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Middleton is a largely residential suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England and historically a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a hill south of Leeds city centre and north north-west of London. In 2001 the population of the Middleton Park ward of Leeds City Council was 27,487. Middleton was occupied before the Norman Conquest and recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086. It developed as a manorial estate and its owners began to exploit the coal seams that outcropped within its boundaries. At the start of the Industrial Revolution a wooden wagonway was built to link the coal pits to Leeds. The colliery agent, John Blenkinsop designed an iron railway and its first steam-powered locomotive which was built by Matthew Murray in Holbeck. The coal mines on which the local economy was based lasted until 1967 and the railway is a preserved and run by a trust after operating for 200 years. Middleton Park, a remnant of the manorial estate, contains a large area of ancient woodland and parts of it, where coal was mined, are designated a scheduled ancient monument. It was the location of Middleton Hall and Middleton Lodge, homes to the local gentry. The village developed along Town Street, a school, chapel and church were built in the 19th century but after the land was acquired by Leeds Council in 1920 a large council housing estate was built on the flatter land to the south, completely changing the rural nature of the settlement. Early transport was provided by a tram line and the Leeds Ring Road was built to Middleton. After the colliery closed the area began to decline and by 2001, had areas of multiple deprivation and high levels of unemployment and anti-social behaviour. The Middleton Regeneration Board has been established with the remit of addressing these issues. ==History== The name Middleton is derived from the Old English ''middel''-''tun'', in this case the middle settlement or farm on the road from Morley to Rothwell. Flint and bronze weapons have been discovered in the neighbourhood showing evidence of habitation during the Palaeolithic and Bronze Ages. Roman discoveries were made in 1607 and 1823. Middleton was mentioned as ''Mildentone'' and ''Mildetone'' in the ''Domesday Book'' as having three carucates of land much of which was woodland. The land was given to Ilbert de Lacy who had a castle at Pontefract. Middleton Park is a remnant of the manorial estate which existed after the Norman Conquest. In the 13th century the boundary between Middleton and Beeston became the focus of a protracted dispute over where it lay in the dense woodland which covered the area. The dispute between William Grammary and Adam de Beeston was settled in 1209 by single combat and resulted in the construction of a boundary bank and ditch, a stretch of which can still be seen in Middleton Woods. The Creppings were lords of the manor followed by the Leigh or Legh family. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, held the manor from 1363 to 1370 and Simon Simeon, whose will mentioned coal mines, from 1401–1406. The Leighs held the manor for much of the time between 1300 until 1697 when Anne Leigh married Ralph Brandling of Felling in Durham. The Leighs once occupied New Hall whose name is recalled in the street names in the area. William Gascoigne, who invented the micrometer and died fighting for the Royalists at Marston Moor in 1644, was another resident of New Hall. Middleton Hall on Town Street was built in the 18th century for the Brandlings but they chose to live mainly in Durham. Charles John Brandling of Gosforth House, the Member of Parliament for Newcastle between 1798 and 1812 and for Northumberland from 1820 until 1826, married Henrietta Armitage of Middleton. The Brandlings appointed John Blenkinsop to manage their collieries in Middleton and he was the hall's occupant in 1809. The hall was destroyed in a fire in 1962. In 1760 the Brandlings built a new residence, Middleton Lodge, designed by James Paine. It was situated in what is now the park possibly on the site the original manor house. Members of the family lived there until 1860 including R.H. Brandling who donated land on Town Street on which the church is built. The Brandling's fortunes declined and the estate was sold to the Middleton Estate & Colliery Company in 1862. William Henry Maude, a partner in the company, occupied the house with his sister in 1871. He died in a carriage accident in the park in 1911. His sister remained at Middleton Lodge after the land had been acquired by the council until her death in 1933 after which the house became the headquarters of Middleton Golf Club. Middleton Lodge was demolished in 1996. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Middleton, Leeds」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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