Wakefield

This is about the English city of Wakefield. For other uses, see Wakefield (disambiguation).

Wakefield shown within West Yorkshire

Wakefield is a city in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Leeds, and by the River Calder. Its population was 74,764 in 1991. The city was a centre for cloth dealing and had its own Piece Hall. The cathedral was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Its name is often said to derive from "Wacca's field" -- the field belonging to Wacca. However, it is more likely to have evolved from Old English wacu, meaning "a watch or wake", and feld, an open field in which a wake was held (Reaney, 1964, p.161). In the Domesday Book in 1086, it was listed as Wachefeld (Mills, 1998, p. 361).

Cheapside is the longest continuous street of woolstaplers' warehouses in England.

In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated near this city (then a town) in the Battle of Wakefield.

Famous people born in or near Wakefield include:

Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore - sculptors
Charles Waterton - naturalist
Martin Frobisher - explorer
John Radcliffe - scientist and founder of the eponymous library in Oxford, England
Robin Hood - outlaw, his fight with the Pinder of Wakefield being commemorated in the song "George a Green"

Famous songs regarding Wakefield include:

"Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" - about Wakefield Gaol
"Grand Old Duke of York" - regarding the battle at Sandal Castle, Wakefield

External link

City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

References

Mills, A.D. (1998). A dictionary of English place-names (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280074-4.
Reaney, P.H. (1964). The origin of English place-names (corrected 3rd pr.). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-7100-2010-4.

Districts of England - Yorkshire and the Humber
Barnsley \| Bradford \| Calderdale \| Craven \| Doncaster \| East Riding of Yorkshire \| Hambleton \| Harrogate \| Hull \| Kirklees \| Leeds \| North Lincolnshire \| North East Lincolnshire \| Richmondshire \| Rotherham \| Ryedale \| Scarborough \| Selby \| Sheffield \| Wakefield \| York
Administrative counties with multiple districts: North Yorkshire - South Yorkshire - West Yorkshire