Middleton, West Yorkshire

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Middleton
map_type= West Yorkshire
latitude= 53.7428
longitude= -1.5526
population =
metropolitan_borough= City of Leeds
metropolitan_county= West Yorkshire
region= Yorkshire and the Humber
constituency_westminster= Morley and Rothwell
post_town= LEEDS
postcode_district = LS10
postcode_area= LS
dial_code= 0113
os_grid_reference= SE2927

Middleton is an old pit village in south Leeds, it is 4 miles (6 km) south of Leeds City Centre, West Yorkshire, England. It's mentioned as "Mildentone" and "Mildetone" village in the 1086 Domesday Book.

The local media sometimes refers to Middleton as a "peripheral council estate" within the city. Politically, it is in the Morley and Rothwell constituency rather than in one of the seats with a "Leeds" name. Proposed boundary changes mean that it will be in Leeds Central constituency at the next General Election. Middleton is in the Middleton Park electoral ward and is represented on Leeds City Council by three Labour councillors (as at May 2008).

It mostly consists of council houses that had been constructed in the 1920s, although the Westwood Council Estate was added in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and several council house streets around the Park Grove area were demolished in the late 1970s as unrepairable. Whether it should still be classified as a village or now as a suburb of Leeds is debatable.

Middleton Park separates Middleton from Belle Isle. The park itself stands partially on the site of the old "Middleton Broom" colliery, and at its bottom end houses the South Leeds Stadium, home of Hunslet Hawks Rugby League Club. The colliery had been the centre of employment in the area, and its closure in 1968 began a very long process of decline for Middleton. However, the area is now becoming more popular due to its supply of cheap housing for commuters to Leeds City Centre.

The village/suburb is home to the Middleton Railway; having been founded in 1758, this is the oldest working railway in Britain, and was acknowledged by an act of parliament [http://www.middletonrailway.org.uk/news/20050330.pdf] . Its original purpose was to transport coal from the village to the centre of Leeds. Such operations ended in 1959 as the productivity of the colliery declined. It was the first successful commercial railway to use steam locomotion. It was also the first rack railway and the locomotive, named The Salamanca, was the first to have twin cylinders.

The most notable feature is the distinctive Water Tower, which stands at the high point of the hill (approx 150 metres (500 ft) above sea level), at the south west corner of Middleton Park, on Town Street.

External links

* - Middleton was in this parish