Information AboutWakefield |
Wakefield is a city by the River Calder , in the City Of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough of West Yorkshire , England . Its population was 76,886 in 2001, of which 1,657 were prisoners. The city's boundaries are subject to a wide range of definitions, Map of Historical Boundaries and it is not clear what definition the census was using in its calculations. Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages. ETYMOLOGY The name "Wakefield" is often said to derive from "Wacca's field" - the field belonging to Wacca. However, it is more likely to have evolved from Old English ''wacu'', meaning "a watch or wake", and ''feld'', an open field in which a wake was held.1 In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was listed as Wachefeld.2 HISTORY In 1460 , during the Wars Of The Roses , the Duke of York was defeated near the city (then a town) in the Battle Of Wakefield at Sandal Castle . The ruins of the castle can still be visited, and are a popular walking spot for locals. Wakefield was incorporated as a Municipal Borough in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . . The town was a centre for Cloth dealing and had its own Piece Hall . For much of the 18th and 19th century, Wakefield had an unusually diverse economy for Yorkshire, but it was a much smaller town during that period. Textile mills grouped around the River Calder, and a large glass works in the east of the city was a large employer. There were several collieries around the outskirts of the town, and engineering works in the centre that had strong links to mining. The Eastmoor area was once home to large brickyards. Its position as the seat of local government for the West Riding also provided many local jobs in the councils, courts and prison. In the early 20th century, large areas of council housing were built on the fields that surrounded the town, and the formerly independent villages of Sandal Magna, Belle Vue and Agbrigg became suburbs of Wakefield. As many of the new council estates depended on the expansion of coal-mining for their employment, the National Coal Board eventually became Wakefield's largest employer. The city was also surrounded by pit villages, but also by the old Mill Town s of Batley, Dewsbury and Ossett to the west. Wakefield is known as the capital of the Rhubarb Triangle , an area famous for its early forced rhubarb. Wakefield is one of the points of the triangular area with the neighbouring towns of Morley and Rothwell as the other two. In July 2005 a statue was erected to celebrate this facet of Wakefield. Recent history As with most industrial areas, Wakefield suffered many years of decline. The glass and textile industries faded out in the 1970s and 1980s. , there were still 15 pits in the rest of the district, and demonstrations in support of the strike frequently took place in the city. The city suffered a double blow through the closure of local pits and the abolition of West Yorkshire County Council, which had been based in Wakefield; many local people had been employed in administration ever since the establishment of the old West Riding council. The city long remained a depressed area, but fortunes have risen recently and unemployment is now around the national average. TRANSPORT There are two railway stations in the city centre, . A second service to London is provided by Midland Mainline who's trains run via Leicester and into St Pancras , soon to be International station. Following the success of the FreeCityBus in Leeds , and the FreeTownBus in Huddersfield , a six month trial of a Zero-fare Wakefield FreeCityBus scheme began on 23rd April 2007.3 The route connects key locations in the city including the bus station, railway stations, retail parks and shopping areas. The service runs every 10 minutes between 7:30am to 7:00pm, Monday to Friday and 8:30am to 5:00pm on Saturdays. Four hundred and fifty passengers used the service on its first running day.4 PRISONS Wakefield is less celebrated, but nevertheless well known, for its prisons. Wakefield Prison is a maximum security prison, one of the most secure in Britain, and has included many notorious inmates including Ian Huntley , Harold Shipman and Charles Bronson . Wakefield was originally built as a house of correction in 1594. The former governor R.S. Duncan has suggested that the well know nursery rhyme “here we go round the mulberry bush” finds its origins at the prison. During its days as a female prison, the women convicts would supposedly take their children on exercise with them and sing the now well-known tune. The original tree is claimed to be still there today. The current prison was designated a dispersal prison in 1966 (longest of remaining original group). It is now a lifer main centre with the focus on serious sex offenders. The current governor is David R. Thompson , Director-General elect of Her Majesty's Prison Service . The nearby HMP New Hall is a multi-use prison for women, young female offenders and girls on Detention And Training Orders (DTOs). SOCIAL HOUSING In 2004, Wakefield's council tenants voted to transfer the entire council housing stock to a new registered social landlord (a registered charity called Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) Wakefield and District Housing - About WDH ), although the properties concerned are still often referred to as "council houses". Wakefield itself contains seven ex-council estates. The city's largest estate is Lupset, in the west; the others are Flanshaw, Plumpton, Peacock, Eastmoor, Portobello affectionately as "bella" and Kettlethorpe. WDH are working with partners such as WDMC, to invest over £700m regenerating the District and improving the houses. Improvements have been taking place since 2005 and to date over £150m has been spent improving homes. In addition WDH has recently (AUG 2007) completed the first of a programme of new Social Housing. These are located at Chiltern Avenue in Whitwood. WDH is building a reputation for excellent customer care, with the latest survey reporting 83% of tenants satisfied with the service being provided and 79% believing the services provided offer value for money. CULTURE Music Jane McDonald was the most celebrated Wakefield born contributor to the music industry, until recently when indie punk band The Cribs came along in 2003 and had a large cultural impact on the UK indie scene, with their first 2 records paving the way for the recent Yorkshire renaissance in indie rock music, and becoming arguably one of the most influential indie rock bands of recent memory. Jane regularly mentions Wakefield, when acting as a panellist on ITV1's Loose Women, for various reasons, usually when talking about her childhood. Indie punk band The Cribs are from Wakefield. Tim Booth , Lead singer of Manchester band James was born in Wakefield in 1960. The following went to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield:
The ''Wakefield Cathedral Choir'' consists of boys, girls and men who perform at religious services, concerts and recitals at the cathedral. Choral Evensong with the boys is on Tuesdays and on Thursdays the boys are joined by the men. The girls perform Evensong on Friday evenings and Parish Eucharist on Sunday mornings. The boys and men also sing at Solemn Eucharist and Evensong on Sundays. The choir, directed by Jonathan Bielby assisted by Thomas Moore, is one of the most successful cathedral choirs in the UK, but paradoxically has also been described by many as 'Wakefield's best kept secret'. The choir have had appearances on BBC 1's 'Songs Of Praise' and BBC Radio 3's 'Choral Evensong'. Famous songs regarding Wakefield
Sport Wakefield is known for its rugby league club, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats . Formed in 1873, the club has had a chequered history, with their glory period in the 1960s with Neil Fox, Derek 'Rocky' Turner, Keith Holliday and Harold Poynton under coach Ken Traill. They now play in the elite Super League division of the sport. Playing as the Wildcats, Wakefield's best season was in 2004 when they reached the Super League playoffs defeating Hull F.C and narrowly losing to Wigan Warriors. Wakefield RFC was the city's rugby union club from 1901 to 2004 when the club ceased playing after relegation and lack of funding. Wakefield F.C. play their football in the Unibond League First Division after their move from the village of Emley in 2001. They played at Belle Vue as tenants of Trinity until the end of the 2005/6 season following their relegation. They have moved to College Grove for the start of the 2006/7 season. Cricket and amateur Rugby League are played in many of the villages around the city. One other notable team was skater hockey's Wakefield Warriors, which during their short life, were crowned British and European Champions. Recently Swimming has become successful in Wakefield with two current senior international swimmers Ian Perrell and Rachel Jack living in the Wakefield area. Media Wakefield has its own newspapers, the Wakefield Express , the Wakefield Guardian , and radio station Ridings FM . The film, " This Sporting Life (1963) " is set in Wakefield and depicts the hard realities of the mines and Rugby League. It was directed by Lindsay Anderson, written by David Storey and starred Richard Harris. Many of the images of the city centre are very different from how it is today, yet the Belle Vue area, which surrounds the rugby ground, has not changed nearly as much. The film is now something of a relic; it is not closely identified with Wakefield in the way that, say, '' Kes '' is with Barnsley, '' The Full Monty '' is with Sheffield or '' Rita, Sue And Bob Too '' is with Bradford. In June 2005 Wakefield was the scene of the television programme Most Haunted , who hosted a summer solstice special in various locations around the city, including Wakefield Opera House. During the course of the show they attempted to contact the spirit of James Ellison, a former city councilman. Museums and the arts Wakefield city-centre is host to a small art gallery and a museum. Both the National Coal Mining Museum For England (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route Of Industrial Heritage ) and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park , one of Europe's foremost sculpture parks, are situated nearby. The Wakefield Theatre Royal and Opera House hosts a variety of performing arts. Wakefield is also known for the Wakefield Cycle , a collection of 32 Mystery Plays , dating from the 14th century, which were performed as part of the summertime religious festival of Corpus Christi and revived in recent times. Parks and historical sites
Festivals Wakefield hosts an annual Rhubarb Festival to celebrate its historical association as a grower of the plant and consists of various themed tours, talks, exhibitions and markets. Clarence Park Festival is held anually in Thornes Park playing free live music for the 16th time this year. There is also a large scale music in the works with the hopes of hosting big acts. Night Life The area of Westgate was historically held to have the largest number of adjacent pubs in England. The famous Westgate Run attracts drinkers from across the region. One of the many traditions generally associated with the famous pub crawl is the compulsory downing of a pint of cider at the Smiths Arms pub, generally in the pub car park. DEVELOPMENT Many developments have been announced involving Wakefield since 2006, all of them will bring Wakefield City Centre into line with some of the best shopping areas in Northern England, with only Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle proving better. City Centre
Pontefract
Castleford
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN OR NEAR WAKEFIELD
SISTER CITIES TRIVIA
LOCATION GRID REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|