Churwell
Coordinates: 53°45′40″N 1°35′20″W / 53.761°N 1.589°W
Churwell is a small village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, between Leeds city centre and Morley. It is 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Leeds city centre and 1.5 miles (2 km) away from the Leeds United Elland Road Football Ground.
It is in the LS27 postcode area, and its telephone area code is 0113, the Leeds prefix. The village once formed part of the former Municipal Borough of Morley, and is still classed as part of Morley in the census. It is now governed by Leeds City Council and Morley Town Council.
Churwell means old man's well. Chur means old man and well means well.
Churwell still retains its semi-rural feel with farms nearby cultivating, in particular, vegetables and rhubarb.
Political location
Churwell is in the new Morley and Outwood constituency, and is represented by Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative). Boundary changes in 2010 saw it leave the now-defunct Morley and Rothwell constituency, in which it was represented by Colin Challen (Labour).
Historical landmarks
Churwell is centred on "Churwell Hill" which is made up of the A643. About three-quarters of the way up Churwell Hill, the road changes name from Elland Road to Victoria Road. There have historically been three local public houses, of which two remain: The Commercial, the Golden Fleece (demolished) and the New Inn. These are known locally as top oyle, middle oyle and bottom oyle, relating to their position on the hill. The Golden Fleece was demolished in 2010 and is now occupied by a Tesco Express store which still has the Golden Fleece sign outside of it.
Churwell once had a poorhouse. The building, Grade II listed, was built in 1865, it is just off Elland Road, and was used as a community centre up until May 2011, at which point the Stanhope Memorial Hall, across the road from the Poor Hall, became the community centre.
The village expanded considerably in the early 1960s with new private and council housing developments, particularly to the north on land between School Street and the then-Leeds City boundary. In 1993, the old stone Churwell Primary School in School Street was demolished and moved to modern premises in the village. Houses now stand on the old school site.
In 1923, a runaway tram ran down Churwell Hill and ended in tragedy: six people were killed and 35 injured when the brakes failed and the tram crashed into a field wall at Cottingley.[1]
Tragedy hit the village in 1962, when a motorcyclist ploughed into a group of girls returning from Sunday school on Churwell Hill, killing two and injuring several others.
Churwell New Village
Since 2001, a considerable amount of housing development has taken place, one notable area is Churwell New Village a development with more than 350 new residencies, planners estimated 0.5 cars per household. The development was built on a green field industrial area that once had a pit, brick works and later a reclamation yard on it.
Notable people
Natives of the town refer to themselves as Morleians. Notable Morleians include:
- British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith
- Sir Titus Salt, the creator of Saltaire
- Alice Scatcherd, 19th century pioneer for women's rights and philanthropist who donated Scatcherd Park to the town[2][3]
- Jack Popplewell, playwright, composer of popular music[4]
- Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones' Diary
- Ben Kaye, Harlequins RL Player
- Nick Scruton, Bradford RLFC player
- Lee Smith, Leeds RLFC player
- Jonathan Howson, Norwich City player
- Mark Crook, former professional footballer
- Ernie Wise, of Morecambe and Wise fame
- Daniel Cammish, Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Champion 2015
- Aaron Murphy, Huddersfield Giants Player
Public transport
Rail
Churwell, ll particularly the New Village development, is very near the Cottingley railway station on the Huddersfield Line, between Leeds and Morley. There are hourly train services to Huddersfield and Leeds, with increased frequency at peak times and additional destinations including Sheffield and Manchester in the evening peak period.[5]
Bus
Churwell is well served by local bus services to city centre and Moor Allerton.
Location grid
 |
Wortley | | ||
| Drighlington |  |
Belle Isle | ||
| ||||
 | ||||
| Morley |
References
- ↑ "From the Archive - Leeds tram crash see reverse.JPG". The Yorkshire Post. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ↑ Urbex Scatcherd Family, St. Marys, Leeds
- ↑ The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928
- ↑ Barraclough, R.; Reekie, D. (2003). Morley Entertainers. Zodiac Publishing, London, U.K.
- ↑ National Rail Enquiries. "Cottingley railway station live departure boards". Retrieved 21 May 2010.
External links
- Churwell Community Association
- All Saints' Church, Churwell
- Morley Town Council
- "The Ancient Parish of Batley". GENUKI. Retrieved 29 October 2007. Churwell was in this parish
- Historic England. "Old Poor House (433184)". Images of England.