Editing Gipton

{{more citations needed|date=July 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Gipton
| country                  = England
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| static_image_name        = Gipton Gate West.JPG
| static_image_caption     = Gipton Gate West and other tower blocks on Oak Tree Drive
| pushpin_map              = United Kingdom Leeds
| population               =
| os_grid_reference        = SE334348
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.8093|-1.4940|display=inline,title}}
| post_town                = LEEDS
| postcode_area            = LS
| postcode_district        = LS8/9
| dial_code                = 0113
| constituency_westminster = [[Leeds East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds East]]
| metropolitan_borough     = [[City of Leeds]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[West Yorkshire]] 
}}
'''Gipton''' is a suburb of east [[Leeds]], [[West Yorkshire]], England, between the [[A58 road|A58]] to the north and the [[A64 road|A64]] to the south.

It is in the [[Gipton and Harehills (ward)|Gipton and Harehills]] ward of [[Leeds City Council]] and the [[Leeds East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds East]] [[House of Commons|parliamentary]] constituency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/council/Pages/Ward-maps.aspx|title=Ward maps|website=www.leeds.gov.uk|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref> The separate area and woodland of [[Oakwood, Leeds#Gipton Wood|Gipton Wood]] is in [[Oakwood, Leeds|Oakwood]], north of [[Harehills]] and part of the [[Roundhay]] ward. Gipton’s residents are known as Giptonites. 

==Etymology==
The name of Gipton comes from [[Old English language|Old English]], and is first attested in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 in the forms ''Chipetun'', ''Cipetun'' and ''Chiperton''. The first element is a [[personal name]], ''Gippe'', and the second is the word ''tūn'' ('village, estate, farm'). Thus the name once meant 'Gippe's estate'.<ref name=":0">Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Names Society, 2017).</ref>{{rp|48}}

The name ''Coldcotes'' appears in many street names in the area and derives from the ancient Anglo-Saxon settlement of the same name that was likely destroyed in the [[Harrying of the North]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coldcotes {{!}} Domesday Book|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE3334/coldcotes/|access-date=2021-03-31|website=opendomesday.org}}</ref>

==History==
The 1817 village was west of the place now called Gipton and contained the Gipton Spa, a bathhouse in what is now [[Gledhow|Gledhow Valley Woods]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fgvw.co.uk/html/woods/spatimeline.htm|title=FGVW - About the Woods - Gipton Spa - Bath House Time Line|website=www.fgvw.co.uk|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref>

=== Gipton Pit ===
The area of east Leeds from Burmantofts and Harehills to Killingbeck, Seacroft, Manston and Crossgates has a history of mining for coal, [[ironstone]] and [[fireclay]], with a large number of pits. Gipton Pit and the railway serving it opened around 1891/92. It was owned by the Low Moor Coal and Iron Company of Bradford who held extensive mineral leases in the Harehills area. The original lease was for 40 years and covered the extraction of coal and ironstone under land at Potter Newton and Coldcotes. In 1896, the lease was renewed for another 40 years. The pit was sunk in wooded farmland between Harehills Lane and Oakwood Lane. The Low Moor Colliery Railway that linked Gipton Pit with the coal staithes on Harehills Lane can be traced for much of its original length. At the eastern end of the railway, the pit head buildings, with winding gear, two shafts and railway sidings were just north of where Thorn Mount and Thorn Walk meet. The pit was taken over by the Harehills Colliery Company in circa 1898 and closed in 1921. Much of the spoil heaps have been removed. The only remaining heap has recently been levelled and a new housing estate built.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/property/leeds-property-gipton-development-now-open-for-business-1-6631886|title=Leeds Property: Gipton development now open for business|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oakwoodchurch.info/Oak%20Leaves%20Part%204%20-%20Mining%20in%20Gipton%20by%20Peter%20Kelley%20and%20Murray%20Mitchell.pdf|title=MINING IN GIPTON|first1=Peter |last1=Kelley|first2= Murray |last2=Mitchell}}</ref>

=== Gipton Estate ===
[[File:Gipton Gate East.JPG|thumb|right|Gipton Gate East]]
The creation of the Gipton housing estate can be traced to the work of [[Charles Jenkinson (priest)|Charles Jenkinson]], the vicar of [[Holbeck]],<ref>Bradford, E., [https://www.thoresby.org.uk/content/people/jenkinson.php Charles Jenkinson (1887-1949)], published September 2017, accessed 20 August 2020</ref> a poor city-centre parish. Jenkinson was familiar with the poor housing conditions of his parishioners and was determined to alleviate them. His chance came in 1933 after the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won the municipal elections and set up a Housing Committee to oversee his programme and appointed him chair. Work began on the Gipton estate in April 1934 and involved the construction of a "garden suburb" for the working classes with 2,750 houses with accommodation for around 13,000 people. The project took two years including two roads, one 150 feet wide and the other 125 feet wide with tram tracks in the centre and grass verges at the side. The tracks linked the estate to the city centre. A shopping centre with 40 shops was at the heart of the estate and secondary shopping centres were built at other points. Sites were reserved for churches, schools, playing fields, medical practitioners, dentists, and other public facilities. The scheme would cost £12&nbsp;million. When complete the estate took on a character which, while not specific to the final plan, remains fundamentally unchanged today.<ref name="DiscoveringLeeds">[http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?pageno=&page=20031110_71880520&topic=2003128_167034328&subsection=2003128_833248318&subsubsection=20031219_111095608 "The Working Classes"], Leeds City Council, Discovering Leeds. Retrieved 20 March 2016</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/tlang/documents/changing-landscapes.pdf|title=Callaghan, J. (2015). Changing Landscapes: Gipton and Harehill (Leeds): A Superdiverse Inner City Ward. Working Papers in Translanguaging and Translation (WP. 7)|last=Callaghan|first=John}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Modern Leeds|last=Fraser|first=Derek|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1980|isbn=071900747X|pages=421, 422}}</ref>

===Redevelopment===
In the 2000s houses in some areas were demolished and replaced by a mixture of private and public housing.  These included parts of the north of the estate around Amberton Road, Amberton Terrace and Amberton Close as well as parts of the south of the estate around Brander Road and Greenview Mount.  The streets to the south of the estate to be demolished had suffered from vacation, neglect and arson prior to demolition.

==Religious architecture==

=== Church of the Epiphany ===
[[File:Epiphany Gipton.JPG|thumb|right|[[Church of the Epiphany, Gipton|Church of the Epiphany]]]]
{{main article|Church of the Epiphany, Gipton}}
The Church of the Epiphany at the junction of Amberton Road and Beech Lane was constructed in 1936–38 with plans that were prepared by [[Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day|N.F. Cachemaille-Day]], and is a Grade I [[listed building]]. The Epiphany was built by Armitage Hodgson of Leeds, with the foundation stone being laid on 12 July 1937. The church was consecrated by [[Geoffrey Lunt]], [[Bishop of Ripon (modern diocese)|Bishop of Ripon]], on 14 May 1938 in the presence of [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood]]. The full title of the church is "The Bishop Burroughs (of Ripon) Memorial Church", but it is never used.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-465473-church-of-the-epiphany-#.Vu2ytOKLTmg|title=Church of the Epiphany - Leeds - Leeds - England |work= British Listed Buildings|last=Stuff|first=Good|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Church of St Nicholas ===
[[File:Catholic Church of St Nicholas & Our Lady of Good Counsel.jpg|thumb|right| Church of St Nicholas]]
Work began on the Church hall in 1938 when 10 acres of land was purchased from Leeds Corporation at the cost of £6,766. 11s.7d by Holdright. The hall hosted dances, whist drives, parties, meetings and jumble sales. They were staged to raise funds to provide St Nicholas' Church and school. Holdright moved to St Stephen's, Skipton and was succeeded as parish priest by Herbert Backhouse who pursued the same course. Their efforts were realised when the third parish priest, Frank O'Driscoll, was given the "go-ahead". The £74,000 church was opened on 26 July 1961 by [[George Dwyer]], [[Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds|Bishop of Leeds]]. The church seats 550 and the opening was marked by the celebration of [[Pontifical High Mass]]. The fabric cost £58,000 and the furnishings £16,000. There is a {{convert|70|ft|m|0}} high [[Bell tower|campanile]] over the [[baptistery]]. On top is an illuminated cross which can be seen from the surrounding hillsides. The church is part of Blessed Edmund Sykes parish.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blessededmundsykes.org.uk/LocalArea.html|title=Bl. Edmund Sykes Catholic Parish, Leeds, St. Nicholas Church with Our Lady of Good Counsel Church|website=www.blessededmundsykes.org.uk|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Gipton Methodist Church ===
[[File:Gipton Methodist March 2017.jpg|thumb|right|Gipton Methodist Church]]
Gipton Methodist Church was a small urban church on the edge of housing estates, which has now closed: its final service took place on 27 March 2022.<ref>Leeds North and East Methodist Circuit, [https://www.leedsnandemethodist.org.uk/lib/F629941.pdf Plan March-May 2022], accessed 13 March 2022</ref> An earlier church had been opened in May 1936: members of the church had transferred from the former Lady Lane Church in central Leeds and retained the name of "Lady Lane Methodist Church".<ref>Leeds North and East Methodist Circuit, [https://www.leedsnandemethodist.org.uk/churches/church-8/history.html History], accessed on 14 January 2025</ref>

Gipton Methodist Church was part of a local Anglican-Methodist Covenant arrangement with the Church of the Epiphany, which held shared joint Lent and Advent groups and services and Songs of Praise services, together with parishioners from St Nicholas RC Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leedsnandemethodist.org.uk/gipton.php|title=Leeds North and East Circuit - Gipton|website=www.leedsnandemethodist.org.uk|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oakwoodchurch.info/churchestogether.html|title=Churches Together|website=www.oakwoodchurch.info|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref>

== Education ==

=== Primary ===
The primary schools located in Gipton are:
* Wykebeck Primary School, Brander Street
* St Augustine's RC Primary School, St Wilfrids Circus
* St Nicholas RC Primary School, Oakwood Lane
* Oakwood Primary Academy, North Farm Road

==Amenities==

=== Henry Barran Centre ===
Henry Barran Community Centre is situated on Amberton Road, within Gipton. The original building was constructed circa 1920 and has undergone various changes to the space and additional extension built, the latest of which was completed in 1994. The centre is used as a multi-use community facility providing office/administration facilities, workshops, canteen, nursery & youth club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s26264/Community%20Centres%20Example%20Update%20Sheet%20Appendix%20A%20-%20Part%201.pdf|title=Henry Barran Community Centre update sheet}}</ref> The community group Gipton Together are also based at Henry Barran Centre with the aim of providing the young residents of Gipton & [[Harehills]] with a safe space to go in the evenings and use arts and sports projects to act as crime prevention and crime diversionary alternatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.giptontogether.com/#!page3/cee5|title=GIPTON TOGETHER|website=GIPTON TOGETHER|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Gipton Fire Station - Gipton Approach - geograph.org.uk - 564076.jpg|thumb|Gipton Fire Station 1937 - 2015. Reopened as The Old Fire Station community hub after renovation in 2017]]

=== The Old Fire Station ===
Community centre situated on Gipton Approach. The centre aims to be "A space where local people can come to socialise, access support and simply relax and have fun. An opportunity for children and young people, adults and older people to maximise their potential, and improve their well being and quality of life all under one roof".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk/about-us|title=About Us|website=The Old Fire Station|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref>

Formerly Leeds Eastern and then Gipton Fire Station, originally opened in 1937 with extensions in the 1980s and during full refurbishment to become a community hub opened in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest/jimi-s-legacy-helps-usher-in-a-new-era-for-former-leeds-fire-station-1-8755852|title=Jimi's legacy helps usher in a new era for former Leeds fire station|website=www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> A heritage group of former fire fighters have curated a small museum that is open to the public celebrating the history of the building.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-45523890|title=Plaque to honour WWII firefighter's death|date=2018-09-15|access-date=2019-09-16|language=en-GB}}</ref> Home to eight charities; Zest, Barnardo's, Space2, Healthwatch Leeds, Slate, GIPSIL, People In Action and The Old Fire Station charity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk/tenants|title=Tenants|website=The Old Fire Station|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> Range of activities and events including; cafe, nursery, cookery school, health & wellbeing, adult learning, art & crafts, activities for people with learning difficulties, gardening and housing support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk/news-and-events/whats-on-at-the-old-fire-station|title=What|website=The Old Fire Station|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> Car boot sales last Sunday of the month April to September.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk/news-and-events/only-two-car-boot-sales-left-this-year|title=Only two car boot sales left this year! {{!}} News and Events|website=The Old Fire Station|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> Film night last Friday of the month. Rooms available for private hire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk/room-hire|title=Room Hire|website=The Old Fire Station|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref>

=== Amenities ===
The main supermarket on the estate is the [[Lidl]] at the lower end of Oak Tree Drive. There is a [[parade of shops]] situated on Coldcotes Drive that include a [[The Co-operative Food|Co-operative Food]] store, a Premier Store, a [[William Hill (bookmaker)|William Hill Bookmakers]], numerous Takeaway restaurants, and Gipton Working Men's Club. There is currently a small off-licence called Gipton Convenience Store and the Gipton Housing Office on Foundry Avenue. The northern side of the estate is served by a parade of shops along Oakwood Lane. The parade currently contains a variety of shops and amenities such as a [[The Co-operative Food|Co-operative Food]] store, café, Undertakers, [[Boots UK|Boots Pharmacy]], Dentist, Launderette & Hair Salon. The local area is also serviced by a small Tesco Express situated on the edge of Montagu Avenue and Easterly Road. The southern side of the estate is served by the amenities on York Road which includes the newly opened convenience store Family Shopper.

=== Amenities nearby ===
The nearest large supermarkets are [[Asda]] in [[Killingbeck]] and [[Tesco|Tesco Extra]] in [[Seacroft]]. Tesco Superstore in [[Oakwood, Leeds|Oakwood]] and a [[Morrisons|Morrison's]] in [[Harehills]]. [[Cross Gates]] is the closest shopping area; its indoor shopping centre also provides the closest railway station to the area. The nearest bus station is the Seacroft bus station, which provides residents of Gipton with regular access to amenities throughout the city of Leeds. The estate is also only a short distance from [[Roundhay Park]], one of the biggest city parks in Europe. providing residents with access to 700 acres of parkland, lakes, woodlands, formal gardens, several cafes, two playgrounds, a skate park and the popular visitor attraction [[Tropical World at Roundhay Park|Tropical World]]. 
{{clear left}}

[[File:Coldcotes circus panarama.jpg|thumb|centre|upright=2.27|Coldcotes Circus]]

==Notable people==
*Former [[Elmet (UK Parliament constituency)|Elmet]] ([[Wetherby]], [[Garforth]], [[Cross Gates, Leeds|Cross Gates]]) [[Member of Parliament|MP]], [[Colin Burgon]] is from Gipton.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/retiring-leeds-mp-colin-burgon-interview-1-2240427|title=Retiring Leeds MP: Colin Burgon interview|newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>
*Author [[Jack Sheffield]] (born 1945, writer of humorous books such as "Teacher, Teacher") grew up in Gipton.<ref name=YP2007>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Yorkshire Teacher novels - Jack Sheffield |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/the-yorkshire-teacher-novels-jack-sheffield-1-2455889 |work=Yorkshire Post |date=18 May 2007 |access-date=25 August 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826043908/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/the-yorkshire-teacher-novels-jack-sheffield-1-2455889 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Location grid==
{{NSEW|[[Oakwood, Leeds|Oakwood]]|[[Harehills]]|[[Seacroft]]|[[Gledhow]]|||||}}

== Cultural references ==
* Gipton is mentioned in the song "With Goth on Our Side" by the band [[Half Man Half Biscuit]] on their 2000 album ''[[Trouble over Bridgwater]]''.
* ''Gipton: the Musical'' was written by [[Boff Whalley]], guitarist from the band [[Chumbawamba]].  The play ran at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshire-voice.com/chumbawumba-guitarist-pens-gipton-the-musical-set-for-leeds-stage/|title=Chumbawumba guitarist pens 'Gipton the Musical' set for Leeds stage|last=Berriman|first=Michael|publisher=Yorkshire Voice|date=26 March 2015|access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref>
*Gipton police station was the feature of a three-part [[Channel 4]] documentary ''The Nick'' filmed in 1992 and 1993 and shown in 1994 depicting juvenile crime, armed robbery, delinquency, drug crime and vehicle crime in Gipton and its surrounding environs.

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Leeds (Gipton and Harehills Ward)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{NHLE |num=1255904 |desc=Church of the Epiphany}}
*{{Genuki|county=WRY|Leeds||Gipton}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081013183640/http://www.giptonartscentre.org.uk/ Gipton Arts Centre]
{{City of Leeds}}

[[Category:Irish diaspora in England]]
[[Category:Places in Leeds]]