Editing Roundhay (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
Roundhay's name derives from Old French ''rond'' 'round' and the [[Old English]] word ''(ge)hæg'' 'enclosure', denoting a round hunting enclosure or deer park.<ref name=WYArch>[http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=ConsRou.htm West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012001604/http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=ConsRou.htm |date=12 October 2007 }} Roundhay Park Conservation Area; Victor Watts (ed.), ''The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. ROUNDHAY.</ref><ref name=Note1>A circular fence requires the minimum length to enclose any given area, reducing the materials and work required</ref>  The Roundhay estate map of 1803 showed its circular shape.<ref name=Burt>Steven Burt (2000) ''Roundhay Park – an illustrated history''</ref> 

===12th century===
Roundhay does not appear in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086, but seems to have been formed soon afterwards, the first mention being in about 1153.<ref name=WYArch/> 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.<ref name=WYArch/> Once these were exhausted (and woodland had been cleared for fuel) the area turned to farming.

===16th century–18th century===
Roundhay was historically a [[Township (England)|township]] and [[chapelry]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/14145|title=History of Roundhay, in Leeds and West Riding|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=12 October 2024}}</ref> in the ancient parish of [[Barwick in Elmet]], except for a small area in the east around Roundhay Grange (originally a [[Monastic grange|grange]] of [[Kirkstall Abbey]]), which was a [[detached part]] of the township of [[Shadwell, West Yorkshire|Shadwell]] in the parish of [[Thorner]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/documents/archaeology/ConsRou.pdf |title=Roundhay Park Conservation Area |publisher=West Yorkshire Archaeological Advisory Service |year=2007 |access-date=6 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093339/http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/documents/archaeology/ConsRou.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>  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.<ref name=WYArch/>

===19th century – Turnpike ===
Until 1810, [[Gipton]] Wood was Gibton Forest separating Leeds from [[Roundhay Park]] and a [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] road was constructed "from Sheepscar to Roundhay Bridge".<ref name=StJohn>{{cite web |url=http://www.stjohnsroundhay.co.uk/stjohnschurch5.html |title=The Church in Roundhay |publisher=St John's Church Roundhay |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227060250/http://www.stjohnsroundhay.co.uk/stjohnschurch5.html |archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref><ref>Roundhay Bridge was near the Lido Car Park on Wetherby Road</ref>  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.<ref name=StJohn/>

[[Image:St Johns Roundhay.JPG|thumb| St John's Church (Anglican) 1826]]
In 1826, St John's Church was established to serve the population of Roundhay, [[Shadwell, West Yorkshire|Shadwell]] and [[Seacroft]], a combined population of about 1100, who would otherwise have had to travel up to three miles to worship.<ref name=StJohn/>  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".<ref name=WYArch/><ref name=StJohn/>

In 1866, Roundhay and Shadwell both became separate civil parishes.<ref name=vision>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10466180/relationships|title=Roundhay Tn/CP through time &#124; Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit|website=visionofbritain.org.uk|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>

===City of Leeds===
In 1872, Roundhay Park estate was purchased by the City of Leeds and opened as a public park by His Royal Highness [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] on 19 September 1872.<ref Name=DailyNews>''Daily News'' 20 September 1872 Prince Arthur at Leeds</ref> 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.<ref name=Mercury>See various issues of the Leeds Mercury in 1871 and 1872</ref>

[[File:Tram pylons in Roundhay 11 September 2018 1.jpg|thumb|right|Redundant tram pylons in Roundhay]]
However, there was interest in developing housing, and a suburb began to develop around Lidgett Park.<ref name=StEds>{{cite web|url=http://www.stedmunds.roundhay.org.uk/history.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023235636/http://www.stedmunds.roundhay.org.uk/history.htm|url-status=dead|title=St Edmund's Parish Church History|archive-date=23 October 2008|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>  Development was accelerated in 1884 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.<ref name=StJohn/> The city sold surplus land, but placed restrictions in its use, stipulating stone for building and the prohibition of offensive trades.<ref name=WYArch/>

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.

===Pioneer movie footage===
On 14 October 1888, [[Louis le Prince]] recorded his short film ''[[Roundhay Garden Scene]]'',  in the garden of ''Oakwood Grange'', the home of his parents-in-law, Joseph and Sarah Whitley, (the parents of [[John Robinson Whitley]]).{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} This is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence. (See [[Roundhay#External links|External links]])

===20th century===
In 1901, a second Anglican Church and in 1902 a [[St Andrew's Roundhay United Reformed Church#History|Congregational Church]] were established to provide worship within walking distance for the new working class population.<ref name=StEds/><ref name=StAnd>{{cite web|url=http://www.standrews.cc/standrews-story.htm|title=St Andrew's Story|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref> Lidgett Park Wesleyan Church followed in 1906.<ref name=WYArch/>

[[File:Roundhay Aerial view- 17-09-1963.jpg|thumb|Roundhay, looking towards the park in 1963.]]

===Lido===
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'.<ref name=Burt/> On 9 November 1912, the civil parishes of Roundhay and Shadwell were abolished, and Roundhay became part of Leeds.<ref name=vision/> In 1911 the parish had a population of 2594.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10466180/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Roundhay CP/Tn through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=12 October 2024}}</ref>

===First World War===
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.<ref name=WYArch/>