THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEADINGLEY

The first known documentary evidence for Headingley can be found in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The place-name however, suggests an Anglo-Saxon settlement, perhaps in the 7th century AD. The name probably means the clearing of Hedda's people. However, the only archaeological evidence for early settlement in Headingley is a possible late Roman /post - Roman stone coffin found near Beckett Park in 1995. A stone coffin would be an expensive item. This would have been a high status burial, perhaps in a prominent mausoleum overlooking the Aire valley. Perhaps the person buried there lived in a villa somewhere in the vicinity.

In Viking times Headingley was the centre of a wapentake named Skyrack. A wapentake is large administrative and military district, and the word Skyrack means Shire Oak. The men of the wapentake would meet at the Shire Oak to settle legal disputes. It was also the rallying point when an army needed to be raised. An old oak said to be the traditional meeting place of the wapentake stood to the north of St Michael's church until 1941. It was this tree that gave its name to the two pubs opposite the church.

In the 1200s William de Poiteven granted land in East and West Headingley to Kirkstall Abbey, and in 1341 the remainder of the township of Headingley-cum-Burley was given to the monastery by the then owner, John de Calverley. By this time the monks had already established a grange in Headingley. This outlying farm was originally known as New Grange, then as Kirkstall Grange. It now forms Beckett Park. No buildings from this monastic farm have survived above ground level, but traces of the field system can be seen in the present public park. Visitors will have noticed how areas of the park have a slight 'corrugated' effect. This is the 'fossilized' remains of ridge and furrow, the medieval way of farming. Land was ploughed up into long banks or 'ridges'. These still remain visible when the land is put to pasture. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-40), most of Headingley was purchased by the Saviles of Howley Hall (Morley). The Brudenalls succeeded to the manor by marriage and later became the Earls of Cardigan: a fact remembered in local street names.

In 1626 Sir John Savile gave land to erect, or possibly to rebuild a chapel of ease in Headingley. This would allow worshippers to hear services there, but they would still have to go to the parish church in Leeds for burials, weddings and funerals. No trace of this building now remains it was presumably demolished when St Michael's Church was built. The only surviving 17th century structure in the township today is Headingley Hall, later known as Shire Oak House.

A map of 1711 shows Headingley as having a chapel, cottages, and farmsteads scattered around a triangle of land formed by the merging of routes from north, west and south. Enclosed fields were situated around the settlement with a large tract of common land, Headingley Moor, to the north. In the later 1700s workers' cottages and the turnpike road encroached on Headingley Moor. A small cottage adjacent to the Cottage Road Cinema may date to this time. Despite this growth the village was still small; the 1801 census gives its population as 300.

In 1829 Headingley Moor was enclosed by Act of Parliament and the land was placed for sale. About 30 workers' cottages had already encroached upon the fringes of the moor prior to 1829. Land in this vicinity was cheaper than that at Headingley Hill as it was seen unsuitable for villa development. This resulted in terraced buildings and other smaller working class rows of housing around two new roads (Cottage Road and Moor Road). By 1850 a community known as Far Headingley had arisen on the former common land.

The wealthier classes were attracted to the cleaner air of rural areas such as Headingley. John Marshall, a flax entrepreneur, leased New Grange in 1805. The property was subsequently acquired by the Beckett family c. 1830. The seclusion of such sites was however eroded when smaller scale mansions and villas began to surround them.

Headingley Hill became the favoured area with the middle-class and several mansions and villas were built in the area including Headingley Hill House (1836). Villas were also built to the east of Moor Road, including Castle Grove (1839). Headingley Castle (formerly known as the Elms) was built in 1840 south of Shire Oak Road.

Some plots of building land had been divided into smaller lots in order to attract the lower middle classes, with a requirement stipulating quality housing. Headingley Terrace was constructed around the 1840s. Wesley Terrace, built around 1846/7, was advertised as to be let to middle class tenants.

The introduction of public transport (a horse drawn bus) eased communication between Headingley and Leeds, but the cost was prohibitive for the working class. Headingley Railway Station, situated on the Leeds-Thirsk branch of the Leeds Northern Railway opened in 1849. The station provided access to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens which opened in 1840, comprising around 25 acres of lakes and gardens. The Bear Pit still survives and can be seen on Cardigan Road.

Between 1850 and 1870 many of the professional and trades people moved from Leeds. Villas and semi-detached housing were constructed along Headingley Lane and eastwards towards The Ridge. Terraced housing built in the 1850s included Victoria Terrace, St George's Terrace, Balmoral Terrace, and Marlborough Terrace.

Trams extended to a depot at Far Headingley in 1875, making both Far Headingley and Headingley more accessible to Leeds. Cheaper transport meant more development. Churches, chapels and schools were built or extended to meet the needs of the growing population. Apart from the New Grange estate (Beckett Park), most of Headingley had been built upon by 1909. In 1911 its population was over 46,000 and it was no longer a village but a suburb of Leeds.

* This article was condensed by Dave Weldrake from a Historic Summary of the Headingley Conservation Area by Kath Keith.
The full report and more information about Headingley can be found on the WYAAS website at http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk