| Morley | |
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  Morley shown within West Yorkshire |
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| OS grid reference | |
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| Metropolitan borough | City of Leeds |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEEDS |
| Postcode district | LS27 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| European Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Morley is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, in the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds and is situated five miles south-west of Leeds city centre. A population of 47,579 was recorded by the 2001 census[1]; this included West and East Ardsley, although these areas are not governed by Morley Town Council, and many locals view them as separate. By the census definition, Morley is larger than Pontefract, Castleford, Batley or Keighley, although it still has the reputation as a small town. Morley, like Rome, is built on seven hills: Scatcherd Hill, Dawson Hill, Daisy Hill, Chapel Hill, Hunger Hill, Troy Hill and Banks Hill.
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Etymology
Morley means "wood by a moor", from Old English mor "moor" + leah "wood, clearing". The name was recorded as Morelige in 1156. The -ley in the place name is typical of this section of West Yorkshire, alluding to a forest (now gone) that was around in medieval times.
History
Morley, mentioned in the Domesday Book, is traditionally famous for its textile industry, notably the cloth "Shoddy", which was worn by both sides in the American Civil War. Schoolgirl Sarah Harper was murdered by Robert Black in Morley in 1986, giving the town brief, national notoriety. A fuller description of the history of the town is provided by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service - see external link below.
Government and politics
The town's Municipal Coat of Arms features the symbolic principal industries of the Borough: Manufacturing of Woollen Cloth, Coal Mining and Quarrying. Morleians were strongly opposed to their Borough's incorporation into the new Metropolitan District of Leeds in 1974. In 2000 a town council was established, partially reversing this situation, although the council no longer governs West and East Ardsley. The Morley area also includes the smaller villages of Gildersome and Churwell. Historically, Morley was the centre of one of two divisions of the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley; the Morley division included Bradford and Huddersfield. Morley is represented on Leeds City Council by 3 councillors for Morley North ward and 3 councillors for Morley South ward. In May 2006 the electoral ward of Morley South voted for a councillor from the British National Party. The town had previously faced negative publicity following a controversial speech in 2004 by BNP leader Nick Griffin at Morley Town Hall where he allegedly aired racist views. Griffin was later unsuccessfully tried on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred following the speech.[2] Morley is currently in the Morley and Rothwell parliamentary constituency, represented by Colin Challen (Labour); after boundary changes it will be in the new Morley and Outwood constituency.
Morley today
Morley Town Hall is sometimes used for music recordings, due to its excellent acoustics. It has also been used in the television shows Heartbeat and Emmerdale, due to it having a disused magistrates court in the building and a cobbled street to one side. Three main secondary schools take in pupils from Morley: Morley High School (formerly Morley Grammar), Bruntcliffe High School and Woodkirk High School (technically in West Ardsley but has a large proportion of students from Morley due to its catchment area). The Joseph Priestley College offers Further Education and has one of its sites in Morley.
Twin towns
Famous people from Morley
Natives of the town refer to themselves as Morleians. Famous Morleians include:
- British Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith
- Sir Titus Salt, the creator of Saltaire
- Beryl Burton (World Champion racing cyclist)
- Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones' Diary
- Leigh Francis, comedian best known for "Bo Selecta!" and "A Bear's Tale"
- Vincent Mulchrone, famous Fleet Street feature writer, UK Press Gazette Top 40 British journalists
- Ernie Wise, of Morecambe and Wise fame (born in East Ardsley)
Sport in Morley
Morley R.F.C. was founded in 1878 and was a member of the Northern Union. When the Northern Union clubs broke away from the RFU to form what is now rugby league, the Morley representatives missed the train to Huddersfield as they were still in the pub. The club's heyday was in the 1970s where they won the Yorkshire Cup on five occasions. Some of this glory was recaptured in April 2005 when the club won the Powergen Intermediate Cup at Twickenham. The town also has a cricket club (whose team plays in the Bradford League), along with a football club (Morley Town) and Rugby league club (Morley Borough).
References
- ^ Census 2001. National Statistics (2001).
- ^ BNP boss aired 'race hell' views. BBC (2006). Retrieved on 18 January, 2006.
External links
- Morley Town Council
- West Yorkshire Archaeology Service
- The Ancient Parish of Batley. GENUKI. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Morley was in this parish
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| Yorkshire Portal | |
| Metropolitan districts | City of Bradford • City of Leeds • City of Wakefield • Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale • Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees |
| Cities and towns | Baildon • Batley • Bingley • Bradford • Brighouse • Castleford • Cleckheaton • Cottingley • Denholme • Dewsbury • Elland • Featherstone • Garforth • Gomersal • Guiseley • Halifax • Hebden Bridge • Heckmondwike • Hemsworth • Holmfirth • Huddersfield • Ilkley • Keighley • Knottingley • Leeds • Liversedge • Lofthouse • Mirfield • Morley • Mytholmroyd • Normanton • Ossett • Otley • Pontefract • Pudsey • Rawdon • Rothwell • Shipley • Silsden • Slaithwaite • South Elmsall • Sowerby Bridge • Spenborough • Todmorden • Wakefield • Wetherby • Yeadon See also: List of civil parishes in West Yorkshire |
| Topics | Parliamentary constituencies • |
