Farnley, Leeds

Coordinates: 53°47′15″N 1°36′57″W / 53.7876°N 1.6159°W / 53.7876; -1.6159

Farnley village (also known as New Farnley) is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Leeds city centre, between Wortley, Bramley and surrounding countryside, in the LS12 Leeds postcode area. The village was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as Fernelei. New Farnley is a nearby commuter village.

Farnley

Farnley started as a small agricultural village, dating back to Medieval times when it was known as Fernelei and was the Kings’s Land (Ilbert de Lacy). The original Farnley village started around Cross Lane which serviced Farnley Hall (on Hall Lane) and the Farnley Manor House (at the junction of Hall Lane to Chapel Lane). The Manor and Estates of Farnley were held in 1086 by Swain Fitz Alric and then a number of his descendants until it passed by marriage to Sir James Danby in 1497. The Danbys held it for about 300 years before it was bought by James Armitage. Farnley was surrounded by the villages of Bawn, Upper Moor Side and Low Moor Side. Farnley was heavily wooded until the 19th century, and Farnley Wood was the meeting point for a would-be rebellion against Charles II in 1663 which was known as the Farnley Wood Plot (believed to have taken place in Sykes wood, at the bottom of Green Lane). Although the rebellion failed from lack of support, 21 participants were hanged, drawn and quartered after being betrayed. The people of Farnley would have worked in the many mills surrounding the area including the Butterbowl Mill and the three mills situated in Post Hill (including Union Bridge Mill and the Woolen Mills of Farnley and Upper Mill).