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Missing from Domesday
Burley and Woodhouse are now suburbs of Leeds but in the past they were quite separate little communities in the countryside. Neither is mentioned in the Domesday Survey compiled for William the Conqueror in 1086 – Burley because it was considered to be part of Headingley and Woodhouse because it was part of the manor of Leeds.

What's in a name?
The first surviving references to both Burley and Woodhouse occur in the mid 1100s but the settlements themselves may be much older. Woodhouse means exactly what the name suggests - 'a house in the wood'. The place-name Burley on the other hand presents problems. The ley element is an Old English word (the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons). It means 'a clearing in a wood'. Taken together with the name Woodhouse it seems to show that the Aire Valley was quite heavily wooded in the distant past. Ley is a common suffix in many Aire valley place-names such as Armley, Headingley, Bramley and Rodley. The frequency of the ley place-name element demonstrates that the incoming Anglo-Saxons were settling on ground unoccupied by the native British population rather than taking over existing farmsteads. This settlement could have taken place as early as the 7th century AD.

Was there ever a castle in Burley?
It is the first element of the place-name Burley that needs some explanation. Its derivation is clear enough. It comes from an Old English word burh meaning 'fortification'. The same element occurs in other place names in the region such as Dewsbury and Horbury. The problem arises if you try to work out where this fortification might have been. Antiquarian records suggest that there was an Iron Age hillfort on Woodhouse Moor. All trace of this has now been landscaped out but the site is still remembered in the name Rampart Road. There was also a Norman motte and bailey castle over the river at Armley. However, both structures would seem to be too far away and the wrong period to have been named in the Saxon period. Perhaps Burley owes its name, not to a huge castle, but to a small fortified dwelling belonging to a local nobleman, all trace of which has disappeared long ago.

A quiet backwater
Neither of the two settlements can have been very important in medieval times as they were outliers to the principal settlement in their townships. Even in 1847 when the first 6 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey maps of the region were drawn up the two settlements were still largely surrounded by fields. Some of these like those fronting onto Headingley Road are long and thin and may represent the fossilized outlines of the medieval open fields. These were farmed in common with each of the villagers having a number of strips of land in each field. The rest of the area, as the name Woodhouse Moor suggests, was uncultivated land which could be used for rough grazing.

The scene of the action
The district could not remain so quiet for ever. In 1647 during the English Civil War Sir Thomas Fairfax used Woodhouse Moor to muster his troops before launching an attack on Leeds itself. The main body of the Parliamentarian army advanced from the moor while a smaller detachment tried to force its way over Leeds Bridge. After prolonged fighting Fairfax succeeded in taking the city with the loss of only 40 men. Local tradition has it that some of the dead are buried under a low mound in Meanwood. The site now lies on public access land adjacent to Stonegate Road.

The area was also to see some excitement during the 1745 rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie. For a time General Wade and his troops were camped on Woodhouse Moor Their foraging activities caused havoc throughout the whole region. Writing in the 1830s, the Leeds Historian Edward Parsons noted that there were few old trees in the area in his day because Wade's army had chopped them down for their timber. He also believed that the presence of General Wade and his men gave rise to such Leeds street names as Wade Lane which still exist today.

An escape from the city
Despite these disturbances the district must still have seemed a desirable area for those wealthy merchants who wished to escape from the grime of central Leeds. The best example of this is Denison Hall in Hanover Square. This imposing classical-style building was built for John Denison in 1786. At the time it stood in its own ground but in the 1820s the land was developed with Georgian terraced houses to give Hanover Square the appearance it has now.

Victorian Burley and Woodhouse
Later in the 1800s Burley and Woodhouse developed many of the features which we recognize today – shops, chapels, churches and pubs among other buildings. But 'progress' inevitably brings change. Industrialization brought housing on a scale which had never been seen before. Rows of brick built terraces covered much of the open space around Burley and Woodhouse. The rich moved further out of town to places like Headingley and artisans moved in.

A place to take the air
As the population grew it was recognised that space had to be provided for their recreation. In 1857 Woodhouse Moor became the first plot of land to be purchased by the City Council for use as a public park. In the Victorian and Edwardian periods hundreds of people would stroll around the park or sit and listen to concerts at the bandstand. Even today places like Woodhouse Moor and Burley Recreation Ground are still enjoyed by local people - a testament to the foresight of the City councillors who wanted to provide future generations with green spaces in which to relax and play.

* There's lot more information about local places on the WYAAS website at www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk
Have a look today. You never know what you might find.


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