Garforth () is a town in the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the

Elmet and Rothwell Elmet and Rothwell is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its creation in 2010 by Alec Shelbrooke, a Conservative. In the 2017 general election, Elmet and Rothwell recorded the lar ...

parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the population of Garforth was 14,957, having decreased since the last census. It is east of Central Leeds, south-west of York and north of Wakefield.

Etymology

The place-name ''Garforth'' appears first in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Gereford'' and ''Gereforde'', with ''gar-'' spellings first appearing in 1336 in the form ''Garford''. The name seems to derive from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

words ''gāra'' ('triangular plot of land', derived from the word ''gār'', 'spear') and ''ford'' ('ford)', and thus meant 'ford at a triangular plot of land'. The plot is thought to have lain at a sharp turn in the road now called The Beck. Spellings beginning with ''ger-'' reflect the Old Norse counterpart of Old English ''gāra'', ''geiri'', and therefore the existence of Norse-influenced pronunciations of the name existing alongside Old English ones.Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 2017). Correspondingly, the district also once included the place Church Garforth, whose name is first attested in the fifteenth century as ''Kirkgarford''; here again the form ''kirk'' reflects the Old Norse form of the word ''church'', ''kirkja''.

History

Garforth owes its size to expansion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries during which the local land-owning

Gascoigne family The Gascoigne Baronetcy, of Barnbow and Parlington in the County of York, was a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 8 June 1635 for John Gascoigne. He had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1604. His daughter, Catherine G ...

ran several coalmines in the area. The surrounding settlements of Micklefield, Kippax,

Swillington Swillington is a village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is situated east from Leeds city centre, north of the River Aire, and is surrounded by streams including Fleakingle ...

, Methley and Allerton Bywater Great and Little Preston are all villages that prospered and grew as a result of the coal industry. Nowadays manufacturing and motor-vehicle repair account for more than a third of the workforce in the area. More recent expansion can also be traced to a combination of overall economic success in Leeds, and that Garforth is served by transport links. The A1 and M1 are minutes away, and both have recently been linked by an extension of the M1 which passes to the west and north of the village, with two nearby access points at Junctions 46 and 47. The M1 extension led to rapid development of commercial, light industrial and residential sites clustered around Junctions 46 and 47. The village rail link to Kippax and Castleford was closed under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

of the 1960s. Garforth has been home to first Garforth Scout Group since 1908. Garforth & District Lions Club was formed in 1972.

Economy

Originally a coal mining area, the collieries of much of east Leeds and surrounding areas closed in the 1960s, although further south mining was still strong in the 1990s and is still prevalent to some degree today. Garforth has increasingly become a commuter town for Leeds, York &

City of Wakefield The City of Wakefield is a local government district with the status of a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City of ...

area. There is a light industrial estate to the north of the village which provides some employment, such as Ginetta Cars, while the neighbouring Thorpe Business Park in Colton also provides employment. Garforth's rail connections and access to the M1, A1(M) and M62 have made it a desirable area for commuters to live.

Amenities

Garforth's amenities are similar to some towns in the City of Leeds, such as Otley and Wetherby. Garforth has a Tesco, and a Lidl supermarket, the Original Factory Shop department store, several public houses in the town centre, a

Co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, Greggs, Dominoes, Budgens, Costa, Subway, and other shops such as newsagents, charity shops, travel agents and banks. Garforth civic amenities include a library and a one stop centre run by Leeds City Council. A coffee shop on Main Street functions partly as a social enterprise, giving its profits to projects in the village. There are also a number of take away food outlets. The lively Garforth Community Choir was formed in October 2015 and meets at Garforth Academy on Wednesdays at 7.00 pm, in school term time. Garforth has ten traditional public houses, a mix of restaurants/cafes/wine bars, and a number of social/affiliated clubs. The pubs/bars are the

Miller and Carter Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...

Steakhouse (formerly the Old George), the Gaping Goose, the Crusader, the Podger, Quirky Ales (

Microbrewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

), the Newmarket Inn, the Miners Arms, the Lord Gascoigne ( Hungry Horse), the Fly Line ( Marstons), The Yard, Jigger & Jar, Blake's Bar, The Assembly and the Briggate ( Wetherspoons), the latter which takes its name from the original term for Garforth Main Street, where it is situated on the premises of the former Liberal Club. Most of the public houses sell food. A large garden centre is situated on the A63 heading out of Garforth towards Micklefield. The East Side Retail Park has a Lidl, Home Bargains, Clip and Climb, Sue Ryder Charity Shop, Greggs a Vets Surgery and the Fly Line Pub and Restaurant. There are two indoor play areas for children and a large skatepark. Garforth also plays home to two brass bands, both of which rehearse and perform in and around the local area. There is Garforth Jubilee Band, currently conducted by Martin Bird, who are a non-contesting brass band, and there is Garforth Brass, who are a contesting brass band.

Transport

Garforth is situated on the A63, which links it with the M1 and the A1(M), the M62 also lies close by to the south of the village. Garforth has two railway stations. Garforth railway station lies to the north of the village centre, whist East Garforth railway station, which opened in the 1980s, lies to the east of the village, both stations on the mainline route between Leeds, York and North Eastern England to Scotland, and between Leeds, Selby and

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and the Yorkshire coastal resorts. There are also rail links to Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Liverpool and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. Garforth's bus services are provided by First Leeds and Arriva Yorkshire.

High Speed Two

Under proposals released on 28 January 2013, Garforth would see the High Speed 2 railway line built close to the village, running adjacent to the M1 motorway. The High Speed Line would cross the existing railway line close to Thorpe Park to the west of the village. This line would carry the spur away from Leeds, towards the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

at Church Fenton.

Education

Education establishments in Garforth include a secondary school, primary schools and a vocational performing arts college.

Garforth Academy Garforth Academy (formerly known as Garforth Comprehensive School until September 1992 and Garforth Community College until November 2010) is a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 and is located on Lidgett Lane (B6137) ...

, a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 is located on Lidgett Lane in Garforth. The school has over 2,000 pupils and staff. Garforth Community Arts School (situated in Garforth Academy) runs the Garforth Arts Festival, which is a display of artistic works. Opposite Garforth Academy is the recently refurbished Strawberry Fields Primary School, formerly known as West Garforth Primary School. Other Garforth schools are Ninelands Primary School, Green Lane Primary Academy, East Garforth Primary Academy and St Benedict's Primary School, which is a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

SLP College SLP College is an independent, co-educational performing arts college based in Garforth near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Overview In 1974 Sandra A. Reid founded 'Sandra A Reid, School of Ballet and Theatre Dance' It initially offered class ...

is a further education college in Garforth, providing specialist vocational training in dance and performing arts. Founded as a dance school, it later developed a full-time performing arts course and is now a course provider for the Trinity College, London professional performing arts qualifications. The college is accredited to the Council for Dance Education and Training and one of the colleges selected to award the government Dance and Drama Awards.

Sport

Local football teams are Garforth Town A.F.C., Garforth Villa Football Club, Garforth W.M.C. A.F.C and Garforth Rangers A.F.C. Garforth Town play at the Genix Healthcare Stadium (formally known as Wheatley Park) which is located in the corner of the Cedar Ridge estate of Garforth. There are two rugby clubs in Garforth, one League and one Union. Garforth Tigers ARLFC play rugby league and are based at Glebelands. They have junior and senior teams competing in the Yorkshire League. There is also a men's rugby union team: Garforth RUFC, who play their matches on Garforth Academy's playing fields. There are also two cricket clubs, Garforth C.C. & Garforth Church Parish C.C., the Squash and Leisure Centre. and a Premier World Fitness Centre. Garforth Golf Club has a course designed by Alister MacKenzie.

Climate

The nearest weather station is in Wakefield, to the north. Garforth is notable for recording one of the latest instances of in the United Kingdom, on 24 April 1908, the temperature fell to .

Notable people

Notable residents and ex-residents of Garforth include: England and Yorkshire cricketer Chris Silverwood; DJ Dave Seaman; Andrew White of the Kaiser Chiefs; John Birch of Leeds, England & Great Britain rugby league teams; and BAFTA nominated comedian Liam Williams, who created and stars in '' Ladhood '', a comedy TV series based on his experience of growing up in Garforth. The village was also the birthplace of Second World War airman,

Sir Augustus Walker Air Chief Marshal Sir George Augustus Walker, (24 August 1912 – 11 December 1986) was a Second World War bomber pilot, a jet aircraft pioneer, and a senior Royal Air Force officer in the post-war era, as well as a rugby player. Early life Walk ...

of the Royal Air Force. Jack Charlton owned a menswear shop in the town, and was a resident for a number of years along with a number of sportspeople at various times.

References in literature

The book ''The Modfather'' was set in Garforth in the late 1970s and early 1980s detailing David Lines adolescence in the village and his obsession with Paul Weller.

Gallery

File:Garforth Main Street.jpg, Main Street, Garforth File:The Original Factory Shop, Garforth.jpg, The Original Factory Shop File:The Miners, Garforth.jpg, The Miners, a pub in Garforth File:St Mary's Church, Garforth - geograph.org.uk - 96466.jpg, St Mary's Church

References

External links

*
Garforth Community College"Garforth Today & Garforth Yesteryear"
Garforth.net (First Bookshop, Bridlington)

GENUKI.org.UK {{authority control Places in Leeds Towns in West Yorkshire Unparished areas in West Yorkshire