Wakefield

Wakefield
/wayk"feeld'/, n.
1. a city in West Yorkshire, in N England: battle 1460. 305,500.
2. a town in E Massachusetts, near Boston. 24,895.
3. an estate in E Virginia, on the Potomac River: birthplace of George Washington; restored as a national monument in 1932.

* * *

City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 315,173), southeastern portion of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England.

Originally part of a royal manor, it became a baronial holding after 1086. It was the scene of the Wars of the Roses at which Richard, duke of York, was captured and beheaded by Lancastrians. In the 15th century the Wakefield Plays, one of the collections of English miracle plays, were presented there. The town was attacked and taken by the Parliamentarian general Baron Fairfax in 1643 during the English Civil Wars. Known as a textile centre since the 16th century, Wakefield specializes in wool and synthetic knitting yarns.

* * *

      urban area, city, and metropolitan borough (district) in the southeastern portion of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough extends eastward from the former coal-mining and wool-manufacturing area in the Pennine foothills to the plain beyond the confluence of the Rivers Aire and Calder at Castleford. Coal mining declined dramatically in the late 20th century, and the last remaining mine, near the town of Pontefract in the eastern part of the borough, closed in 2002. The fertile limestone area in the eastern part of the borough is graced by fine mansions set in parkland, such as Bretton and Woolley halls and Nostell Priory, but is also scarred by mining subsidence and spoil heaps.

      The city and metropolitan borough is named for its main population centre, the historic town of Wakefield. Wakefield was originally the chief locality in a large estate belonging to Edward the Confessor and was still a royal manor in 1086. Shortly afterward it became a baronial holding. Wakefield had a wool market by 1308, and Flemish cloth weavers began to settle there about 1470, stimulating the local woolen industry. By the 16th century Wakefield, together with Halifax and Leeds, had become noted for cloth finishing and dyeing. The town was attacked and taken by the Parliamentarian general Thomas Fairfax in 1643 during the English Civil Wars. During the 19th and early 20th centuries the city was noted as a centre for the production of woolen cloth. Wakefield still has a substantial textile industry, but other industries, such as food processing, engineering, machinery, and metal fabrication, are gaining in relative importance. The city retains the administrative importance that it acquired as the county town of the West Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire, but it is subsidiary to Leeds as a commercial centre. Besides the historic town of Wakefield, the city and metropolitan borough encompass the towns of Osset, Horbury, Normanton, Featherstone, Castleford, Pontefract, and Hemsworth, several rural villages, and areas of open countryside. Area metropolitan borough, 129 square miles (333 square km). The National Coal Mining Museum for England, located in an abandoned colliery, is just west of Wakefield town. Pop. (2001) Wakefield urban area, 76,886; metropolitan borough, 315,172.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wakefield — Koordinaten 53° 41′ N, 1° 30′ W …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wakefield — Wakefield, NE U.S. city in Nebraska Population (2000): 1411 Housing Units (2000): 558 Land area (2000): 0.698392 sq. miles (1.808826 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.698392 sq. miles (1.808826… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield — …   Wikipedia Español

  • WAKEFIELD (E. G.) — WAKEFIELD EDWARD GIBBON (1796 1862) Radical anglais, Wakefield a été l’initiateur d’une nouvelle technique de colonisation. Apôtre du développement de l’Australie et de la Nouvelle Zélande, fondateur en 1839 d’une Compagnie de la Nouvelle Zélande …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Wakefield, RI — Wakefield Peacedale, RI U.S. Census Designated Place in Rhode Island Population (2000): 8468 Housing Units (2000): 3385 Land area (2000): 4.868357 sq. miles (12.608985 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.243320 sq. miles (0.630196 sq. km) Total area… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield —   [ weɪkfiːld], Stadt in Nordengland, Verwaltungssitz der Metropolitan County West Yorkshire, 74 000 Einwohner; anglikanischer Bischofssitz; Wakefield Museum, Kunstgalerie, Freilichtmuseum für Plastiken (Yorkshire Sculpture Park); vielseitige… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Wakefield, KS — U.S. city in Kansas Population (2000): 838 Housing Units (2000): 362 Land area (2000): 0.472186 sq. miles (1.222955 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.472186 sq. miles (1.222955 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield, MA — U.S. Census Designated Place in Massachusetts Population (2000): 24804 Housing Units (2000): 9937 Land area (2000): 7.467392 sq. miles (19.340455 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.443127 sq. miles (1.147694 sq. km) Total area (2000): 7.910519 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield, MI — U.S. city in Michigan Population (2000): 2085 Housing Units (2000): 1035 Land area (2000): 7.971902 sq. miles (20.647131 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.548216 sq. miles (1.419872 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.520118 sq. miles (22.067003 sq. km) FIPS …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield, NE — U.S. city in Nebraska Population (2000): 1411 Housing Units (2000): 558 Land area (2000): 0.698392 sq. miles (1.808826 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.698392 sq. miles (1.808826 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Wakefield, VA — U.S. town in Virginia Population (2000): 1038 Housing Units (2000): 485 Land area (2000): 1.245845 sq. miles (3.226724 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.040323 sq. miles (0.104435 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.286168 sq. miles (3.331159 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”