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81-645: The South Pennine Ring is an English canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester and Huddersfield . It covers parts of five canals, and includes passage through the longest canal tunnel in Britain. It has only been possible to cruise it since 2002, when restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal provided the return route across the Pennines. The concept of a canal ring

162-600: A Royalist stronghold in the Civil War . Wakefield became an important market town and centre for wool, exploiting its position on the navigable River Calder to become an inland port . In the 18th century, Wakefield traded in corn, coal and textiles. The name Wakefield may derive from "Waca's field" – the open land belonging to someone named "Waca" or could have evolved from the Old English word wacu , meaning "a watch or wake", and feld , an open field in which

243-636: A conservation area . On 2 June 1906, Andrew Carnegie opened a new Wakefield Library on Drury Lane which had been built with a grant of £8,000 from the Carnegie Trust. There are seven ex-council estates in Wakefield which the council started to build after the First World War , the oldest is Portobello, the largest is Lupset and the rest are Flanshaw , Plumpton, Peacock, Eastmoor and Kettlethorpe . Homes not bought by occupants under

324-424: A height of 601 feet (183 m), make this one of the highest canal summits in the country. Passage over the summit, between locks 37 to the west and 36 to the east, must again be booked and only four boats per day can make the passage in each direction. Although the lock at the western end of the summit is called West Summit Lock, the canal is actually travelling in a north to south direction at this point. The summit

405-470: A long piece of wood, called a handspike, to open the paddles on the locks. Because it is a river navigation, water levels are liable to fluctuate, and many of the locks have coloured gauge boards to indicate if it is safe to proceed. A green band indicates that river levels are normal, while an amber band indicates that river levels are high, but that progress to the next lock and passage through it should be possible with care. A red band indicates that navigation

486-457: A multi-storey carpark serving the station, and a hotel. A new market hall opened in 2008, but closed in 2018. In 2023, conversion began of it into Wakefield Exchange , an events space. Developments by the river and canal, the "Wakefield Waterfront", include the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Navigation Warehouse and office, retail, restaurant and cafe units. The development includes

567-497: A population of 76,886 in 2001. At the 2011 Census, the population was given as 99,251. However, these two estimates are not directly comparable, as the 2001 Census did not classify the old Stanley Urban District as part of Wakefield whereas the 2011 Census classified all settlements in this area except Bottom Boat (a small village built for Newmarket Colliery workers) as parts of Wakefield. Wakefield RSD 1881 – 1911 Wakefield MB/CB 1921 – 1961 The economy of Wakefield declined in

648-511: A prodigious amount of water, which often presented problems. The last commercial boat to travel from one end of the canal to the other did so in 1937, and most of the canal except for the section below Ducie St Junction, which is not part of the canal ring, was closed in 1952. Restoration began in 1984, and was completed in 2002 with the aid of a grant from the Millennium Fund. The canal remained in private ownership until 2000, and has been

729-621: A road over the canal. The basin was required once the Huddersfield Narrow Canal opened, as boats using either canal could not proceed along the other. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was the third of the trans-Pennine routes to open. It was authorised at the same time as the Rochdale Canal, but had a long tunnel on the summit level, and was not fully opened until 1811, seven years after the Rochdale. Standedge tunnel

810-463: A vehicle per 1,000 of the population was 7.9 and 3.9 compared to the English national average of 6.3 and 2.3 respectively. The number of sexual offences was 0.9, in line with the national average. The national average of violence against another person was 16.7 compared to the Wakefield average of 15. The figures for crime statistics were all recorded during the 2008–09 financial year. Wakefield had

891-755: A wake or festival was held. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was written Wachefeld and also as Wachefelt . Flint and stone tools and later bronze and iron implements have been found at Lee Moor and Lupset in the Wakefield area showing evidence of human activity since prehistoric times. This part of Yorkshire was home to the Brigantes until the Roman occupation in AD ;43. A Roman road from Pontefract passing Streethouse, Heath Common, Ossett Street Side, through Kirklees and on to Manchester crossed

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972-741: Is Wakefield Cathedral , which at 247 feet (75 m) has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Other landmarks in the Civic Quarter on Wood Street include the Grade II* Neoclassical Crown Court of 1810, Wakefield Town Hall designed by T.E. Collcutt and opened in 1880, and the County Hall of 1898 built in a Queen Anne Style which are Grade I listed. St John's Church and Square, St John's North and South Parade are part of residential development dating from

1053-460: Is 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Leeds and 28 miles (45 km) south-west of York on the eastern edge of the Pennines in the lower Calder Valley. The city centre is sited on a low hill on the north bank of the River Calder close to a crossing place where it is spanned by the 14th-century, nine-arched, stone Chantry Bridge and a reinforced concrete bridge built in 1929–1930. It is at

1134-606: Is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire , England located on the River Calder . The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census , up from 99,251 in the 2011 census . The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield , which had a 2022 population of 357,729, the 26th most populous district in England. It is part of the West Yorkshire Built-up Area and

1215-564: Is a recent addition, as it was only with the restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (dubbed the impossible restoration ) and the Rochdale Canal in 2001-2002 that the ring became a possibility. The term was coined as a marketing tool by British Waterways , and was later taken up by waterways enthusiasts in coining the North Pennine Ring and Outer Pennine Ring to describe the three possible rings that incorporate

1296-461: Is around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of level canal. Near the tunnel mouth is an information centre. There are four tunnels running through the hills at this point, as the canal tunnel is paralleled by three railway tunnels. Passage through the tunnel must be booked in advance, and is limited to a convoy of four boats in each direction on days when the tunnel is open. The reconstruction of the canal has made big changes to places such as Stalybridge , where

1377-739: Is fully restored. This ring is only possible when the Thames and Severn Canal, North Wilts Canal and Wilts and Berks Canal are fully restored. This ring is only possible when the Thames and Severn Canal and the Stroudwater Navigation are fully restored. This ring is only possible when the Montgomery Canal and River Severn are fully restored. This ring is possible only when the Barnsley and Dearne and Dove Canals are fully restored. Wakefield Wakefield

1458-420: Is quite short, at just 0.8 miles (1.3 km), and the descent to Sowerby Bridge begins all too soon. The distance from Ducie Street to Sowerby Bridge is 30.8 miles (49.6 km) and there are 82 locks. The discrepancy between the locks and their numbers is because Tuel Lane Lock, just before Sowerby Bridge, was built as a single lock to replace the original locks 3 and 4, in order to give sufficient headroom as

1539-424: Is the longest canal tunnel in Britain, and also the highest, as the summit level is 656 feet (200 m) above sea level. This is higher than the summit of the Rochdale, and yet it is also the deepest canal tunnel, as it is 638 feet (194 m) below Saddleworth Moor in places. The canal is 19.9 miles (32.0 km) long, with 42 locks, numbered 1E to 42E up to the summit level, and another 32, numbered 32W to 1W on

1620-423: Is unsafe, as the river is in flood, and the next lock is closed. When the river levels are normal, travelling along the canal is a pleasant experience, as the route passes through areas of beautiful countryside and other areas with interesting industrial archaeology. After 8.5 miles (13.7 km) and 14 locks, the channel forks. The Calder and Hebble proceeds straight ahead through Cooper Bridge flood gates to reach

1701-586: Is very gode chepe there. A right honest man shal fare well for two pens a meale". As preparation for the impending invasion by the Spanish Armada in April 1588, 400 men from the wapentake of Morley and Agbrigg were summoned to Bruntcliffe near Morley with their weapons. Men from Kirkgate, Westgate, Northgate and Sandal were amongst them and all returned by August. At the time of the Civil War, Wakefield

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1782-606: The British Waterways website . The South Pennine Ring follows parts of the following canals starting from Ducie St Junction in Manchester , and proceeding clockwise around the ring. The Rochdale Canal was authorised in 1794 and completed in 1804. Unlike the other two trans-Pennine canals, it does not have a major tunnel, but has to climb higher as a consequence, and the large number of locks, which were able to take wide-beam barges up to 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, used

1863-658: The 2022 Wakefield by-election , which was held on 23 June and won by Labour's Simon Lightwood . The Wakefield South ward covering Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue, is in the Hemsworth constituency , represented by the Labour party's Jon Trickett since 1996. He was re-elected in May 2010, and returned in 2015 with 51.3% of the vote. The seat has been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1918. Wakefield

1944-545: The Ashton Canal and Peak Forest Canal from closure. Working boatmen were concerned with getting from A to B as fast as possible, or for the lowest toll, rather than in visiting more of the system, and what are now known as rings were simply alternative routes to them, but circular routes allow leisure boaters to see twice as much of the system as is possible with an "out and back" cruise. Hire companies are keen to promote their proximity to popular cruising rings. Since

2025-556: The Barnsley Canal were instrumental in the development of Wakefield as an important market for grain and more was sold here than at any other market in the north. Large warehouses were built on the river banks to store grain from Norfolk , Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to supply the fast-growing population in the West Riding of Yorkshire . Great quantities of barley were grown in the neighbourhood and in 1885 more malt

2106-643: The Cheshire Ring was born, more rings (and variants of them) have been named. The best-known are those that can be completed in one or two weeks, although some three-week rings (such as the Outer Pennine Ring ) have been given names, but there are many other unnamed rings. See also Canals of Great Britain Incompletely navigable: This ring is only possible when the Wilts and Berks Canal

2187-652: The Doncaster to Leeds line. It has connections to the East Coast Main Line , trains to Leeds, Doncaster, and stations towards London King's Cross . CrossCountry trains go to Newcastle , Edinburgh , Birmingham and the South West . East Midlands Railway also run a limited service via Sheffield, Derby and Leicester to London St Pancras . Wakefield Westgate is on the Wakefield Line of

2268-633: The Hallam Line , Huddersfield Line and the Pontefract Line of the MetroTrain network. Grand Central operating between London King's Cross and Bradford Interchange stop at Kirkgate. In 2009 CCTV was installed at the station, but it had acquired a reputation for being one of the country's worst stations. It has, however, undergone extensive renovation (2014–). The nearest airport is Leeds Bradford Airport , 19 miles (31 km) to

2349-747: The Labour Party and the councillors for Wakefield South represent the Conservative Party . The parliamentary seat of Wakefield had been held by the Labour Party continuously from 1932 until the 2019 general election , when the Conservative Party's Imran Ahmad Khan defeated the incumbent Mary Creagh . The Conservative Party expelled Khan from the party on 11 April 2022, following a conviction of sexual assault. He announced three days after his conviction that he would be resigning as an MP, and left his post on 3 May, triggering

2430-462: The Norman style and was continually enlarged until 1315 when the central tower collapsed. By 1420 the church was again rebuilt and was extended between 1458 and 1475. In 1203 William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey received a grant for a market in the town. In 1204 King John granted the rights for a fair at the feast of All Saints , 1 November, and in 1258 Henry III granted the right for fair on

2511-723: The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 with an elected board of guardians. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough with elected councillors in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Wakefield was the de facto seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the Local Government Act 1888 . After Wakefield

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2592-459: The Right to Buy scheme were transferred to a registered social landlord, Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in 2005. The outlying villages of Sandal Magna , Belle Vue and Agbrigg have become suburbs of Wakefield. The glass and textile industries closed in the 1970s and 1980s, and coal faced competition from alternative sources and demand decreased. The coal mines around Wakefield were amongst

2673-636: The River Calder by a ford at Wakefield near the site of Wakefield Bridge . A large group of coin moulds, the Lingwell Gate coin moulds , representing Romano-British coin forgery were found at Lingwell Gate between 1697 and 1879. Wakefield was probably occupied again, this time by the Angles , in the 5th or 6th century, and after AD 876 the area was controlled by the Vikings who founded twelve hamlets or thorpes around Wakefield. They divided

2754-714: The Trinity Walk retail development to the north east of the city centre, including a department store, a supermarket and shop units. Work began in autumn 2007 but was halted in 2009, restarted in 2010 and opened in 2011. The central square at the Bull Ring has been redesigned with a water feature and the Ridings Shopping Centre refurbished. Wakefield Westgate Station goods yard and land on Westgate and Balne Lane have been developed to create retail, residential and commercial space including new offices,

2835-601: The West Yorkshire Metro network. The line was electrified in 1989. Wakefield is served by inter-city express trains from both its railway stations. London can be reached in less than two hours. Wakefield Kirkgate railway station was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840. Wakefield Kirkgate is unstaffed and operated by Northern who operate trains to Barnsley , Meadowhall Interchange , Sheffield , Normanton , Pontefract , Knottingley , Leeds , Castleford and Nottingham . The station serves

2916-560: The Yorkshire and The Humber region. In 1888, it gained city status due to its cathedral . The city has a town hall and is home to the county hall , which was the former administrative centre of the city's county borough and metropolitan borough as well as county town for the West Riding of Yorkshire . The Battle of Wakefield took place in the Wars of the Roses , and the city was

2997-452: The 132,212 households in Wakefield, 39.56% were married couples living together, 28.32% were one-person households, 9.38% were cohabiting couples and 9.71% were lone parents. The figures for lone-parent households were slightly above the national average of 9.5%, and the percentage of married couples was above the national average of 36.5%; the proportion of one-person households was below the national average of 30.1%. The population density

3078-577: The 2011 Census, Newton Hill, Outwood, Stanley and Wrenthorpe were counted as parts of Wakefield, having been classified separately in the 2001 Census. In 2001 the Wakefield subdivision of the West Yorkshire Urban Area had a population of 76,886 comprising 37,477 males and 39,409 females. Also at the time of the 2001 UK census , the City of Wakefield had a total population of 315,172 of whom 161,962 were female and 153,210 were male. Of

3159-676: The Aire and Calder at Wakefield. That route is part of the North Pennine Ring, which uses the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to re-cross the Pennines. The South Pennine Ring takes a left turn onto the Huddersfield Broad Canal . Care is needed as there is a large weir beside the entrance to the first lock. The Huddersfield Broad Canal is relatively short, at just 3.3 miles (5.3 km), and ascends through 9 locks to connect

3240-569: The Ashton Canal arrives back at the starting point where it joins the Rochdale Canal at Ducie Street Junction. Canal ring A canal ring is the name given to a series of canals that make a complete loop. There have been canals which formed a ring for more than 200 years, but the term was unknown before the 1960s, when the Inland Waterways Association coined Cheshire Ring as part of its campaign to save

3321-584: The Ashton Canal. The first half is level, until Fairfield Junction is reached. This was the point at which the Hollinwood Canal turned off. A short section of it now leads to a new marina, opened in 2008, and there are plans to reopen more of it. Between locks 10 and 11 is a short stub which used to be part of the Stockport Canal , for which there are also reopening plans. After descending through 18 locks and travelling 6.7 miles (10.8 km),

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3402-545: The Calder and Hebble to the industrial centre of Huddersfield. It was opened in 1780, and features short wide locks, as its only outlet was via Cooper Bridge when it was built. Despite the proximity of towns the route feels quite rural, with wooded banks and playing fields close by. It reaches Aspley Basin after passing the Locomotive Lift Bridge, named because of its shape rather than its function, as it carries

3483-694: The Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings . After the Conquest Wakefield was a victim of the Harrying of the North in 1069 when William the Conqueror took revenge on the local population for resistance to Norman rule. The settlement was recorded as Wachfeld in the Domesday Book of 1086, and covered a much greater area than present day Wakefield, much of which was described as "waste". The manor

3564-616: The Georgian period. The old Wakefield Bridge with its Chantry Chapel , Sandal Castle, and Lawe Hill in Clarence Park are ancient monuments . Another prominent structure is the 95-arch railway viaduct, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks in the 1860s on the Doncaster to Leeds railway line. At its northern end is a bridge with an 80-foot (24 m) span over Westgate and at its southern end a 163-foot (50 m) iron bridge crossing

3645-545: The River Calder was polluted, and various water supply schemes were unsuccessful until reservoirs on the Rishworth Moors and a service reservoir at Ardsley were built providing clean water from 1888. By 1885 the streets of the town were paved and flagged and lit with gas supplied by a company incorporated in 1822. Between 1870 and 1885 they made improvements on the north side of town around St John's Church now

3726-494: The River Calder. The Ridings Centre , opened in 1983, was a UK first and served as a template for many shopping centres throughout the UK. Clayton Hospital , a substantial Victorian edifice completed in 1880, closed in 2012 and has since been demolished. Wakefield has good access to the motorway system, with the intersection of the M1 and M62 motorways, junctions 42/29, lying to

3807-581: The Warennes that extended to Cheshire and Lancashire . The Warennes, and their feudal sublords, held the area until the 14th century, when it passed to their heirs. Norman tenants holding land in the region included the Lyvet family at Lupset. The Domesday Book recorded two churches, one in Wakefield and one in Sandal Magna . The Saxon church in Wakefield was rebuilt in about 1100 in stone in

3888-430: The area into wapentakes and Wakefield was part of the Wapentake of Agbrigg . The settlement grew near a crossing place on the River Calder around three roads, Westgate , Northgate and Kirkgate . The "gate" suffix derives from Old Norse gata meaning road and kirk, from kirkja indicates there was a church. Before 1066 the manor of Wakefield belonged to Edward the Confessor and it passed to William

3969-449: The art gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield named in honour of local sculptor, Barbara Hepworth which opened in May 2011. The gallery has ten internal spaces, exhibiting many examples of Hepworth's work. The gallery added about £10 million to the local economy by attracting 500,000 visitors in its first year. Flats and offices were built at Chantry Waters, on an island between the river and canal. The most prominent landmark in Wakefield

4050-422: The canal is hard work, as there are three locks per mile (5 locks per km), but they are spread out, rather than being organised into flights. There are a total of 47 locks between Ducie Street and the summit level, all constructed with the same rise, as a way to conserve water and to make the lock gates interchangeable. By the time West Summit Lock is reached, boats have travelled 17 miles (27 km) and ascended to

4131-404: The canal passed under a road junction. Sowerby Bridge was historically a transshipment point, as the barges on the Calder and Hebble Navigation were only 56 feet (17 m) long, and this still restricts the size of boats that can complete the ring. The Calder and Hebble Navigation opened between Wakefield and Sowerby Bridge in 1770, almost as an extension to the Aire and Calder Navigation . It

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4212-409: The canal was culverted in 1947. Now the new canal threads through the streets, and it is appreciated for the vibrancy it has created. Below the final lock is another tunnel, 166 yards (152 m) long, which carries the canal under an Asda supermarket to reach Dukinfield Junction. At Dukinfield Junction, the Peak Forest Canal turns to the left, but the South Pennine Ring continues straight ahead onto

4293-523: The country opened in 1704 and in 1765 Wakefield's cattle market was established and became the one of largest in the north of England. The town was a centre for cloth dealing, with its own piece hall, the Tammy Hall, built in 1766. In the late 1700s Georgian town houses and St John's Church were built to the north of the town centre. At the start of the 19th century Wakefield was a wealthy market town and inland port trading in wool and grain. The Aire and Calder and Calder and Hebble Navigations and

4374-425: The descent to Dukinfield Junction. Near to Huddersfield there are two tunnels, constructed to take the reinstated canal under factories which were built after it closed in 1944. Bates Tunnel is 100 yards (91 m) long, and Sellers Tunnel is 355 yards (325 m) long. As on the Rochdale, the locks are spread out rather than occurring in flights. Between the top lock and the north-east portal of Standedge Tunnel there

4455-418: The district council has been based in County Hall . Wakefield is covered by four electoral wards (Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield South and Wakefield West) of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority. In 2015 all the councillors elected for Wakefield East, North and West were members of

4536-428: The district through the implementation of the West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan . A network of local buses, coordinated by West Yorkshire Metro and departing from Wakefield bus station in the town centre, serves Wakefield and district. Buses are operated by Arriva Yorkshire , Watersons Coaches, Poppletons, Team Pennine , Stagecoach Yorkshire and National Express . Wakefield Westgate station opened in 1867 on

4617-485: The district was diversified. Growth has been supported by inward investment from European and United Kingdom government funding which has impacted on the regeneration of the area. Manufacturing remains an important employment sector although the decline is projected to continue whilst distribution and the service industries are now among the main employers. At the 2001 census, there were 33,521 people in employment who were resident within Wakefield. Of these, 20.74% worked in

4698-418: The feast of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June. The market was close to the Bull Ring and the church. The townsfolk of Wakefield amused themselves in games and sports, the chief sport in the 14th century was archery and the butts in Wakefield were at the Ings , near the river. Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages . During the Wars of the Roses , Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York

4779-434: The first in Yorkshire to close under the government of Margaret Thatcher , which altered the national energy policy from a reliance on British coal and opposed the political power of the NUM . Between 1979 and 1983, the pits at Lofthouse, Manor, Newmarket, Newmillerdam, Parkhill and Walton all closed. As the Wakefield pits closed, the Selby Coalfield was being opened, many colliers in Wakefield accepted offers to transfer to

4860-482: The junction of major north–south routes to Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster and west–east routes to Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Pontefract. Wakefield is within the area of the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire coalfield and lies on the middle coal measures and sandstones laid down in the Carboniferous period. Wakefield includes the former outlying villages of Alverthorpe , Thornes, Sandal, Portobello, Belle Vue, Agbrigg, Lupset, Kettlethorpe and Flanshaw. In

4941-405: The last quarter of the 20th century as the coal mines and traditional manufacturing industries closed, contributing to high rates of unemployment. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015, 14.35% of the district's lower super-output areas were in the most deprived 10% of England. Employment grew by 12% between 1998 and 2003 as the economy recovered and enjoyed growth as the economic base of

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5022-599: The mining industry, soapworks and brickyards in Eastmoor, giving the town a diverse economy. Boats and sloops were built at yards on the Calder. On the outskirts of the town, coal had been dug since the 15th century and 300 men were employed in the town's coal pits in 1831. During the 19th century more mines were sunk so that there were 46 small mines in Wakefield and the surrounding area by 1869. The National Coal Board eventually became Wakefield's largest employer with Manor Colliery on Cross Lane and Park Hill colliery at Eastmoor surviving until 1982. Wakefield

5103-411: The new pits which were built to facilitate commuting. An April 2021 article in The Guardian discussed nearby Heath (or Heath Common), the "village of the [200 year old] mansions", located "around the edge of the green". These housed the wealthy merchants and business owners. The local newspaper published specifics about one of the mansions in March 2021: Dower House was built c.  1740 ; it

5184-415: The north west, whilst the M1 to the west is accessed at junctions 39, 40 and 41. The A1(M) is to the east of the district. Wakefield is crossed by the A61 , A638 , and A642 roads and is the starting point of the A636 and A650 roads. The council is working with West Yorkshire Metro , the other four West Yorkshire district councils and transport operators to provide an integrated transport system for

5265-401: The original owner's nephew (also known as John Smyth). The Hall is a Grade I listed building. Wakefield was anciently a market and parish town in the Agbrigg division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley in the West Riding of Yorkshire . It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the Reform Act 1832 . In 1836 the Wakefield Poor Law Union was formed following

5346-458: The responsibility of British Waterways since it reopened. Originally, there were eight reservoirs which supplied water to the canal, but these were sold to water supply companies when the canal was closed, and so water supply is again a problem. For this reason, passage through the first 19 locks above Ducie St Junction, starting with lock 83, is restricted to four boats per day in each direction, and must be booked in advance. Making progress along

5427-439: The three transpennine canals. The moorland scenery and apparent isolation of the upper reaches of the ring would normally be a big attraction to leisure boaters, but boater numbers are relatively small due to a number of factors. These include As a result of the frequent stoppages and the need to book passage through the Standedge Tunnel, planning for a trip on the Huddersfield Narrow or Rochdale canals should include consulting

5508-456: The wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 14.42% worked within manufacturing industry; 11% worked within the health and social work sector and 6.49% were employed in the transport, storage and communication industries. Wakefield is a member of the Leeds City Region Partnership , a sub-regional economic development partnership covering an area of the historic county of Yorkshire. Regeneration projects in Wakefield included

5589-411: Was 9.31/km (24.1/sq mi). Of those aged 16–74 in Wakefield, 39.14% had no academic qualifications , much higher than 28.9% in all of England. Of Wakefield's residents, 2.53% were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.41% of the population. The number of theft-from-a-vehicle offences and theft of

5670-401: Was a Royalist stronghold. An attack led by Sir Thomas Fairfax on 20 May 1643 captured the town for the Parliamentarians . Over 1500 troops were taken prisoner along with the Royalist commander, Lieutenant-General Goring . In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed creating the Aire and Calder Navigation which provided the town with access to the North Sea . The first Registry of Deeds in

5751-425: Was also the site of the founding of the Miners' Association of Great Britain and Ireland , the country's first national trade union for miners, in 1842. During the 19th century Wakefield became the administrative centre for the West Riding , when many familiar buildings were constructed. The first civic building in Wood Street, Wakefield Court House , was built in 1810. The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum

5832-467: Was an important coaching inn . The railways arrived in Wakefield in 1840 when Kirkgate station was built on the Manchester and Leeds Railway . When cloth dealing declined, wool spinning mills using steam power were built by the river. There was a glass works in Calder Vale Road, several breweries including Melbourne's and Beverley's Eagle Breweries, engineering works with strong links to

5913-469: Was built at Stanley Royd, just outside the town on Aberford Road in 1816. During the 19th century, the Wakefield Asylum played a central role in the development of British psychiatry, with Henry Maudsley and James Crichton-Browne amongst its medical staff. Most of it is now demolished. The old House of Correction of 1595 was rebuilt as Wakefield Prison in 1847. Wakefield Union workhouse

5994-673: Was built on Park Lodge Lane, Eastmoor in 1853 and Clayton Hospital was built in 1854 after a donation from Alderman Thomas Clayton. Wakefield Mechanics' Institute containing an Assembly Room, public library and newsroom supported by subscription was built in Wood Street in 1820–1821 in the Classical style with Ionic details. Wakefield Literary Society ran there from 1827 until the 20th century and its Geological Society left artefacts to Wakefield Museum. Up to 1837 Wakefield relied on wells and springs for its water supply; water from

6075-442: Was constructed for John Smyth by John Carr , of Yorkshire stone, and "retains many original features". It was intended to house widows. The Dower House is a Grade II*listed property; it was modified in the early 1800s. The nearby Heath Hall, Heath , West Yorkshire, formerly known as Eshald House, was also built c.  1709 for the wealthy wool trader, John Smyth. The Hall was modified by John Carr between 1754 and 1780 for

6156-490: Was created in 1965, as part of a campaign by the Inland Waterways Association to prevent the complete closure of the Rochdale Canal . Initially the canal was described as part of the "Cheshire Canal Ring", which was soon shortened to the " Cheshire Ring ". It described a series of interconnecting canals which could be navigated, usually in a week or two, without having to cover any section twice, and has subsequently been applied to several other such routes. The South Pennine Ring

6237-494: Was elevated to a diocese in 1888, Wakefield council sought city status which was granted the same year. Wakefield became a county borough in 1913. In 1974, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972 , the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the City of Wakefield district. Today the city is the headquarters of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council , Yorkshire Ambulance Service and West Yorkshire Police . Since 1987,

6318-479: Was granted by the crown to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey whose descendants, the Earls Warenne, inherited it after his death in 1088. The construction of Sandal Castle began early in the 12th century. A second castle, Wakefield Castle , was built at Lawe Hill on the north side of the Calder but was abandoned. Wakefield and its environs formed the caput of an extensive baronial holding by

6399-409: Was killed on 30 December 1460 in the Battle of Wakefield near Sandal Castle. In medieval times Wakefield became an inland port on the Calder and centre for the woollen and tanning trades. In 1538 John Leland described Wakefield as, "a very quick market-towne and meately large; well served of flesch and fisch, both from the se and by rivers, whereof divers be thereabout at hande, so that al vitaile

6480-408: Was made in Wakefield "than in any district of equal extent in the kingdom". The market developed in the streets around the Bull Ring, and the cattle market between George Street and Ings Road grew to be one of the biggest in the country. Road transport using turnpiked roads was important. Regular mail coaches departed to Leeds , London , Manchester, York and Sheffield and the 'Strafford Arms'

6561-479: Was never as successful as the Aire and Calder, and was leased by a railway company for a time, until the Aire and Calder took over the lease. Some of the lower locks were enlarged during this period, but this did not include any that form part of the South Pennine Ring. Commercial traffic lasted until 1981, and it is now used entirely for leisure boating. One unusual feature of the waterway is the need for

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