Bramley, Leeds
Encyclopedia
Bramley is a district in west Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is an old industrial area and home to a lot of 19th century architecture alongside 20th century council housing in the east and private suburban housing to the west. It has its own railway station
(off Stanningley Road) which is on the Caldervale and Leeds to Bradford
lines. Bramley village was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book
as "Brameleia" and "Bramelie". It is accessible by many bus routes from the city centre, the more frequent ones being the 4, 5/A, 16/A, 14, 72, 508 and X6.
Bramley is dominated by the Bramley Shopping Centre, a 1960s-style concrete shopping plaza which was erected to replace the traditional stone-built village centre. The current range of shops include charity shops, banks, travel agents, bakeries, pawnbrokers, supermarkets, a post office, Greggs, Pizza Hut Delivery, a thrift shop, a dental practice and fast food takeaways. Following the deterioration of the shopping centre over the past decade, Leeds City Council
are redeveloping it, bringing new stores such as Farmfoods
and Tesco
to the area.
Bramley is home to several churches, these include:
The Bramley Baths are an example of Edwardian
swimming baths. Built in 1904, and recently restored, they benefit from a 25 metre pool, a gym
nasium and a Russian steam room
. The baths were used for dances during their early years, when the pool was covered with a large dance floor. The baths are probably one of the best remaining examples - perhaps the only example - of an Edwardian baths in Leeds
today.
There are also a few small parks and open areas for outdoor recreation, including Bramley Park, (which holds a fireworks
display most years and has an underground reservoir
at the highest point of the park) and Bramley Fall Woods.
The centre of Bramley was redeveloped in the 1960s and 1970s. The Bramley Shopping Centre replaced the former town centre. The Bramley Shopping Centre was Leeds' second purpose built town centre after Seacroft
town centre. Unlike Seacroft town centre the Bramley Shopping Centre replaced an existing town centre. The redevelopment at the time was said to replace substandard shops and houses. Many of the shops and cottages by this time were dilapidated and in need of repair. However in retrospect the redevelopment of Bramley is often condemned as one of the least sensitive redevelopment programmes in Yorkshire. In 2008 the Yorkshire Evening Post
ran an article on the "lost town centre" and featured pictures of Bramley prior to redevelopment. The article had a critical slant on its analysis of the redevelopment, echoing feelings that a unique and historic Yorkshire town centre was replaced by a generic, modernist, concrete shopping precinct.
Bramley Juniors Football Club has been around since 1994 and is still running today with open-age teams. They developed the football team from just one under-9s club in 1994.
The area is home to rugby league
club Bramley Buffaloes
and to Bramley Phoenix Rugby Union Club.
The area is home to kickboxer
Phil Harman.
It is also the home of Bramley Juniors Football Club, founded in 1994 by the Locke family. Bramley Juniors is now a well-established football club, with an assortment of age groups.
The area is also home to Bramley Phoenix JFC which is now the areas largest junior football club with 10 age groups. Bramley Phoenix JFC is based at Armley
Lazer
Centre.
is Labour
MP Rachel Reeves
.
Many of the estates in Bramley have active residents' associations, these include:
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is an old industrial area and home to a lot of 19th century architecture alongside 20th century council housing in the east and private suburban housing to the west. It has its own railway station
Bramley (West Yorkshire) railway station
Bramley railway station serves the suburb of Bramley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Caldervale Line west from Leeds.The present station off Stanningley Road opened on 12 September 1983 by Metro . It replaced a station on the same site, opened on 1 August 1854 and closed on 2 July...
(off Stanningley Road) which is on the Caldervale and Leeds to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
lines. Bramley village was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as "Brameleia" and "Bramelie". It is accessible by many bus routes from the city centre, the more frequent ones being the 4, 5/A, 16/A, 14, 72, 508 and X6.
Amenities
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
are redeveloping it, bringing new stores such as Farmfoods
Farmfoods
Farmfoods is a Scottish supermarket chain operating throughout the United Kingdom. Farmfoods predominately sells frozen food and also grocery items.- History :...
and Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
to the area.
Bramley is home to several churches, these include:
- Bramley Christian ChurchChristian ChurchThe Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
- Bramley BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church http://www.bramleybaptist.org.uk - Bramley Church of the NazareneChurch of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
(WesleyanWesleyanismWesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
) http://www.bramleynazarenechurch.co.uk - Bramley St Margaret's (Anglican)
- Bramley St Peter (Anglican)
- Christ the King Church (Roman Catholic)
- Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
- Trinity Methodist Church
The Bramley Baths are an example of Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
swimming baths. Built in 1904, and recently restored, they benefit from a 25 metre pool, a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium and a Russian steam room
Banya (sauna)
Banya in Russian can refer to any kind of steam bath, but usually to the Russian type of sauna. In Bulgarian, banya usually refers to a bath and bathing...
. The baths were used for dances during their early years, when the pool was covered with a large dance floor. The baths are probably one of the best remaining examples - perhaps the only example - of an Edwardian baths in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
today.
There are also a few small parks and open areas for outdoor recreation, including Bramley Park, (which holds a fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display most years and has an underground reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
at the highest point of the park) and Bramley Fall Woods.
Bramley redevelopment
Seacroft
Seacroft is an outer-city suburb consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre and lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area....
town centre. Unlike Seacroft town centre the Bramley Shopping Centre replaced an existing town centre. The redevelopment at the time was said to replace substandard shops and houses. Many of the shops and cottages by this time were dilapidated and in need of repair. However in retrospect the redevelopment of Bramley is often condemned as one of the least sensitive redevelopment programmes in Yorkshire. In 2008 the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
ran an article on the "lost town centre" and featured pictures of Bramley prior to redevelopment. The article had a critical slant on its analysis of the redevelopment, echoing feelings that a unique and historic Yorkshire town centre was replaced by a generic, modernist, concrete shopping precinct.
Sport
The area is home to rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Previously known simply as Bramley RLFC, the club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895...
and to Bramley Phoenix Rugby Union Club.
The area is home to kickboxer
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
Phil Harman.
It is also the home of Bramley Juniors Football Club, founded in 1994 by the Locke family. Bramley Juniors is now a well-established football club, with an assortment of age groups.
The area is also home to Bramley Phoenix JFC which is now the areas largest junior football club with 10 age groups. Bramley Phoenix JFC is based at Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
Lazer
Lazer
Lazer may refer to:* Laser, a device which generates a beam of light* Lazer, Hautes-Alpes, France* Panther Lazer, a car* Lazer 103, a Wisconsin radio station* Lazer 99.3, a Massachusetts radio station...
Centre.
Politics
Bramley lies within the Parliamentary constituency of Leeds West. The Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
is Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves
Rachel Jane Reeves is a British economist and a Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010. She served as Shadow Pensions Minister from October 2010 until October 2011, when she was appointed as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Ed...
.
Many of the estates in Bramley have active residents' associations, these include:
- Moorside and Ganners Tenants' and Residents' Association,
- Landseer Tenants' and Residents' Association,
- Rossefield Residents' Association.
Notable people
- Ernie WiseErnie WiseErnest Wiseman OBE , known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became an institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.-Career:Ernest Wiseman was the eldest of five children, and changed...
, of Morecambe and Wise fame (Born in Bramley and brought up in East ArdsleyEast ArdsleyEast Ardsley is a village within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated south of Leeds city centre...
from a very young age).