East Keswick is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It lies four miles south west of Wetherby. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 1,146.[1]

East Keswick
Old Star pub
St Mary Magdalene Church
East Keswick is located in Leeds
East Keswick
East Keswick
East Keswick is located in West Yorkshire
East Keswick
East Keswick
Location within West Yorkshire
Population1,146 (2011)
OS grid referenceSE360447
Civil parish
  • East Keswick
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLEEDS
Postcode districtLS17
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°53′50″N 1°27′13″W / 53.89723°N 1.45364°W / 53.89723; -1.45364

Etymology

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The name of East Keswick is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, in the forms Chesinc and Chesing. This name comes from the Old English words cēse ('cheese') and wīc ('dwelling, specialised farm'), and thus once meant 'farm specialising in cheese production'. The ch- spelling in the Domesday Book reflects the usual Old English pronunciation (also found in modern English cheese). Subsequent attestations, however, reflect the modern pronunciation [k-], the earliest being Keswic and Keswich. This reflects the influence of Old Norse pronunciation on the local language.[2]: 42 

The additional element East is first attested in twelfth-century forms such as Estkeswyck. It seems to have been added to distinguish the villages from other places called Keswick, such as the nearby Dunkeswick.[2]: 42–43 

Amenities

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The Duke of Wellington public house

The village has two churches (one Methodist, one Anglican), a butcher, village hall, and two pubs: the Old Star,[3] which is Grade II listed,[4] and the Duke of Wellington.[5] A third pub, the Travellers' Rest,[5] situated just outside the village, closed in the 2000s.[6] After lying derelict for several years, the Traveller's Rest is now a children's nursery. The village had a school, but this closed in 1990,[7] leaving the nearest school in Bardsey. The village's Post Office closed in the mid-2010s.

Conservation

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The village is a conservation area surrounded by farmland. Its history has been chronicled in a Millennium Book and unusually it enjoys its own Wildlife Trust which manages large tracts of local land.[8]

Transport

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The village is situated close to the A58 road between Leeds and Wetherby. The Transdev X99 route serves the village connecting it with Leeds, Wetherby and surrounding villages. There are no rail links close by.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b Harry Parkin, Your City's Place-Names: Leeds, English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 2017).
  3. ^ EKVDG 2002, p. 20.
  4. ^ Historic England. "The Old Star (1225911)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b EKVDG 2002, p. 22.
  6. ^ "Dismay as more Leeds village pubs shut". Yorkshire Evening Post. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ^ EKVDG 2002, p. 5.
  8. ^ "East Keswick Wild Life Trust".

Bibliography

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