a rack on the side of the rail, as it was felt this would provide the engines with a better grip when hauling coal wagons.
Before 1840 women and children were employed in the mines and there were frequent accidents. The worst disaster occurred in 1825 at the Gosforth Pit where an explosion of firedamp
caused 24 deaths, the oldest a collier aged 48 and the youngest a child of five.
Broom Pit was the deepest at 810 feet (246.9 m) and longest lasting of the Middleton collieries. Operations at the pit ended in 1959 as the productivity of the colliery declined. The colliery had been the largest employer in the area, and its closure in 1968 began a very long process of decline for Middleton.
on 1 April 1920 and soon afterwards the Middleton housing estate, "a vast low-density Corporation built cottage estate with circuses and avenues" was built using bricks from the Fireclay Works at Broom Pit. The estate was built on land once used for agriculture including West Farm and parts of Sissons Farm. By 1934 2,377 houses had been built and the estate considered to be a "garden suburb", however it was considered remote and lacking in facilities by the residents.
In 1919 the once private grounds of Middleton Lodge were leased by the council for use as a public park.
The Westwoods and Manor Farm estates were developed in the 1960s. A large private estate was built at Sharp Lane after 1972 and 1,300 houses are being built at Leeds New Forest Village.
the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. It became an ecclesiastical parish after 1849. Between 1866 and 1920 it was a civil parish
and in 1920 was incorporated into the City of Leeds.
Boundary changes put Middleton in the Leeds Central
parliamentary constituency at the 2010 General Election. Previously the area was in the Morley and Rothwell constituency. Middleton is in the Middleton Park electoral ward
and is represented on Leeds City Council
by three Labour
councillors (as at May 2010).
and a bed of fireclay
which was worked by the Middleton Estate and Colliery Company to make bricks and other products. Several of the higher coal seams outcrop in Middleton Park, between the coal seams are sandstones and shales. The old village grew up along Town Street which runs west-east along the ridge. Middleton housing estate occupies flattish land on the plateau. The high point of the Middleton is by the water tower about 500 feet (152.4 m) above mean sea level. The township covered about 1700 acres, of which 450 are woodland known as Middleton Woods, the largest area of ancient woodland
remaining in Leeds. The suburb is flanked by the M62
to the south, the M1
to the east and the M621
to the north.
Middleton is a residential area, there are areas of multiple deprivation, but a Middleton Regeneration Board has been set up to address concerns including reducing unemployment over a ten year period.
The council houses on Middleton Estate were constructed in the 1920s, some have been demolished, the Westwood Council Estate was added in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Further development has taken place building large new private housing estates in the 2000s.
neighbourhood housing office services. A new Middleton Clinic opened in 2007.
Middleton has two small shopping areas, Middleton Park Circus and Middleton District Shopping Centre.
Pubs in Middleton include the Middleton Arms and the Omnibus.
The most notable feature is the distinctive white concrete water tower
which stands at the high point of the hill (approx 500 feet (150 m) above sea level), at the south west corner of Middleton Park on Town Street.
The area now known as Middleton Park
was once the private estate of the lords of the manor of Middleton. It is owned by Wade's Charity and is leased to Leeds City Council for a peppercorn rent. It has been one of Leeds many public parks since 1919. The park covers an area of 630 acres (2.5 km²), nearly a square mile, and over 200 acre (0.809372 km²) are of ancient woodland
. There is also a small lake, recreational areas and a golf course. The reclaimed site of "Middleton Broom" Colliery has been incorporated into the park. By its northern boundary is the South Leeds Stadium, home of Hunslet Rugby League Club
.
The Middleton Railway
, a preserved heritage steam railway, operates from its headquarters and new museum at Moor Road Hunslet to Park Halt in Middleton Park. It is operated by volunteers. From Middleton, Park Halt is accessed by a footpath that was one of the original railway waggonways.
. The tramway ran parallel to the colliery line to Hunslet Moor Staithes and then went south through Middleton Woods. It was made into a circular route in 1949 when it was extended to Belle Isle Road and Balm Road. It closed in 1959.
The original plans for the Leeds Supertram
included a Middleton line, however the plans were amended to save on costs and the later plans stipulated a terminus at Stourton
, the scheme was axed when government funding was withdrawn.
Public transport
in Middleton is coordinated by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority.
Middleton is served by several bus routes operated by First Leeds and Arriva, with buses to Leeds city centre, Wakefield
, Roundhay
, Morley
and the White Rose Centre.
The nearest railway station is in Morley
with services to the city centre
, Dewsbury
, Huddersfield
and Manchester
.
chapel endowed by Gilbert Leygh in Middleton dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, it was closed at the time of the Reformation
. Middleton was a chapelry
of the Parish of Rothwell.
In 1845 R.H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage. The Church of St Mary the Virgin
was built to designs of R. D. Chantrell
, who also designed Leeds Parish Church
in 1846. The church and its lych gate are designated Grade II listed buildings. The church was originally built with a tall spire
which was taken down because of mining subsidence in 1939. There is a tradition that local miners gave either a week's wages or a week's work towards the cost of its construction.
Out of this parish, two more were created as the population increased when the Middleton council estate was built. In 1921 the church acquired land on the Middleton housing estate on which to build. In 1925 the Church of St Cross, Middleton was built off Middleton Park Avenue. A permanent church was built in 1933 and became a parish church in 1935 with about two thirds of the Middleton housing estate in its boundaries. In the 1930s Belle Isle housing estate was begun. A church, St John and St Barnabus, was built in Belle Isle in 1939 but not consecrated until 1947 because of the War. This church also became a parish church.
Middleton Methodist Chapel was built in 1896. It replaced an earlier chapel built 30 years earlier by Wesleyan Methodists. It was designed by Howdill and Howdill and built in brick. It has a tower to the north west and large west window. The interior survives largely unaltered and has a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
There is a Baptist church on Middleton Park Avenue. St Philip's Roman Catholic Church, a modern building is situated on St Philip's Avenue.
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...
4 miles (6 km) south 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...
, 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It originated as an agricultural and pit village
Pit village
A pit village is a term used in the UK for the village serving a deep coal mine.Many of the workers lived in houses that were provided by the colliery. Many villages have experienced depopulation after colliery closures forced people to move to other towns and cities where there are jobs for them...
in south 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...
and is mentioned as Mildentone and Mildetone village in the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales" described Middleton as:
Coal mining in Middleton ceased in 1968 when Broom Pit, the last of the Middleton Collieries closed. When Leeds Corporation embarked on a programme of extensive slum clearance in Hunslet
Hunslet
Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is south east of the city centre and has an industrial past.Hunslet had many engineering companies based in the district, such as John Fowler & Co...
the early 1920s, Middleton became the location for one of the vast council estates built on the city outskirts. Today Middleton is a residential suburb of South Leeds. Most residents of Middleton are employed elsewhere in the city. The area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
History
Morley, West Yorkshire
Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...
to Rothwell
Rothwell, West Yorkshire
Rothwell is a market town on the River Dolphin in the south east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, situated between Oulton to the east, Belle Isle to the west, Woodlesford to the north east and Robin Hood to the south west. Swillington, Methley and Kippax are located...
.
Flint and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
weapons have been discovered in the neighbourhood of Middleton showing
evidence of habitation during the Palaeolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
and Bronze Ages
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
ages.
Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
discoveries were made in 1607 and 1823.
Middleton was mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as having 3 carucate
Carucate
The carucate or ploughland was a unit of assessment for tax used in most Danelaw counties of England, and is found for example in Domesday Book. The carucate was based on the area a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season...
s of land. Much of the area was woodland. The land was given to Ilbert de Lacy who had a castle at Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
.
Middleton Park is a remnant of the manorial estate which existed after the Norman Conquest. In the twelfth century the boundary between Middleton and Beeston
Beeston, Leeds
Beeston is a suburb Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located about 2 miles south of the city centre. The area is separated from surrounding areas to the north, east and west by the M621 motorway....
became the focus of a protracted legal dispute between William Grammary and Adam de Beeston. The dispute was over where the boundary lay through the dense woodland which then covered the area. The dispute was settled in 1209 by "single combat" and the construction of a boundary bank and ditch, a stretch of which can still be seen in Middleton Woods.
The Creppings were Lords of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
followed by the Leigh or Legh family. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
, held the Manor from 1363–1370 and Simon Simeon, whose will mentioned coal mines, from 1401 - 1406. The Leighs held the manor for much of the time between 1300 until 1697 when Anne Leigh married Ralph Brandling of Felling, Co Durham. Middleton Hall on Town Street, built in the 18th century was the Brandling's Middleton home but they chose to live mainly in their Durham home. Charles John Brandling of Gosforth House
Gosforth House
Gosforth House now known as Brandling House is a Grade II listed building built as a mansion house and now serving as a hospitality and conference centre at Gosforth Park Racecourse, Newcastle upon Tyne, England....
was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Newcastle
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a borough constituency in the county of Northumberland of the House of Commons of England to 1706 then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...
1798-1812 and for Northumberland 1820-1826. He married Henrietta Armitage, heiress of Middleton. John Blenkinsop, the colliery manager was the Middleton Hall's occupant in 1809. Middleton Hall was destroyed in a fire in 1962.
In 1760 the Brandlings built a new residence, Middleton Lodge, designed by James Paine in what is now the park possibly where the original manor house stood. Members of the Brandling family lived there until 1860 including R.H. Brandling who donated the site on which the church is built. The estate was sold in 1862 to the Middleton Estate & Colliery Company. In 1871 William Henry Maude, partner in Middleton Estate & Colliery Co. lived there with his sister. He died in a carriage accident in the park in 1911. His sister kept tenancy of the Lodge after the land had been acquired by the council in 1920 until her death in 1933. After her death the Lodge became headquarters of Middleton Golf Club until 1986 when it was demolished.
Industrial history
Middleton was built around coalCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. There is evidence of coal mining dating back to the Middle Ages in the shaft mounds, waggonways
and similar archaeological features resulting from early mining activity in Middleton Woods. The earliest pits were bell pit
Bell pit
A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...
s in the 17th century or earlier. Adits or day holes were dug horizontally into the hill sides. In 1669 Frances Conyers of New Hall had "cole pits" in Middleton. Gin pits with brick lined shafts and wooden headgear to haul up the buckets of coal and horses to turn the windlass were the next development. This type of mine was in operation when Anne Leigh married Ralph Brandling. The pits were small and many worked for a short time. The Brandlings owned six collieries in Durham. The 1,200 acre Middleton Hall estate supplied coal to Leeds but was disadvantaged in the trade by poor roads. Deep mining arrived with the advent of steam engines which pumped water out of the mines and kept the workings dry and made it possible to raise coal quickly from greater depths. In 1780 a Newcomen
Newcomen
Newcomen may refer to:* Viscount Newcomen, an extinct viscountcyPeople with the surname Newcomen:* John Newcomen , first white settler murdered by another white settler in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts...
engine was installed at Middleton. The market for coal grew as Leeds and its industries expanded.
The mine employed 90 hewers and 60 putters by 1808.
The Middleton Railway
Middleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
founded in 1758 is the oldest continuously working railway in Britain, and was established by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
. This was England's first railway Act. The railway, owned by Charles Brandling
Brandling of Newcastle
The Brandlings of Newcastle were a wealthy family of merchants and land and coal owners in Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumberland.-Early Brandlings:...
, (1733-1802), was a horse drawn wooden waggonway linking the collieries at Middleton with Cassons Close near Leeds Bridge
Leeds Bridge
Leeds Bridge is a historic river crossing in Leeds, England. The present cast iron road bridge dates from 1730. It is Grade II listed.The medieval town of Leeds centred on 13th century burgess building plots either side of a wide road from the river crossing called Bridge Gate, now Briggate...
. Its purpose was to transport coal from the mines to the centre of Leeds.
In 1810 John Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop was an English mining engineer and an inventor of steam locomotives, who designed the first practical railway locomotive....
, Brandling's manager at Middleton Colliery was looking for cheaper ways to move coal to Leeds. Blenkinson designed the world's first rack railway
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...
and Matthew Murray
Matthew Murray
Matthew Murray was an English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer, who designed and built the first commercially viable steam locomotive, the twin cylinder Salamanca in 1812...
built "Salamanca
The Salamanca
Salamanca was the first commercially successful steam locomotive, built in 1812 by Matthew Murray of Holbeck, for the edge railed Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds. It was the first to have two cylinders...
", the first Middleton Railway locomotive at his Round Foundry
Round Foundry
The Round Foundry is a former engineering works off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The Round Foundry was built in 1795–1797 by a partnership of James Fenton, Matthew Murray, David Wood and the financier William Lister, trading as Fenton, Murray and Wood,...
in Holbeck
Holbeck
Holbeck is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 Leeds postcode area. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since...
. The first run was reported in The Leeds Mercury
Leeds Mercury
The Leeds Mercury was a newspaper in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was published from 1718 to 1755 and again from 1767. Initially it consisted of 12 pages and cost three halfpennies. In 1794 it had a circulation of about 3,000 copies, and in 1797 the cost rose to sixpence because of increased...
on 27 June 1812. It was "witnessed by thousands of spectators and crowned a complete success....".
Three more locomotives were built. The Middleton Railway locomotives had a toothed cog wheel which meshed into a rack on the side of the rail, as it was felt this would provide the engines with a better grip when hauling coal wagons.
Before 1840 women and children were employed in the mines and there were frequent accidents. The worst disaster occurred in 1825 at the Gosforth Pit where an explosion of firedamp
Firedamp
Firedamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous...
caused 24 deaths, the oldest a collier aged 48 and the youngest a child of five.
Broom Pit was the deepest at 810 feet (246.9 m) and longest lasting of the Middleton collieries. Operations at the pit ended in 1959 as the productivity of the colliery declined. The colliery had been the largest employer in the area, and its closure in 1968 began a very long process of decline for Middleton.
20th century
Middleton was incorporated into the county borough of LeedsCounty Borough of Leeds
The County Borough of Leeds, and its predecessor, the Municipal Borough of Leeds, was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1835 to 1974. Its origin was the ancient borough of Leeds, which was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835...
on 1 April 1920 and soon afterwards the Middleton housing estate, "a vast low-density Corporation built cottage estate with circuses and avenues" was built using bricks from the Fireclay Works at Broom Pit. The estate was built on land once used for agriculture including West Farm and parts of Sissons Farm. By 1934 2,377 houses had been built and the estate considered to be a "garden suburb", however it was considered remote and lacking in facilities by the residents.
In 1919 the once private grounds of Middleton Lodge were leased by the council for use as a public park.
The Westwoods and Manor Farm estates were developed in the 1960s. A large private estate was built at Sharp Lane after 1972 and 1,300 houses are being built at Leeds New Forest Village.
Governance
Middleton was a township and chapelry in the ancient parish of Rothwell in the Agbrigg-division ofthe wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley
Agbrigg and Morley
Agbrigg and Morley was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into two divisions, which in the mid-nineteenth century became wapentakes in their own right....
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. It became an ecclesiastical parish after 1849. Between 1866 and 1920 it was a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
and in 1920 was incorporated into the City of Leeds.
Boundary changes put Middleton in the Leeds Central
Leeds Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds Central is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
parliamentary constituency at the 2010 General Election. Previously the area was in the Morley and Rothwell constituency. Middleton is in the Middleton Park electoral ward
Middleton Park, ward
Middleton Park is a ward of the Metropolitan District of the City of Leeds and includes the areas of Middleton and Belle Isle....
and is represented on Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
by three Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
councillors (as at May 2010).
Geography
Middleton, south of Leeds, occupies part of a plateau which falls away sharply to the west (towards Dewsbury Road) and to the north of Town Street. The underlying rocks are the coal measuresCoal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
and a bed of fireclay
Fire clay
Fire clay is a term applied to a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick.High grade fire clays can withstand temperatures of 1775°C , but to be referred to as a "fire clay" the material must withstand a minimum temperature of 1515°C...
which was worked by the Middleton Estate and Colliery Company to make bricks and other products. Several of the higher coal seams outcrop in Middleton Park, between the coal seams are sandstones and shales. The old village grew up along Town Street which runs west-east along the ridge. Middleton housing estate occupies flattish land on the plateau. The high point of the Middleton is by the water tower about 500 feet (152.4 m) above mean sea level. The township covered about 1700 acres, of which 450 are woodland known as Middleton Woods, the largest area of ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
remaining in Leeds. The suburb is flanked by the M62
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
to the south, the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
to the east and the M621
M621 motorway
The M621 motorway is a short loop of motorway in England that takes traffic into central Leeds between the M1 and M62 motorways. It is the second longest motorway in the United Kingdom to carry a three digit number although it carries more junctions than any other three digit motorway within the...
to the north.
Economy
The council houses on Middleton Estate were constructed in the 1920s, some have been demolished, the Westwood Council Estate was added in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Further development has taken place building large new private housing estates in the 2000s.
Amenities
Facilities include the St Georges Centre, a multi use centre including a library, health services andneighbourhood housing office services. A new Middleton Clinic opened in 2007.
Middleton has two small shopping areas, Middleton Park Circus and Middleton District Shopping Centre.
Pubs in Middleton include the Middleton Arms and the Omnibus.
Landmarks
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
which stands at the high point of the hill (approx 500 feet (150 m) above sea level), at the south west corner of Middleton Park on Town Street.
The area now known as Middleton Park
Middleton Park
Middleton Park is a public park in Middleton, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It covers an area of , nearly a square mile of which are ancient woodland. There is also a small lake, recreational areas and a golf course. The reclaimed site of "Middleton Broom" Colliery has been incorporated into the...
was once the private estate of the lords of the manor of Middleton. It is owned by Wade's Charity and is leased to Leeds City Council for a peppercorn rent. It has been one of Leeds many public parks since 1919. The park covers an area of 630 acres (2.5 km²), nearly a square mile, and over 200 acre (0.809372 km²) are of ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
. There is also a small lake, recreational areas and a golf course. The reclaimed site of "Middleton Broom" Colliery has been incorporated into the park. By its northern boundary is the South Leeds Stadium, home of Hunslet Rugby League Club
Hunslet Hawks
Hunslet Hawks is a professional rugby league club based in Hunslet, West Yorkshire, England. The club, sometimes known as 'the Parksiders' after their former stadium, are currently champions of Championship One.-History:-Early years:...
.
The Middleton Railway
Middleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
, a preserved heritage steam railway, operates from its headquarters and new museum at Moor Road Hunslet to Park Halt in Middleton Park. It is operated by volunteers. From Middleton, Park Halt is accessed by a footpath that was one of the original railway waggonways.
Transport
The Middleton Light Railway was an electric tramway built in 1925 by Leeds CorporationLeeds Tramway
Leeds Corporation Tramways formerly served the city of Leeds, England. The original trams were horse-drawn, however by 1901 electrification had been completed. The tramway opened on 29 October 1891-Routes:...
. The tramway ran parallel to the colliery line to Hunslet Moor Staithes and then went south through Middleton Woods. It was made into a circular route in 1949 when it was extended to Belle Isle Road and Balm Road. It closed in 1959.
The original plans for the Leeds Supertram
Leeds Supertram
The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England.-Initial proposals:Proposals for the reinstatement of trams or a light rail system in Leeds which were withdrawn in 1959 have been ongoing since the 1970s with various plans for varying light rail...
included a Middleton line, however the plans were amended to save on costs and the later plans stipulated a terminus at Stourton
Stourton
-Places:*Stourton, Staffordshire*Stourton, Warwickshire*Stourton, Leeds, area of Leeds, West Yorkshire*Stourton, Wiltshire*Stourton Caundle, Dorset*Stourton Park, home of Stourbridge R.F.C.-People:*Barony of Stourton*Edward Stourton , BBC presenter...
, the scheme was axed when government funding was withdrawn.
Public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
in Middleton is coordinated by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority.
Middleton is served by several bus routes operated by First Leeds and Arriva, with buses to Leeds city centre, Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, Roundhay
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb and City Council ward of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, largely within the LS8 postcode. The ward boundary is the A6120 ring road on the north and the A58 Wetherby Road on the south and east. The boundary follows Gledhow Valley Road to the west before heading...
, Morley
Morley
- Places :United Kingdom* Morley, County Durham, England* Morley, Derbyshire, England* Morley, West Yorkshire, England* Morley Saint Botolph, Norfolk, England* Morley Saint Peter, Norfolk, EnglandUnited States* Morley, Iowa* Morley, Michigan...
and the White Rose Centre.
The nearest railway station is in Morley
Morley railway station
Morley railway station serves the town of Morley, West Yorkshire, England.The station is on Huddersfield Line, is operated by Northern Rail, and is south west of Leeds...
with services to the 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...
, Dewsbury
Dewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Religion
In 1497 there was a chantryChantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
chapel endowed by Gilbert Leygh in Middleton dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, it was closed at the time of the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. Middleton was a chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of the Parish of Rothwell.
In 1845 R.H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage. The Church of St Mary the Virgin
St Mary the Virgin, Middleton
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Middleton is a church in Middleton, West Yorkshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church and part of the Armley deanery in the archdeaconry of Leeds and the diocese of Ripon and Leeds...
was built to designs of R. D. Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell was an English church architect, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church.- Early career :Chantrell was born in Newington, Southwark, London...
, who also designed Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Church of England parish church of major architectural and liturgical significance. It has been designated a grade I listed building by English Heritage...
in 1846. The church and its lych gate are designated Grade II listed buildings. The church was originally built with a tall spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
which was taken down because of mining subsidence in 1939. There is a tradition that local miners gave either a week's wages or a week's work towards the cost of its construction.
Out of this parish, two more were created as the population increased when the Middleton council estate was built. In 1921 the church acquired land on the Middleton housing estate on which to build. In 1925 the Church of St Cross, Middleton was built off Middleton Park Avenue. A permanent church was built in 1933 and became a parish church in 1935 with about two thirds of the Middleton housing estate in its boundaries. In the 1930s Belle Isle housing estate was begun. A church, St John and St Barnabus, was built in Belle Isle in 1939 but not consecrated until 1947 because of the War. This church also became a parish church.
Middleton Methodist Chapel was built in 1896. It replaced an earlier chapel built 30 years earlier by Wesleyan Methodists. It was designed by Howdill and Howdill and built in brick. It has a tower to the north west and large west window. The interior survives largely unaltered and has a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
There is a Baptist church on Middleton Park Avenue. St Philip's Roman Catholic Church, a modern building is situated on St Philip's Avenue.