Place:Kirkstall, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

Kirkstall is a northwestern suburb of Leeds until 1974 in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, located on the east bank of the River Aire.

The area now sits in the Kirkstall ward of Leeds City Council. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,709.

To the west is the suburb of Bramley (near Leeds), to the east is Headingley, and to the north are Hawksworth in Leeds and West Park. Kirkstall is around 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre and is close to both the University of Leeds and the Leeds Metropolitan University. Its main visitor attraction is Kirkstall Abbey. Another landmark is St. Stephen's Church designed by the architect Robert Dennis Chantrell. Richard Oastler, a reformer and fighter for children's rights, is buried in a crypt under the church's east end.

In the 12th century Cistercian monks founded Kirkstall Abbey, a daughter house of Fountains Abbey in the North Riding of YYorkshire. The Abbey House Museum opposite the abbey tells the story of the community and the town. Henry De Lacey, Baron of Pontefract, gave the land for the foundation of the abbey, and Kirkstall has a few roads named in his memory.

History

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Kirkstall.

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