Headingley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Headingley is also the name of a city in Manitoba, Canada. See Headingley, Manitoba for information on that city.
- For the cricket and rugby stadium, see Headingley Stadium.
Headingley is a suburb of the English city of Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660.
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[edit] History
Headingley was previously a village as early as 250 BC, and was where the celtic tribes in the area met to discuss matters of importance to them. They met underneath a huge oak tree, the last one falling in 1941. It continued to be a village until the expansion of Leeds during the industrial revolution and became a popular suburb where the rich moved to escape the filth of the main city. The pub, "The Original Oak" now stands near the site of the stump of the last tree, and other pubs in the area include The Three Horseshoes, Woodies Alehouse, The Skyrack, The New Inn and The Headingley Taps. Bars include The Arc, The Box and Trio. Running through the village, now suburb, is the Meanwood Beck which was a source of water for the early inhabitants of the village as well as a source of power for the Victorians of Leeds.
[edit] University town
As it is close to both the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University campuses, it has become a very popular student area. This has had both positive and negative consequences on the local population and environment. The biggest complaints against students (and increasingly, young professionals) relate to the use of multiple-occupancy houses which are prone to burglary, often neglected by landlords and occupants alike and are typically left unoccupied during university holidays. However, the student population has brought money into the area, improved public transport and, generally, made it a more desirable place to live for a portion of the population.
[edit] Sports
Headingley is also known in sporting circles — its stadium (known as Headingley) is home to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club as well as the Leeds Rhinos rugby league and Leeds Tykes rugby union clubs. Headingley is also the home of the the FA Chartership Team of the Year 2006 Old Headingley who are currently palying in the West Yorkshire League Division 1 under the guidance of Chris Burns.
[edit] Politics
Politically, Headingley is in the Leeds (North West) constituency. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat), who became the first Liberal Democrat MP in West Yorkshire in the 2005 General Election, largely as a result of the influential student vote in the constituency[citation needed] . At a local government level, the ward of Headingley has Liberal Democrat councillors: Martin Hamilton, David Morton and James Monaghan.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Headingley Online Headlingley Online Community Website.
- Heal Headingley community web site maintained by residents.
- Headingley Community Website maintained by the Council.
- Far Headingley Dental Care
