Lawnswood
Encyclopedia
Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of 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...

 in 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...

. As such it is north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area
West Yorkshire Urban Area
The West Yorkshire Urban Area is a term used by the Office for National Statistics to refer to a conurbation in West Yorkshire, England, based around the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, and the large town of Huddersfield...

.

Location

It is bordered by West Park
West Park, Leeds
West Park is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of Headingley. It is a mixed area of private suburban housing and suburban council estates. The name derives from its main park containing playing fields together with a conservation area of grassy meadow ending in woodland...

, Adel
Adel, Leeds
Adel is a suburb in North Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Cookridge, Holt Park, Weetwood and Alwoodley. To the north are the villages of Arthington and Bramhope and the market town of Otley...

, Ireland Wood
Ireland Wood
Ireland Wood is a small residential area in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately to the north west of Leeds city centre. The original planning for Ireland Wood began in 1950....

 and Holt Park
Holt Park
Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...

. The A660
A660 road
The A660 is a major road in West Yorkshire, England that runs from Leeds to Burley-in-Wharfedale where it meets the A65. The A660 is approximately long, and crosses the watershed from Airedale to lower Wharfedale...

 Leeds to Otley road runs through the area..

University influences

Bodington Hall
Bodington Hall
Bodington Hall is a site owned by the University of Leeds, which contains the university's main playing fields and its largest hall of residence. It is also used for conferences. Known as Bod within the university, it is located between Lawnswood and Adel, approximately 4 mi north of the main...

, a major hall of residence for the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

 is in Lawnswood and it is not uncommon to find some students taking accommodation in Lawnswood after their first year. Also, when considering Lawnswood School
Lawnswood School
Lawnswood School is a state comprehensive school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has about 1500 male and female pupils, aged 11–18. It is a specialist Maths and Computing College. The sixth form was deemed extremely good in the most recent Ofsted inspection in 2009, however the...

 as part of Lawnswood, one must also regard Oxley Hall as if not in Lawnswood itself, then on the very border of Lawnswood and Headingley
Headingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road...

 or Weetwood
Weetwood
Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 , on the west by the A660 , on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the south by Hollin Lane...

. Oxley, as it is affectionately known, is also a major hall of residence of the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

.
The Stables Pub and the Lawnswood Arms are both occasionally, but rarely, visited by students doing the Otley Run
Otley Run
The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The route follows the A660, also known as Otley Road at the point the pub crawl commonly begins...

.

Transportation

Lawnswood is 4 miles (6 km) north of Leeds city centre and its nearest train station is in Horsforth
Horsforth railway station
Horsforth railway station is a railway station in West Yorkshire, England. It is on the Harrogate Line north west of Leeds station and the final stop in the Metro regulated area towards Harrogate...

.

Lawnswood is served by regular buses on the First Leeds
First Leeds
First Leeds is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...

 Overground Lines that pass through the area towards the Leeds city centre
Leeds City Centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

.
  • Brown Line (1)
  • Sky Line (6)
  • Pink Line (18 18A)
  • Unilink (95)


Supertram

Lawnswood and Bodington Hall were two of the planned stops on the Leeds Supertram
Leeds Supertram
The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England.-Initial proposals:Proposals for the reinstatement of trams or a light rail system in Leeds which were withdrawn in 1959 have been ongoing since the 1970s with various plans for varying light rail...

 North Line. The Supertram project was cancelled by the Government in 2005 much to the disappointment of many Lawnswood residents.

Future

There are plans for the future Leeds Tbus to go through Lawnswood.

Politics

The area is in the parliamentary constituency, Leeds North West, represented by Greg Mulholland
Greg Mulholland
Gregory Thomas Mulholland is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Leeds North West. He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2010 general election. Before...

 MP
Member 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,...

. In terms of local politics, Lawnswood constitutes a large portion of the council ward, Weetwood
Weetwood
Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 , on the west by the A660 , on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the south by Hollin Lane...

.

Housing

Most of the houses in Lawnswood are large private detached and semi detached suburban houses. Houses in the area fetch amongst the highest prices in the City of Leeds
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...

 along with neighbouring Adel
Adel, Leeds
Adel is a suburb in North Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Cookridge, Holt Park, Weetwood and Alwoodley. To the north are the villages of Arthington and Bramhope and the market town of Otley...

, Alwoodley
Alwoodley
Alwoodley is a civil parish and suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is north of central Leeds. The name Alwoodley is said to be a corruption of 'Aethelwaldley', as it was originally known in the Middle Ages, meaning the woodland clearing , at Aethelwald's farm...

, Roundhay
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb and City Council ward of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, largely within the LS8 postcode. The ward boundary is the A6120 ring road on the north and the A58 Wetherby Road on the south and east. The boundary follows Gledhow Valley Road to the west before heading...

, Scarcroft
Scarcroft
Scarcroft is an upmarket village and civil parish north east of Leeds city centre in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The village lies on the main A58 road between Leeds and Wetherby. Scarcroft has a LS14 postcode and two of the most expenisve streets in Yorkshire...

 and Boston Spa
Boston Spa
Boston Spa is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, south of Wetherby, on the banks of the River Wharfe...

. Besides these large houses there are many 1930s flats in Lawnswood, built in the style of semi-detached houses, each block contains four flats, each with a private entrance, these are a good example of architecture of their time and while there are examples of similar houses in Moortown
Moortown, Leeds
Moortown is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in the LS17 postcode area. It is a civil parish and electoral ward in the north of the city. It is situated between Roundhay and Brackenwood on the east and Weetwood on the west, with Chapel Allerton to the south, and Alwoodley to the north...

, Lawnswood has a great number of them.

Amenities

Lawnswood has most of its amenities on Otley Road. Lawnswood School lies on the Leeds Outer Ring Road
Leeds Outer Ring Road
The Leeds Outer Ring Road is a main road that runs around most of the perimeter of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The ring road is approximately long and consists of single and dual carriageways....

. Along Otley Road there are several shops, including a Co-op, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 (named 'Adel Post Office'), several banks as well as hair dressers, estate agents, delicatesens and other independent retailers. Towards the top end of Lawnswood is the Lawnswood Arms, a large detached public house, whilst on the other side of Otley Road there is an Esso Station.

To Support

Lawnswood is within walking distance of Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....

 and so naturally, many of the residents are supporters of the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...

 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, Leeds Carnegie, the Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....

, all based at the stadium.

In terms of football, most people in Lawnswood support the city's major football club, Leeds United.

To Take Part

The City of Leeds Lawnswood YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 provides facilities for Aerobics
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...

, Soccer, 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...

, Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 and many other competitive sports.

Information

Lawnswood has one of the city's main cemeteries and crematoria. Also, the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...

, (DWP), has a cluster of buildings there dealing with Disabilities and Carers.

Notable Lawnswoodians

Playwright Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...

 and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 television presenter John Craven attended Leeds Modern School
Leeds Modern School
Leeds Modern School in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England was founded on 14 July 1845 by Mr S. Twist in Rossington Street as the Mathematical and Commercial School...

, now known as Lawnswood School
Lawnswood School
Lawnswood School is a state comprehensive school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has about 1500 male and female pupils, aged 11–18. It is a specialist Maths and Computing College. The sixth form was deemed extremely good in the most recent Ofsted inspection in 2009, however the...

(slogan "a truly comprehensive school".)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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