Gledhow Explained

53.822°N -1.509°WGledhow is a suburb of northeast Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.

Etymology

The name Gledhow is first attested the period 1334-37 as Gledhou. Its etymology is uncertain. The gled- element could plausibly come from the Old English words gleoda ('kite, bird of prey') or glēd ('embers, burning coals'). The second element could be from Old English hōh ('ridge, escarpment') or Old Norse haugr ('hill').^[1] It has been suggested (in relation to similar names like Gledhill) that a gled- element may alternatively be based on the Old Norse ‘å glede’ (to please, or be glad about a subject)^[2] giving a translation of "Pleasant Hill".

Description and history

Well into the 19th century, Gledhow was known as a picturesque area of woodland near Leeds.^[3] It had become a suburb of Leeds by the late 19th century. Gledhow Valley is a strip of mixed deciduous woodland on either side of a beck and lake. Gipton Spa, a bathhouse dating from 1671, is in the woods.^[4] Passing through the valley is Gledhow Valley Road, built in 1926.^[5]

Gledhow Lane crosses Gledhow Valley Road and on the eastern side is a steep road up from the valley. A residential area near the top has been referred to as "Little Switzerland", although a Leeds City Council website refers to this as a "former" name.^[6]

Notable people

• Arthur Louis Aaron, Leeds' only Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, was born in Gledhow.^[7]
• Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet (1787 – 1874), railway promoter and politician, was born at Gledhow Hall.
• Albert Johanneson, professional footballer (Leeds United) lived in Gledhow Towers.^[8]
• James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale, industrialist and MP.^[9]
• Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale, inter alia a director of Midland Bank and British peer.^[10]

See also

• Listed buildings in Leeds (Roundhay Ward)

External links

• Friends of Gledhow Valley Woods

Notes and References

1. Harry Parkin, Your City's Place-Names: Leeds, English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Names Society, 2017), p. 49.
2. https://www.gledhillgenealogy.info/gledhill_viking_connection.htm GLEDHILL GENEALOGY - New theory on the origin of the name of Gledhill
3. Book: G. . Measom . The official illustrated guide to the North-western railway . 1859 . 402 . 28 May 2020.
4. Web site: Bailey. Steve. Leeds: Places features: Gipton's Spa. BBC. 23 November 2017.
5. Web site: Friends of Gledhow Valley Woods - Home Page.
6. Leeds City Council, Sydney Kitson's House, Gledhow Lane, Leodis, accessed 28 December 2022
7. Web site: Arthur Louis Aaron Statue, Eastgate. G. Wilson. Leeds Library & Information Services.
8. Web site: Albert Johanneson: Book turns a spotlight on Leeds United hero - Yorkshire Evening Post. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170926143505/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/albert-johanneson-book-turns-a-spotlight-on-leeds-united-hero-1-5267683. 2017-09-26.
9. News: Obituary: Lord Airedale. The Times . 13 March 1944. 6. The Times Digital Archive. 3 August 2013-->.
10. News: Obituary: Lord Airedale. The Times . 13 March 1944. 6. The Times Digital Archive. 3 August 2013-->.