Facts about Rothwell
General Info
Rothwell is a town in the south-east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Leeds and Wakefield. It is in the Rothwell ward of Leeds City Council and Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. Rothwell is part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Rothwell had a population of 21,010 in the 2001 census, and the Rothwell ward has an estimated population of 32,365. At the 2011 census the ward had a population of 20,354. The town is close to the A1/M1 link road and the Stourton park and ride. The nearest railway station is Woodlesford.
History
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 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) is buried at Holy Trinity Church. He was a pioneer in the use of steam locomotives on the nearby Middleton Railway.
