Jonathan's Yorkshire Blog

  Written by Jonathan Rudd Leeds United Football Club has had a unique sporting history, including periods of glory, mediocrity, plenty of controversy and near meltdown. Through all the ups and downs it has established itself as the largest football club in Yorkshire, which has carved out its own unique place in British and European football. As the only major club in the city, The Whites have developed a large and devoted support, who have marched on together through the good times and bad, helping to put Yorkshire well and truly on the footballing map. Elland Road has been the home of Leeds United for over one hundred years. Picture credit Auz flickr.com Football in 19th Century Leeds The city of Leeds was slow to embrace the surge of the round ball game in the latter part of the 19th Century, preferring to concentrate on the more established sports of rugby l eague and cricket instead. These sports had been present in the Headingley area since the 1860s. Oddly enough, footb...

 5 Lost Yorkshire Villages - Part 1 Hidden amongst the county of Yorkshire lay lost villages that were once thriving settlements, but have now for various reasons been erased from the map. Here are the stories behind five lost villages of Yorkshire. 1. West End The village of West End before it was flooded. Picture credit: Yorkshire Post <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1816858151561363"      crossorigin="anonymous"></script> West End was a former village located north of Otley. In its heyday it was the industrial textile centre of the Washburn Valley, before a decline in flax-making led to people leaving the village. It was even described as a ‘ghost village’ as far back as 1911. In 1966, the remaining six occupied houses of West End were abandoned altogether when it was flooded to create Thurscross reservoir. Amazingly in times of dry weather parts of the old village can still be seen risin...