Hyde Park, Leeds
Coordinates: 53°48′41″N 1°34′21″W / 53.81141°N 1.57245°W
| Hyde Park | |
 Brudenell Road, one of the main roads through Hyde Park |
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 Hyde Park
Hyde Park shown within West Yorkshire |
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| OS grid reference | SE282350 |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | City of Leeds |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEEDS |
| Postcode district | LS6 |
| Dialling code | 0113 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Hyde Park is an inner-city area of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated between the University of Leeds and Headingley.
It is mainly in the Hyde Park & Woodhouse ward, though some areas of what is often considered to be Hyde Park lie within the Headingley Ward (e.g. Hyde Park Picturehouse, Brudenell Social Club). The boundary is roughly Queens Road. The boundary between the two wards is also the boundary between Leeds Central constituency, which contains Hyde Park & Woodhouse, and Leeds North West constituency, which contains Headingley. The border between Headingley and Hyde Park is not clear: Transport Direct considers Victoria Road to be the northern limit of Hyde Park, but the Land Registry registers properties in some areas south of Victoria Road, such as Chestnut Avenue, as Headingley.
Unlike the nearby areas of Burley, Headingley and Woodhouse, Hyde Park was not historically a village so its boundaries are inevitably vague. Local people would largely consider Victoria Road, Cardigan Road, Alexander Road (or Burley Road) and the University edge of the park, Woodhouse Moor, to be the boundaries of Hyde Park.
Much of the area was originally known as "Wrangthorn", and this is still used in the CofE parish name "Benefice of Woodhouse and Wrangthorn".[1] The Church at Hyde Park Corner is Wrangthorn Church.
The area is in the centre of the city's student community. Being next to Headingley, a large student community, Hyde Park is now an established alternative student district. There are also many full-time, long-term, non-student families and single people. There is a sizable South Asian community.
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[edit] Community
In July 2005, Hyde Park became the focus of international attention as police carried out a raid connected to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Officers used a controlled explosion to enter a property at 28 Alexandra Grove, situated roughly where the Hyde Park and Burley areas meet.[2] Hundreds of local residents were evacuated as police searched the house, one of six in West Yorkshire to be raided that day. Despite media speculation that the house had allegedly been used as a 'bomb factory' by the suicide bombers, police later said they found no explosives in the property.
The area suffers considerable social deprivation including high unemployment, bad housing stock and a high crime rate.[3] In July 1995 the area suffered serious rioting after the taking over of a local pub, The Newlands, by the police to be used in surveillance.[4][5] The local community rallied and created Unity Day,[6] a popular community festival started by the Hyde Park Residents Association held on the adjacent Woodhouse Moor, usually in August. The non-student community is vibrant, artsy and centres around Unity Day, Friends of Woodhouse Moor, Royal Park Community Consortium and other groups.
[edit] Amenities
The area contains two mosques, one Hindu temple and two Anglican churches and a Catholic church on Cardigan Road. Alongside outlets primarily catering for the student population there remain a number of smaller shops selling largely traditional South Asian goods. This arguably lessens the impact of studentification, though some community groups do consider this to be a problem and tension exists.[7]
Hyde Park is the home of the Hyde Park Picture House, an independent, historic, art house cinema. The Royal Park, on Queen's Road, is a large pub with a downstairs gig venue, popular with the student population, and next door stands the Brudenell Social Club, a members' club which has recently taken on a new role as a venue for local and underground music. The area is also home to the Hyde Park Social Club, a members-only pub.
There are also a number of cafes and shops at Hyde Park Corner, including a vintage and antiques store and a Greek cafe. The area has many local or independent shops, such as DIY stores, takeaways, fruit and vegetable shops, a small Sainsbury's, Coop and two independent mini supermarkets, a pharmacy, a laundrette, a bakers on Cardigan Road and three vintage clothes stores.
The area is close to Burley railway station and benefits from good bus links into the city centre and North Leeds, which makes the area popular with young professionals/workers.
Woodhouse Moor is also one of the most used parks in the city.
[edit] Housing
The majority of residential properties in the area are late Victorian and Edwardian back-to-back brick terraces or face onto wide streets with communal access alleyways at the rear. A small area of 1980s council housing lies between Hyde Park Road and Woodsley Road, these replaced terrace housing demolished due to slum clearance. Main roads are cambered and some still retain original Yorkstone pavements and iron guttering. A large number of houses in Hyde Park are owned by private landlords who rent to students.
[edit] Notable residents
- Swallows and Amazons author Arthur Ransome was born in the area: a blue plaque on No 6 Ash Grove commemorates this.[8]
- Singer Ricky Wilson, of the band Kaiser Chiefs, lived in Hyde Park whilst a student at Leeds Metropolitan University.[citation needed]Ricky Wilson still lives nearby.
- Singer Corinne Bailey Rae lived here.
- Actor Chris Pine, famous for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the film Star Trek (2009) lived on Brudenell Road, whilst studying on a year abroad at the University of Leeds.
- Cricketer Hedley Verity,(1905–1943) a left-arm bowler, was born in Welton Grove; he played over 300 matches for Yorkshire and in 40 test matches for England.[9]
[edit] Chestnut Avenue
Chestnut Avenue in Hyde Park was the subject of many articles in 2001/02, including one in the Daily Mail asking Is this the most burgled street in Britain?.[10] This is not shown in the police statistics[11] but the high student population with many valuable items in their houses are a common target for criminals. In fact, references to its being, 'The most-burgled street in Britain' go back as far as at least 1993.[citation needed] This has since been lessened by fitting a gate to the back lane of Chestnut Avenue.
[edit] Hessle Terrace
In the early hours of Saturday 5 May 2007, West Yorkshire Police shut down a street party held by the tenants of two properties on Hessle Terrace and Hessle Avenue, at which there were estimated to be 200-300 people. Students from the University of Leeds gained media coverage on BBC Look North,[12] BBC Radio Leeds, The Yorkshire Evening Post,[13] several local newspapers and a minor article on the BBC Yorkshire website,[14] after claiming that the Police had used brutal and heavy handed tactics. They claim that at no point did the Police request the party be dispersed, however, the Police released a statement contradicting this claim.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice.php?B=30/204BM&V=3341
- ^ BBC News coverage of the suspected 'bomb factory
- ^ Leeds statistics, area statistics for Burley/Hyde Park in pdf format
- ^ Davis, Nick Dark Heart: The Shocking Truth About Hidden Britain, Vintage ISBN 0-09-958301-1
- ^ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950712/ai_n13994114.[dead link]
- ^ Unity Day a festival held in Hyde Park
- ^ List of local residents groups concerned with Landlordism and Studentification from the Heal Headingley Website
- ^ Avery, Gillian (2004). "Ransome, Arthur Michell (1884–1967)" (subscription required for online access). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35673?docPos=3. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,accessed 8 May 2011
- ^ Heal Headingley National Newspapers Archive 22.5.02
- ^ Labour website, "Chestnut Avenue has been previously reported as ‘most burgled street In Britain’. Although this is disputed by police"
- ^ BBC News. "Students slam "brutal" police" (video clip). http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6630000/newsid_6635700?redirect=6635747.stm&news=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ Smith, Bruce (2007-05-09). "Chief refutes brutality over street party". Yorkshire Evening Post. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Chief-refutes-brutality-claim-over.2861276.jp. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Dog handlers quell 'disturbance'". BBC News. 2007-05-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6628109.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
[edit] External links
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