Whitkirk Explained

Country:	England
Coordinates:	53.8°N -1.45°W
Official Name:	Whitkirk
Pushpin Map:	United Kingdom Leeds
Metropolitan Borough:	City of Leeds
Metropolitan County:	West Yorkshire
Region:	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituency Westminster:	Leeds East
Post Town:	LEEDS
Postcode District:	LS15
Postcode Area:	LS
Dial Code:	0113
Os Grid Reference:	SE 363 339
Static Image Name:	St Mary's Church, Whitkirk, Leeds, West Yorkshire.jpg

Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, England. It is 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.

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

History

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. 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 public house, a gym, a Co-op, a carpet shop, an undertaker and an estate agent. 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,^[6] Temple Newsam Halton Primary School,^[7] and Temple Moor High School.^[8]

Comparison

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)	43.2	24.9
Gender split (females / male)	1.05	1.05
Average commute	6.1 miles	8.73 miles
Average age	38	39
Home ownership	16%	16.9%
Student population	2.4%	4.4%
People in good health	69%	69%

See also

• Listed buildings in Leeds (Temple Newsam Ward)

External links

• Community webpage
• Whitkirk Cricket Club
• Genuki site

Notes and References

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