Ledston (historically also spelt Ledstone)[2] is a village in the Leeds metropolitan borough, in the county of West Yorkshire, England.[3] It is 3 miles (5 km) north of Castleford and 10 miles (16 km) east of Leeds. The parish had a population of 400 in 2001,[4] which decreased slightly to 394 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Ledston
Main Street, Ledston
Ledston is located in Leeds
Ledston
Ledston
Ledston is located in West Yorkshire
Ledston
Ledston
Location within West Yorkshire
Population394 (2011 census)[1]
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCastleford
Postcode districtWF10
Dialling code01977
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°45′07″N 1°20′37″W / 53.75194°N 1.34361°W / 53.75194; -1.34361

History

edit

Ledston is first mentioned in 1086, and on through the Middle Ages, in forms like Ledestun(e), Ledestona.[5] The name seems to refer to Leeds (or the Old English precursor of this name, Loidis, which denoted a region rather than a town), meaning the tūn ('settlement, estate') belonging to Leeds.[6]

Mary Pannal of Ledston was executed in 1603 as an accused witch.

Ledston was historically a township in the ancient parish of Ledsham in the wapentake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire.[7] The township became a separate civil parish in 1866.[8] In 1974 Ledston was transferred to the City of Leeds in the new county of West Yorkshire. On 1 April 2023 the civil parish was abolished.[9]

Ledston Hall

edit
 
Ledston Hall

Ledston or Ledstone Hall[10] was the home of Lady Elizabeth Hastings, daughter of the 7th Earl of Huntingdon, known as "Lady Betty". The hall was originally a grange and chapel built by the monks of Pontefract Priory. It is a grade I listed building, and several associated buildings and garden features are also listed.[11]

Ledston Hall featured in the television show Most Haunted:Live on 27 October 2007, but was called "Wheler Priory" for security reasons at the time (Wheler being the surname of the last family owning the hall).[12]

Ledston is also home to the Ledston Equine Centre located in the stables of Ledston Hall.[13]

Ledston lies to the east of the A656 road,[3] and there was a railway station named after the village on the Castleford to Garforth line, though this station was actually adjacent to Allerton Bywater Colliery. The village also had a colliery named after it, Ledston Luck, which was connected to the railway via a narrow gauge railway line up to Peckfield Colliery in Micklefield.[14] The colliery, like the railway station, was some distance away from the village from which it took its name, being actually only 0.6 miles (1 km) east of Kippax.[3] Ledston Luck Colliery closed in 1986[15] and the site is now a local nature reserve.[16]

White Horse Inn

edit

The White Horse Inn is a 15th-century public house.[17] It was 2019 regional winner of North East Pubs in Bloom,[citation needed] and supports various local activities such as the Ledston in Bloom[clarification needed], a village scarecrow competition.[citation needed] and the Ledston christmas light switch on.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Ledston Parish (E04000201)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. ^ "History of Ledston, in Leeds and West Riding". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "289" (Map). Leeds. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 9780319244869.
  4. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Leeds Retrieved 7 May 2017
  5. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 293. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
  6. ^ Watts, Victor; Insley, John; Gelling, Margaret (2004). The Cambridge dictionary of English place-names : based on the collections of the English Place-Name Society (2 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 366. ISBN 9780521362092.
  7. ^ The ancient parish of Ledsham: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI.
  8. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Ledston CP/Tn. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ^ "The Leeds (Reorganisation of Community Governance) (No.2) Order 2023" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  10. ^ orthwick Catalogue record as an example showing use of older spelling.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Ledston Hall (Grade I) (1237569)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Watch Most Haunted Live Season 6 Full Episodes". OVGuide. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Ledstone Equine Centre". ledstonequinecentre.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. ^ "SE43 (includes Leeds" (Map). SE43. 1:25,000. Ordnance Survey. 1954.
  15. ^ "Pit closures, year by year". BBC News. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Ledston Luck Yorkshire Wildlife Trust | Love Yorkshire, Love Wildlife". www.ywt.org.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Home page". White Horse. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
edit