Whitkirk

Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, situated between Cross Gates to the north, Austhorpe to the east, Killingbeck to the west, Colton to the south-east and Halton to the south-west. The Temple Newsam estate lies directly south of the area.

This article is about the area of Leeds. For the village in Northern Ireland, see Ballywalter.

Whitkirk

St Mary's Church, Whitkirk
Whitkirk
Whitkirk
Location within West Yorkshire
OS grid referenceSE 363 339
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLEEDS
Postcode districtLS15
Dialling code0113
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament

It falls into the Temple Newsam ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds East parliamentary constituency.

History
Character properties on Colton Road

A church is recorded in The Domesday Survey (1086) as belonging to the manor of Gipton and Colton, and as Whitkirk is the only known medieval church in these area of Leeds, it is reasonable to assume that it is Whitkirk church that is being referred to, in which case it must have a late Anglo- Saxon origin at least. The first mention of Whitkirk itself is in 1154–66 in the Early Yorkshire Charters as ‘Witechirche’, meaning ‘white church’.[1] The name has Old English origins, with the ‘chirche’ element subsequently being replaced by the Old Norse ‘kirkja’. It is possible that the church was the focus of settlement activity at this period extending into the later medieval.[2]

The renowned civil engineer John Smeaton was born in the local parish of Austhorpe and is buried in Whitkirk churchyard.[3]

Information

Whitkirk is 4 miles east of Leeds city centre, and about 1 mile from Cross Gates Railway Station,[4] which has services to Leeds City station and York railway station, and is close to the A63 dual carriageway and M1 motorway, meaning it is an ideal location for commuters. The area is well served by regular buses.

Temple Newsam War Memorial

The area has a cricket club which has a large cricket pitch, five tennis courts, a football pitch and a Crown green bowling green, along with a large bar area.[5] Housing in Whitkirk ranges from detached houses, semi-detached houses and terraced houses. It is also home to a Premier Inn, directly next to the Brown Cow pub, a Gym, carpet shop, undertakers and an estate agents.[6] The Temple Newsam War Memorial can be found a few hundred yards along Selby road towards Halton.

Education

Whitkirk has three schools, Whitkirk Primary School,[7] Temple Newsam Halton Primary School,[8] and Temple Moor High School.[9]

Comparison
A view over Whitkirk in winter, looking towards Colton

Whitkirk lies within the LS15 postcode area. Here is a population breakdown of the postcode area in comparison with the UK population.

Category LS15 UK average
Population density (people / sq mi)43.224.9
Gender split (females / male)1.051.05
Average commute6.1 miles8.73 miles
Average age3839
Home ownership16%16.9%
Student population2.4%4.4%
People in good health69%69%

Location grid

References
  1. Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 514. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
  2. "Whitkirk Conservation Area Appraisal" (PDF). leeds.gov.uk. 13 March 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. "History of Whitkirk – St Mary's Church, Whitkirk". whitkirkchurch.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  4. "History of Whitkirk, in Leeds and Yorkshire | Map and description". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. "Welcome to Whitkirk Cricket Club". www.whitkirkcc.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  6. "About Us". www.ericsangling.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  7. "Whitkirk Primary School - Templegate Walk, Leeds, LS15 0EU". www.whitkirk.org. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. "Templenewsam Halton Primary School - Home". www.templenewsam.leeds.dbprimary.com. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  9. "Temple Moor High School; Together we achieve success". tmhs.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
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