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| Morley | |
|---|---|
  Morley | |
| Population | 44,440 (Including Adwalton. 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SE265275 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEEDS |
| Postcode district | LS27 |
| Dialling code | 0113 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| 53°44′57″N1°36′08″W / 53.749166°N 1.602263°W /53.749166; -1.602263 | |
Morley is amarket town and acivil parish within theCity of Leedsmetropolitan borough, inWest Yorkshire, England. Morley is the largest town in the borough after Leeds itself. Morley forms part of theHeavy Woollen District.
It lies approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west ofLeeds city centre. It was built on seven hills: Scatcherd Hill, Dawson Hill, Daisy Hill, Chapel Hill, Hunger Hill, Troy Hill and Banks Hill. In 2011, the town and civil parish had populations of 44,440 and 27,738 respectively.[1] It includes the New Brighton area.[2]
The town is split between theMorley North andMorley Southwards (containing the town centre) ofLeeds City Council, both making up part of theLeeds South West and Morleyparliamentary constituency.
Morley was mentioned in theDomesday Book in 1086 asMorelege,Morelei andMoreleia. Morley means "open ground by a moor", fromOld Englishmōr "moor, clearing, pasture" +lēah "open ground, clearing". It gave its name toMorelei Wapentac, awapentake which probably met atTingley.[3]
Howley Hall was built during the 1580s by Sir John Savile, a member of the great Yorkshire landowners, the Savile family. The house was besieged during theEnglish Civil War in 1643 before theBattle of Adwalton Moor but appears to have sustained no serious damage. It continued to be occupied during the 17th century but fell into disrepair. The hall was demolished in 1730 but ruins exist including the cellars of its great hall.[4]
The town became famous for its textile industry, notably the cloth,shoddy, which was worn by both sides in theAmerican Civil War.
It was a significant coal mining area.[5] On 7 October 1872, 34 people were killed in an explosion at the Morley Main Colliery.[6]
Historically, Morley was the centre of one of two divisions of thewapentake ofAgbrigg and Morley. Morley became aMunicipal Borough in 1889 and under theLocal Government Act 1972, was incorporated into theCity of LeedsMetropolitan District. Morley is represented onLeeds City Council by three wards (namelyMorley North,Morley South andArdsley and Robin Hood) each with three councillors. At the 2010 general election, Morley and Outwood was won by Ed Balls of the Labour Party, who had been MP for Normanton since 2005, and served as Labour'sShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 until 2015. Balls narrowly lost the seat at the2015 general election toConservativeAndrea Jenkyns. In the 2024 General Election, Mark Sewards won a majority and ousted Andrea Jenkyns from the MP position after the constituency boundaries were redrawn to change Morley and Outwood to Leeds South West and Morley.
Atown council was established in 2000. Localities which are included within the town council's area includeChurwell, Elmfield, Scatcherd, Teale, Topcliffe andWoodkirk,[7] butDrighlington,Gildersome,Tingley andEast andWest Ardsley, which were formerly part of the municipal borough, are outside the town council's area.
Following a review of parliamentary representation in West Yorkshire, theMorley and Rothwell parliamentary constituency was abolished at the2010 election and replaced by theMorley and Outwood constituency.
The town'scoat of arms featured the symbolic principal industries of the municipal borough:textile manufacturing,coal mining andquarrying.
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Morley Town Hall is sometimes used for music recordings. Television programmes,Heartbeat andEmmerdale have used its disused magistrates’ court and acobblestoned street to one side. It hostsconcerts by local schools and performances by the Morley Amateur Operatic Society, whosepantomimes have taken place at the Alexandra Hall for many years.
St Mary in the Wood Church is located to the north of the town centre on Troy Road and Commercial Street. The church has been closed since the late 20th Century and survived until 2010. When a fire broke out and burnt the whole church interior. The site is now overgrown and abandoned although the impressive spire can be seen from the town centre. The congregation still meet at the chapel on Commercial Street.
Morley annually holds one of the largest St George's Day parades in the country and has been named "the most patriotic town in England".[8]
Morley Market has been a feature since the town was formed. The market building has a large trading hall split up into units housing,butchers, fashion shops and acafé. Supermarkets in Morley include Morrisons, Home Bargains and B & M in the town centre, a 24-hour Asda superstore and an Aldi Supermarket on the outside of the town centre.
Scatcherd Park in the centre of Morley, by the Morley Leisure Centre, has a large playing field, a skate park, children's park, bowling green and memorial gardens, including the town'swar memorial. Events are held on the adjoining field in the summer months.
On 21 February 2010, a statue ofErnie Wise was erected outside Morley Post Office to divided opinion[9] and unveiled by his widow, Doreen.[10][11] Wise had performed in the old nearby cinema, just around from the Post Office, which is now aWetherspoons.
On 25 June 2012, theOlympic Torch paused atthe Morley Academy on its tour of Britain ahead of theLondon Olympic Games 2012.
Morley railway station is half a mile (800 m) from the town centre on theHuddersfield Line. There is a service seven days a week to and fromLeeds, but on Sundays, the service is less frequent.
Buses go to Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and other West Yorkshire towns from bus stops near the Town Hall.
TheM621 motorway runs to the west of the town and theM62 motorway to the south. Junctions 27 and 28 of the M62 are closest to Morley.
There are numerous primary schools in Morley including Morley Newlands Academy, Churwell Primary, Seven Hills Primary School, Morley Victoria Primary School, Asquith Primary, Fountain Primary and St Francis Catholic Primary School. It also has an independent preparatory school; Queenswood School.
Three secondary schools serve pupils from Morley:The Morley Academy (formerly Morley High and Morley Grammar),Bruntcliffe Academy andWoodkirk Academy (formerly Woodkirk High and technically inWest Ardsley, but has a large proportion of students from Morley due to its catchment area).
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire andITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from theEmley Moor TV transmitter.[12] Local radio stations areBBC Radio Leeds,Heart Yorkshire,Capital Yorkshire,Hits Radio West Yorkshire andGreatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire. The town is served by the local newspaper,Morley Observer & Advertiser.[13]
Morley R.F.C. was founded in 1878. When the Northern Union clubs broke away from the RFU to form therugby league, the Morley representatives missed the train toHuddersfield due to being in the pub. The club's heyday was in the 1970s when it won the Yorkshire Cup on five occasions. In April 2005 the club won the Powergen Intermediate Cup atTwickenham.
Morley CCcricket club plays in the Bradford League, Morley Town AFC (currently of Yorkshire FA Premier Division) and Morley Amateur FC are the townsfootball club and Morley Borough play rugby league.
Morley Leisure Centre[14][15] is newly built after undergoing a £33 million joint project with Armley Leisure Centre completed 22 June 2010 boasting a main 25-metre swimming pool, 10-metre learner pool, 150-station Bodyline gym, numerous sports halls, a dance studio and a cafe.
Independent Wrestling company Dynamic Pro Wrestling (DPW) is based in Morley and put on shows at Ackroyd Street Working Mens Club and around West Yorkshire until its closure in 2011.
Morley was the home of seven times World Cycling ChampionBeryl Burton.
Scatcherd Park Bowling club compete in 9 leagues
Morley is a setting forDavid Peace'sRed Riding Quartet novel and2009 television series which explore West Yorkshire police corruption during the 1970s, and 1980s.Emmerdale often use Morley for filming court and wedding scenes in the town hall.
Morley istwinned withSiegen, Germany, since 1966 continuation of partnership with amalgamatedCity of Leeds as of 1974.
Natives of the town refer to themselves as Morleians. Notable Morleians include:
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