Aberford

Aberford is a large village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,059 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated east, north east of Leeds city centre and lies in the LS25 Leeds postcode area.
Etymology.
The name 'Aberford' comes from the Old English woman's name "Ēadburg" and the word "ford", which, then as now, meant 'ford'. Thus the name originally meant 'Eadburg's ford'. This suggests the settlement's once-strategic importance. The name was recorded as "Ædburford" in 1176 and "Ædburgford" in 1177, "Ebberford" in the 13th century and "Aberford" from 1208.
History.
Aberford was the crossing point of the ancient Great North Road over the Cock River (now reduced in volume as the Cock Beck). Aberford was considered the midway point between London and Edinburgh, being around distant from each city, until the construction of the A1(M) motorway bypass starting at Hook Moor. On the north side of the river are The Aberford Dykes, earthworks to defend the crossing. The buried remains of a Roman fort have been found beneath Aberford House. The current bridge dates from the 18th century.
Aberford was in the ancient Kingdom of Elmet, the name given to the local parliamentary constituency. An Anglo-Saxon gold ring, inscribed with the name of King Alfred the Great's sister Æthelswith, was found in a ploughed field near the village in 1870 and was bequeathed by A.W. Franks to the British Museum in 1897. In the 17th century it was a major place for the manufacture of pins.
Aberford's growth has historically been along the road and the village has developed a linear rather than nucleated profile. Since the early 1990s much new housing has been constructed, as increasing affluence allows people to move away from city centres to rural and suburban areas.
Geology.
Geologically, Aberford lies slightly east of the narrow basal sandstone boundary between central Leeds' soft Coal Measures and much harder magnesian limestone deposits, and sits in an area shaped heavily by subsidence of the underlying Coal Measures.
Buildings.
Aberford is considered "a place of special architectural and historic interest". Some notable buildings are as follows.
The village contains a number of functional buildings, such as Aberford Church of England primary School, affiliated with the St Ricarius parish church adjacent to it. The school was originally a tithe barn. At the northern boundary lies the A64 road from Leeds to York and Scarborough. At the south end of Aberford is what used to be Hicklam Mill Farm now a small certified caravan and camping site.
Parlington Estate.
The Parlington Estate holds a monument to the independence of the United States, built by a member of the Gascoigne family (Sir Thomas Gascoigne, last of the Gascoigne blood line). Inscribed on both elevations is the phrase "Liberty in N.America Triumphant MDCCLXXXIII". The Parlington estate holds artefacts and constructions, in particular the 'Dark Arch', a short curved tunnel along Parlington Lane reputed to be haunted. It was built to shield the residents of Parlington Hall from the traffic passing along Parlington Lane, mostly horse drawn coal traffic, as it was taken to the village distribution point in Aberford for onward travel into the local market.
The lane was later developed for a private railway (Aberford Railway commonly called the "Fly Line") to transport the coal from the Gascoigne's pits to Garforth. The railway closed in 1924. Parlington Hall was left to run to ruins from 1905 after the death of Col F. C. T. Gascoigne, the Hall was largely demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, though the west wing is still intact. The estate was used by the army during the First and Second World Wars. The structures, built during the Second World War and still in existence (2009), were constructed by the soldiers of No.3 Vehicle Repair Depot, part of Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
Nellie's Tree is a local landmark that was voted English and British Tree of the Year for 2018.