Ledston
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Ledston (historically also spelt Ledstone)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a village in the Leeds metropolitan borough, in the county of West Yorkshire, England.<ref name=":OS:">Template:Cite map</ref> It is Template:Convert north of Castleford and Template:Convert east of Leeds. The parish had a population of 400 in 2001,<ref>Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Leeds Retrieved 7 May 2017</ref> which decreased slightly to 394 at the 2011 Census.<ref name="NOMIS"/>
History
[edit]Ledston is first mentioned in 1086, and on through the Middle Ages, in forms like Ledestun(e), Ledestona.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name seems to refer to Leeds (or the Old English precursor of this name, Loidis, which denoted a region rather than a town), meaning the tūn ('settlement, estate') belonging to Leeds.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Mary Pannal of Ledston was executed in 1603 as an accused witch.
Ledston was historically a township in the ancient parish of Ledsham in the wapentake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire.<ref>Template:Genuki</ref> The township became a separate civil parish in 1866.<ref name=vob>Template:Cite vob </ref> In 1974 Ledston was transferred to the City of Leeds in the new county of West Yorkshire. On 1 April 2023 the civil parish was abolished.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ledston Hall
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Ledston or Ledstone Hall<ref>orthwick Catalogue record as an example showing use of older spelling.</ref> was the home of Lady Elizabeth Hastings, daughter of the 7th Earl of Huntingdon, known as "Lady Betty". The hall was originally a grange and chapel built by the monks of Pontefract Priory. It is a grade I listed building, and several associated buildings and garden features are also listed.<ref>Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>
Ledston Hall featured in the television show Most Haunted:Live on 27 October 2007, but was called "Wheler Priory" for security reasons at the time (Wheler being the surname of the last family owning the hall).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ledston is also home to the Ledston Equine Centre located in the stables of Ledston Hall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ledston lies to the east of the A656 road,<ref name=":OS:" /> and there was a railway station named after the village on the Castleford to Garforth line, though this station was actually adjacent to Allerton Bywater Colliery. The village also had a colliery named after it, Ledston Luck, which was connected to the railway via a narrow gauge railway line up to Peckfield Colliery in Micklefield.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> The colliery, like the railway station, was some distance away from the village from which it took its name, being actually only Template:Convert east of Kippax.<ref name=":OS:" /> Ledston Luck Colliery closed in 1986<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the site is now a local nature reserve.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
White Horse Inn
[edit]The White Horse Inn is a 15th-century public house.<ref name="white-horse">Template:Cite web</ref> It was 2019 regional winner of North East Pubs in Bloom,Template:Citation needed and supports various local activities such as the Ledston in BloomTemplate:Clarify, a village scarecrow competition.Template:Citation needed and the Ledston christmas light switch on.