Beeston

Beeston is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) south of the centre of the city.

The start of Beeston was in the medieval period. It remained a small place for people to live until the late part of the Victorian era when it became a mostly residential area for people working in Leeds and surrounding industrial areas like Holbeck and Hunslet.

When the 2011 Census was being carried out, Beeston had a population of 22,187 (which included Holbeck). Some parts of the area, around Cross Flatts Park, suffer from high levels of poverty, while areas to the centre and south are generally considered richer.  Beeston is home to the Leeds United football club stadium on Elland Road and Hunslet rugby league club.

Places of worship
Beeston has at least ten churches of many religions including Church of England, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Baptist. The Anglican churches of St Mary on Town Street and St Luke on Malvern Road were made in the 1870s, though St Mary is on the site of a much older church. The more modern church of St David Waincliffe on Dewsbury Road, made in the 1960s was designed by Geoffrey Davy and won a Hoffman Wood (Leeds) Gold Medal for Architecture.

There are three mosques in Beeston, all located within the Beeston Hill area. There is also a Sikh Gurdwara.

Notable people
The person who wrote plays Willis Hall went to Cockburn High School in Beeston as did the academic and author of The Uses of Literacy, Richard Hoggart. The poet Tony Harrison spent his childhood growing up in Tempest Road and went to what was then Cross Flatts county primary school.'Bombs over Beeston', 12 December 2008; http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/12/12/local_history_beeston_bombing_feature.shtml. More recently, the actress Holly Kenny who starred in the BBC drama show Waterloo Road was a pupil at the school.

The musician and bandleader Ivy Benson grew up in Beeston, where her old house on Cemetery Road is marked with a blue plaque.

Former England and Leeds United footballer Paul Madeley was born in Beeston.

Former international rugby league and rugby union star Jason Robinson went to Cross Flatts Park Middle School and Matthew Murray High School, and started his Rugby League career with Hunslet Hawks.

Leigh Francis, known for his character Keith Lemon, was born in Beeston.

2 of the 7/7 bombers lived in Beeston.

 References 

Category:Leeds