More actions
| Places in Rothwell | ||
| Buildings | Rothwell Castle, Rothwell Empire Cinema, Rothwell One Stop Area Office | |
| Other | Rothwell Country Park, Possible Roman settlement (Rothwell Haigh) | |
| People from Rothwell | ||
| Katherine Earle, William Lunn | ||
Places
Map Key
: Roman
: Medieval
: Tudor
: 17th Century
: 18th Century
: 19th Century
: 20th Century
: 21st CenturyBuildings
| Name | Built | Type | Heritage status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rothwell Castle |  |
11th century | Manor house | Scheduled Monument | ||
| Rothwell Castle was a timber castle or fortified manor house, which was built by Ilbert de Lacy in the 11th century. The manor, given its close proximity to Pontefract Castle, would have only been a satellite but would have been important as an administrative centre. The remains of the site are now a scheduled monument. Some notable nobles stayed in or owned the castle, with both King John and King Edward II staying at the manor and John of Gaunt owning it. Over several centuries, it fell to ruin and was rebuilt or modified, until eventually the last building on the site was demolished in 1976. | ||||||
| Rothwell One Stop Area Office |  |
19th century | Civic building | |||
| The Rothwell One Stop Area Office, formerly known as the ‘Rothwell Urban District Offices’ and more commonly as the ‘Rothwell Civic Building’, is the historical administrative headquarters of the Rothwell Urban District Council and later was used as offices for Leeds City Council. The building was constructed from stone with a Gothic revival clock tower in 1895. It was expanded in 1940, and in 1974, it was renamed 'Rothwell Area Office' upon integration of the Rothwell Urban District into Leeds Metropolitan District. In the 21st century, it served as a One Stop Centre for Leeds City Council, but was declared surplus to requirement when the One Stop Centre merged with Rothwell Library to form the Rothwell Community Hub. Following this a local community group attempted to have ownership of the building transferred to the community, but Leeds City Council sold the property to a private company in 2023. The offices will be turned into 9 flats. | ||||||
| Rothwell Empire Cinema |  |
20th century | Cinema | |||
| The Rothwell Empire Cinema was a cinema that opened on 8th May 1913. The cinema closed between 1933 and 1935. By October 1935, the cinema had been converted into the Empire Ballroom and was given a new modern façade. It was replaced by Blackburn Hall in 1959, which is now a community theatre and centre with a flat floored auditorium and new stage constructed behind the former screen proscenium. | ||||||
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Rothwell Castle |  |
| Rothwell Castle was a timber castle or fortified manor house, which was built by Ilbert de Lacy in the 11th century. The manor, given its close proximity to Pontefract Castle, would have only been a satellite but would have been important as an administrative centre. The remains of the site are now a scheduled monument. Some notable nobles stayed in or owned the castle, with both King John and King Edward II staying at the manor and John of Gaunt owning it. Over several centuries, it fell to ruin and was rebuilt or modified, until eventually the last building on the site was demolished in 1976. | |
| Rothwell One Stop Area Office |  |
| The Rothwell One Stop Area Office, formerly known as the ‘Rothwell Urban District Offices’ and more commonly as the ‘Rothwell Civic Building’, is the historical administrative headquarters of the Rothwell Urban District Council and later was used as offices for Leeds City Council. The building was constructed from stone with a Gothic revival clock tower in 1895. It was expanded in 1940, and in 1974, it was renamed 'Rothwell Area Office' upon integration of the Rothwell Urban District into Leeds Metropolitan District. In the 21st century, it served as a One Stop Centre for Leeds City Council, but was declared surplus to requirement when the One Stop Centre merged with Rothwell Library to form the Rothwell Community Hub. Following this a local community group attempted to have ownership of the building transferred to the community, but Leeds City Council sold the property to a private company in 2023. The offices will be turned into 9 flats. | |
| Rothwell Empire Cinema |  |
| The Rothwell Empire Cinema was a cinema that opened on 8th May 1913. The cinema closed between 1933 and 1935. By October 1935, the cinema had been converted into the Empire Ballroom and was given a new modern façade. It was replaced by Blackburn Hall in 1959, which is now a community theatre and centre with a flat floored auditorium and new stage constructed behind the former screen proscenium. | |
Churches
| Name | Built | Type | Heritage status |
|---|
| Name |
|---|
People
| Name | Century | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Earle |  |
17th century | Wet nurse |
| Katherine Earle (Unknown - 23rd May 1661) was a resident of Rhodes (now known as Royds Green) who was accused of witchcraft. Earle was a wet-nurse, employed by the Hatefeild family, who became the subject of numerous accusations of withcraft by Henry Hatefeild following the death of his two children. Theories put forth by Albert Brown suggest that Earle had her child, Ann, by Hatefeild and his wife was both jealous and angered by this affair and the death of her children, which led to the numerous accusations. | |||
| William Lunn |  |
20th century | Coal miner, Member of Parliament |
| William “Willie” Lunn JP (1 November 1872 - 16 May 1942) was the Member of Parliament for Rothwell between 1918 and 1942. Prior to his entry into politics, Lunn was a coal miner from the age of 12 and worked in Rothwell Haigh and Middleton Colliery. Lunn was active in the trade union movement during his time as a coal miner and helped found the Rothwell branch of the Independent Labour Party. Lunn also served on the Rothwell Urban District Council; becoming its chairman between 1915 and 1917. After his election victory in the Rothwell constituency, Lunn would go on to hold several roles in goverment during the 1920s and 30s, including Secretary for Overseas Trade, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. | |||
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Katherine Earle | |
| Katherine Earle (Unknown - 23rd May 1661) was a resident of Rhodes (now known as Royds Green) who was accused of witchcraft. Earle was a wet-nurse, employed by the Hatefeild family, who became the subject of numerous accusations of withcraft by Henry Hatefeild following the death of his two children. Theories put forth by Albert Brown suggest that Earle had her child, Ann, by Hatefeild and his wife was both jealous and angered by this affair and the death of her children, which led to the numerous accusations. | |
| William Lunn |  |
| William “Willie” Lunn JP (1 November 1872 - 16 May 1942) was the Member of Parliament for Rothwell between 1918 and 1942. Prior to his entry into politics, Lunn was a coal miner from the age of 12 and worked in Rothwell Haigh and Middleton Colliery. Lunn was active in the trade union movement during his time as a coal miner and helped found the Rothwell branch of the Independent Labour Party. Lunn also served on the Rothwell Urban District Council; becoming its chairman between 1915 and 1917. After his election victory in the Rothwell constituency, Lunn would go on to hold several roles in goverment during the 1920s and 30s, including Secretary for Overseas Trade, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. | |
Elections
| Rothwell Urban District Council elections | ||
| 1894 • 1896 • 1897 | ||