Besides great sights, an interesting history and many exciting destinations, Morley has a lot more to offer. Here you will find many helpful tips to enjoy your vacation in Morley.
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Sights in Morley
Morley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately 5mi southwest of Leeds city centre and has a population of 36,591. Morley is built on seven hills: Scatcherd Hill, Daisy Hill, Chapel Allerton Hill, Thornton Hill, Well Hill, Howrah Hill and Cross Flatts Hill.
The town’s oldest church is All Saints’ Church. The organ in the church was built by Abraham Jordan and is one of only two such organs in the country. The other is at St John the Baptist Church, Chester.
The town’s Cooperative Society was founded in 1867 and the Morley Observer, a newspaper, was first published in 1854. Morley has a town hall, built in 1872, and a Carnegie library, built in 1904. The Grange, a Grade II listed building, is a former private dwelling, built in 1772, which became a girls’ school and is now used as offices.
The Aire and Calder Navigation passes through the town as do three railways: the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway, the Calder and Hebble Navigation Canal and the Cross Country Route. The M62 motorway passes to the south of the town.
Morley Market, in Queen Street, is open every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. It is a traditional covered market with around 200 stalls selling fruit, vegetables, clothes, fish, meat, pies and pastries.
The Morley Arts Festival is an annual event which takes place in September. It was first held in September 2009 and featured over 200 events including concerts, art exhibitions, theatre, workshops and a food and drink fair.
Morley Town FC are the town’s football team who play in the Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division. The club was formed in October 1883 and played its first game against Churwell on 1 December that year.
Morley Rugby Union Football Club, founded in 1878, play rugby union in Yorkshire Division One. The club’s home ground is Scatcherd Lane.
Morley Little Theatre, founded in 1933, is a drama group which performs amateur theatre productions. Productions are staged at Morley Town Hall.
There are two museums in the town: Mills Park Museum, which houses a collection of appliances and machinery from local mills, and Morley History Museum, which tells the story of the town from Roman times to the present day.
Morley is twinned with BietigheimBissingen in Germany and SaintHilaireduHarcouët in France.
History of Morley
Morley is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Leeds city centre and on the A650 road. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Morley is part of the Leeds metropolitan area.
The town had a population of 21,374 in 2011 and is made up of several residential areas including Morley town centre, Cross Flats, Gleneagles, Howden Clough, Aethelthwaite, slideshow and Thorpe on the Hill. Industrial heritage includes the production of flax, cloth, coal mining and engineering; while Morley Market continues to attract trade from the surrounding towns and villages. Morley is twinned with Carnoules in France.
The town’s name derives from Old English and means ‘open land by a moor’. The town was recorded as ‘Morleia’ in the Domesday Book of 1086 and ‘Morelege’ in 1240. Morley as a parish probably encompassed all these cryptic places, although since 1974 only the town centre and parts of Howden Clough have been within Morley’s presentday boundaries. Politically, Morley has always been a progressive town, with the Liberal Party having an unbroken control of the Town Council from 1904 until the 1950s.
In 1937, Morley was incorporated as a municipal borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The borough comprised the Municipal Borough of Morley, the Urban District of Howden Clough, and parts of the Rural District of Batley and Spen. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Morley became a civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds in West Yorkshire.
The town is represented on Leeds City Council by three Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor. On West Yorkshire County Council Morley town forms part of Leeds West parliamentary constituency and includes the Morley North and Morley South wards.
The A650 runs through the town centre and allows access to Bradford to the northwest and Wakefield to the southeast. To the south of Morley is the M62 motorway. Bus services in Morley are provided by Arriva Yorkshire, First West Yorkshire, TLC Travel, Yorkshire Tiger and Dales & District.
Morley railway station, on the Calder Valley Line, provides service between Leeds and Manchester. The town used to have a second station, Morley North, on the Cross Country Route between Leeds and Leicester, but this closed in 1988. There are also good links to Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Huddersfield, Selby, Knottingley, Pontefract Monkhill, Dewsbury and Heckmondwike.
The town has a Carnegie library, which opened in 1908. Morley Leisure Centre & Swimming Pool, on Queens Road, was built in the 1970s. There are also Parks & Open Spaces, which include Howden Park, Crow Nest Park, Bruntcliffe Fields, Well street common & Scatcherd Park.
The Morley Arts Festival is an annual festival of music, dance, theatre and the visual arts, which takes place in October. The Festival has been running since 1984 and usually features over 200 events.
The Morley Lecture is an annual public lecture, organised by the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. It has been held since 1859 and is usually given by a prominent politician, academic or journalist.
Morley town centre is home to a number of high street chain stores as well as independent shops. Morley Market, on Queen Street, is a covered market which sells a variety of goods including fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, clothes and household items.
Morley is twinned with Carnoules in France.
The town has a number of schools and colleges including Morley Academy, Bruntcliffe Academy, Morley High School, David Young Community Academy, Carolgate Sixth Form College and Leeds City College.
Morley was the birthplace of the writer J. B. Priestley, who wrote about the town in his book, Morley’s Memories. The town is also home to the Priestley Railway Museum, which is located in the former Morley railway station.
Vacation in Morley
Morley is a town in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated between Leeds and Bradford, near the M62 motorway. According to the 2011 census the population of Morley was 75,885 making it the sixth largest civil parish in England. The town is built on seven hills: Churwell Hill, Daisy Hill, Morley Hill, Manor Hill, Town Hill,Queensbury Hill and Trubshaw Cross.
There is evidence of prehistoric settlement in Morley, with a Neolithic stone axe found in the 19th century, and a Bronze Age bowl barrow dating back 3,000 years. The village of Gildersome, which is now part of Morley, is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having a church, 10 acres of meadow and a mill.
The town’s name comes from the Old English morth leah, meaning “murder clearing”, and is first mentioned in a charter granted to the Abbey of St Mary de Hardinval by King Stephen in 1147.
Morley is situated on the A650 road which used to be the main route from Bradford to Leeds before the M62 motorway was built. It is served by junctions 27 and 28 of the M62.
Morley railway station is on the Calderdale Line and the Huddersfield Line, providing links to Leeds, Manchester, York and London King’s Cross. Buses to Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and other destinations are run by First West Yorkshire and Arriva Yorkshire.
Morley was originally an agricultural market town, but during the Industrial Revolution it became a textile manufacturing town, with woollen mills and coal mines. Some of these mills, such as Morley Mill, are now converted into flats.
The town has a variety of tourist attractions, including Morley Town Hall, built in 1897, which has a theatre and art gallery; the Grade I listed Church of St Peter; and the Grade II listed Morley Leisure Centre. There are also several parks, includingsculpture park and Queensbury Country Park.
For shoppers, there is the Morley Market, held three days a week, and the town centre has a variety of shops, including a department store, supermarkets and independent shops.
There are several schools in Morley, including Morley Academy, a specialist science college, and Morley High School, a girls’ high school. There are also primary schools, a special needs school and a sixth form college.
Morley Town Football Club, founded in 1875, plays in the Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division. Morley Rugby Union Football Club, founded in 1873, plays in the Yorkshire RFU Merit League.
There are many things to do in Morley, whether you are looking for a relaxing break or an actionpacked holiday. With its close proximity to Leeds and Bradford, Morley is the perfect base from which to explore all that West Yorkshire has to offer.
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