in Rothwell.
Early history The name Rothwell derives from the
Old English roðwella meaning '
spring in a clearing'. Rothwell was mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086, a landholding survey commissioned by King
William the Conqueror, as
"Rodewelle". One of the royal lodge's documented owners was
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, who is supposed to have killed the last
wild boar in England while hunting nearby; hence, a boar's head formed part of the arms of the former Rothwell Urban District Council. The
parish church (Church Street) is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and is on the site of an Anglo-Saxon predecessor. The current church, which has a ring of eight bells, is of medieval origins but was substantially rebuilt in the 19th century: the tower retains medieval fabric believed to be from the 15th century.
John Blenkinsop (1783–1831), a pioneer in the use of steam locomotives on the nearby
Middleton Railway, is buried at the church. The town was granted the rights of a
market town in the 15th century and a twice-yearly
fair. The tradition of a fair is maintained by the annual carnival which is organised by the Rothwell Entertainments Committee.
May Day is celebrated beside the stone cross and on the Pastures on the first Monday Bank Holiday in May, while Rothwell Carnival is held in
Springhead Park on the second Saturday of July every year.
Rothwell Town Hall was completed in 1895. A notable landmark of the town is an arch made of whale jawbones, which has marked the northern boundary by the junction with Wood Lane and the
A61 road for over 100 years. Rothwell is part of the historic
Rhubarb Triangle, with the town and surrounding areas famed for having once produced 90% of the world's winter-forced
rhubarb from the forcing sheds that were common across the fields there.
20th century of St George's Hospital St George's Hospital was situated off Wood Lane where now exists Castle Lodge Avenue and associated houses. It was built in 1903 to a design by
Leeds architect
Edward J. Dodgshun by the Rothwell, Methley and Hunslet Joint Isolation Hospital Committee which was formed under the Isolation Hospitals Act 1893 by an order of the West Riding County Council 10 January 1900. When first constructed it was known as the New Union
Workhouse and Infirmary for the Hunslet Union. On being taken over by the Leeds
Public Assistance Committee in 1934, it was renamed St George's Hospital. In 1934 it was transferred to the Leeds Health Committee. In 1948 the hospital was managed by the Leeds Group B
Hospital Management Committee. After local government reorganisation in 1974, it was transferred to the Leeds Eastern District and soon after to the Leeds Western District, and was closed in December 1991. From 1934 the hospital provided accommodation for the elderly ill, patients with chronic and acute
mental illness, persons with
learning disabilities, a
maternity ward and a separate
isolation ward. The site was developed for housing at the start of the 21st century, but the original tall clock tower remains. Rothwell Temperance Band is a
Championship section brass band founded in Rothwell in 1984. Although they do not rehearse in Rothwell itself, instead rehearsing in
Wakefield, they have strong connections with the town and hold many concerts for the local community. The closest Champion Section Brass Band is the
Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel Band, formerly of the Yorkshire Imperial Copperworks based in Stourton, from which the band is named. In 2000, the Wallace Arnold (Rothwell) Band merged with the Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel Band, which became for some time the Yorkshire Imperial DUT (Rothwell) Band. Rothwell has a long history of
coal mining. It was a site of early mining, using a system known as
bell pits. Coal mining has been carried out in the area for over 600 years. There were many local pits including the Fanny, the Rose and Rothwell Water Haigh. As the reserves as Rothwell Haigh Colliery were exhausted, production ended on 9 December 1983, with the majority of the 650 men employed transferring to the new
Selby Coalfield. Whereas some mineworkers moved house closer to Selby, many commuted daily from Rothwell to Selby for years. After closure, the old coking plant site at Haigh Colliery remained within the Coal Products Division of the NCB until privatisation in 1994, at which point former employees banded together to buy the site and later sold the site to a housing developer. have caused concerns for residents due to the parking problems caused on neighbouring Wood Lane. This is despite numerous efforts by local councillors, and the community, to include further parking restrictions.
Administrative history Rothwell was an
ancient parish, comprising five
townships:
Lofthouse with
Carlton,
Middleton,
Oulton with
Woodlesford,
Thorpe and a Rothwell township covering the old village itself and adjoining areas (the latter township also being known as "Rothwell with Rothwell Haigh and Royds Green"). All such townships also became
civil parishes in 1866. The Rothwell township was made a
local government district in 1872, governed by a local board. The district was enlarged in 1892 to also include the townships of Lofthouse with Carlton and Thorpe. Such districts were converted into
urban districts in 1894. Shortly afterwards, Rothwell Urban District Council built itself new council offices on Marsh Street in 1895/6. The Rothwell Urban District was enlarged in 1937, absorbing Oulton with Woodlesford from the abolished
Hunslet Rural District, and
Methley, which had been a separate urban district. Rothwell Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the
metropolitan borough of the
City of Leeds. As the 1972 Act went through parliament there was a local campaign to have Rothwell included in the
Wakefield district instead of Leeds. This was accepted as an amendment to the bill in the
House of Commons but was overturned in the
House of Lords. == Town centre ==