Gledhow

Etymology

The name Gledhow is first attested the period 1334–37 as Gledhou. Its etymology is uncertain. The gled- element could plausibly come from the Old English words gleoda ('kite, bird of prey') or glēd ('embers, burning coals'). The second element could be from Old English hōh ('ridge, escarpment') or Old Norse haugr ('hill'). It has been suggested (in relation to similar names like Gledhill) that a gled- element may alternatively be based on the Old Norse ‘å glede’ (to please, or be glad about a subject) giving a translation of "Pleasant Hill".

Description and history

Well into the 19th century, Gledhow was known as a picturesque area of woodland near Leeds. It had become a suburb of Leeds by the late 19th century. Gledhow Valley is a strip of mixed deciduous woodland on either side of a beck and lake. Gipton Spa, a bathhouse dating from 1671, is in the woods. Passing through the valley is Gledhow Valley Road, built in 1926.

Gledhow Lane crosses Gledhow Valley Road and on the eastern side is a steep road up from the valley. A residential area near the top has been referred to as "Little Switzerland", although a Leeds City Council website refers to this as a "former" name.

Notable people

• Arthur Louis Aaron, Leeds' only Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, was born in Gledhow.
• Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet (1787–1874), railway promoter and politician, was born at Gledhow Hall.
• Albert Johanneson, professional footballer (Leeds United) lived in Gledhow Towers.
• James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale, industrialist and MP.
• Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale, inter alia a director of Midland Bank and British peer.

Parks and green spaces

The Green is a small green space located on the junction Gledhow Lane, Lidgett Lane and Gledhow Wood Road. It is identified in the Gledhow Valley Conservation Area Appraisal as an important green space that has been harmed by visually unsympathetic highway works.

Gallery

File:Lidget Towes.jpg|Lidgett Towers File:Highwood.jpg|The Highwood public house

References

References

1. Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Names Society, 2017), p. 49.
2. [https://www.gledhillgenealogy.info/gledhill_viking_connection.htm GLEDHILL GENEALOGY – New theory on the origin of the name of Gledhill]
3. (1859). "The official illustrated guide to the North-western railway".
4. "Leeds: Places features: Gipton's Spa".
5. "Friends of Gledhow Valley Woods – Home Page".
6. "Sydney Kitson's House, Gledhow Lane". Leeds City Council.
7. Leeds Library & Information Services, G. Wilson. "Arthur Louis Aaron Statue, Eastgate".
8. McLean, Iain. (2004). "Beckett, Sir Edmund [known as Edmund Denison], fourth baronet (1787–1874), railway promoter and politician".
9. "Albert Johanneson: Book turns a spotlight on Leeds United hero – Yorkshire Evening Post".
10. (13 March 1944). "Obituary: Lord Airedale". The Times.
11. (December 2006). "Gledhow Valley Conservation Area Appraisal".