Roundhay - History

History

Roundhay derives from Rond-haeg, a round hunting enclosure or deer park. The Roundhay estate map of 1803 showed its circular shape. It does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, but seems to have been formed soon afterwards, the first mention being in about 1153. It was formerly a hunting park for the De Lacy family of Pontefract Castle. Coal and iron ore were mined and a smelting furnace was recorded in 1295. Once these were exhausted (and woodland had been cleared for fuel) the area turned to farming. Roundhay was a hamlet until 1803 when the park estate was bought by Thomas Nicholson who started a programme of landscaping and built the Mansion House. Housing was built for workers and more land sold on which other gentry built houses.

Until 1810 Gipton Wood was Gibton Forest separating Leeds from Roundhay Park and a turnpike road was constructed "from Sheepscar to Roundhay Bridge". After the road was built the population increased from 84 in 1801 to 186 in 1822, mainly in grand houses for wealthier citizens of Leeds.

In 1826 St John's Church was established to serve the population of Roundhay, Shadwell and Seacroft, a combined population of about 1100, who would otherwise have had to travel up to three miles to worship. This made the area more attractive, the population rose to 300 in the 1830s in the form of a "township and genteel village" with "elegant villas, walks and plantations".

In 1872 Roundhay Park estate was purchased by the City of Leeds and opened as a public park by His Royal Highness Prince Arthur on 19 September 1872. At the time, there was much opposition as many considered the park was too far out of Leeds for the majority of the population to enjoy, and the park had just one access road and led to the park being dubbed a 'white elephant' in its early years.

However, there was interest in developing housing, and a suburb began to develop around Lidgett Park. Development was accelerated in 1848 by the provision of a horse-drawn public omnibus service between Leeds and Roundhay Park, then a horse-drawn tram, and on 11 November 1891 the first public electric tram service, which by 1894 provided a quarter-hourly service from 6 a.m. The city sold surplus land, but placed restrictions in its use, stipulating stone for building and the prohibition of offensive trades.

The area acquired a Post Office in 1868 and by the start of the 20th century some parts were lit by electricity. Brick-built detached and semi-detached housing was created along new roads such as The Avenue. In 1901 a second Anglican Church and in 1902 a Congregational Church were established to provide worship within walking distance for the new working class population. Lidgett Park Wesleyan Church followed in 1906.

In June 1907 an open air swimming pool or 'lido' opened, at a cost of just over £1,600, built mainly by unemployed citizens. During the 1950s and 1960s about 100,000 people a year visited the Roundhay 'swimming baths'. In 1912, Roundhay became part of Leeds.

During the First World War Roundhay was used as a gathering place for soldiers, hence land by Prince's Avenue is known as Soldiers Field. After the war, new estates were built to the south and west of the park. Roundhay School for Boys was opened in 1926, and the School for Girls in 1932. After the Second World War housing filled available spaces, with smaller residences built in the grounds of larger ones, and large converted to flats.

Roundhay was the location of the world's oldest surviving film, Roundhay Garden Scene, which was shot on 14 October 1888 by Louis Le Prince in the garden of Oakwood Grange.

The area was scene of a murder on 26 December 2003, when policeman Ian Broadhurst was shot and two of his colleagues were wounded by a man whose car they had stopped on Dib Lane. David Bieber, a former American Marine, was arrested five days later in Gateshead and charged with murder. He was found guilty of murder and two charges of attempted murder on 2 December 2004, and sentenced to life imprisonment. After his trial, it was revealed he had fled from Florida in the mid 1990s and entered Britain using a false identity after being suspected of conspiracy to commit the murder of a love rival.

Disc jockey and television personality Jimmy Savile (1926-2011) was a Roundhay resident and died at his penthouse home in 2011.