As a settlement, it pre-dates the Middle Ages. But for the last 100 years, it has been a teacher training and sports college. Education Reporter Ian Rosser examines the fascinating history of a landmark Leeds site.
OSCAR Wilde once stayed there, and so did Winston Churchill. Much, much earlier, it was probably home to a Saxon or Roman settlement.
The history of Leeds Metropolitan University's Headingley campus is a rich and diverse one stretching back to pre-Medival times.
For centuries a family home and estate it has in more modern times become the site of a nationally-renowed sports education and teacher training centre.
And to mark 100 years as a seat of learning, Leeds Met has organised a special exhibition and published a new book exploring the legacy of education over the last century.
Entitled City of Leeds Training College: Continuity and Change 1907-2007, it has been edited by the university's first Winifred Mercier Professor of Teacher Education, Lori Beckett.
It features contributions from a range of colleagues, including the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Lee, who discusses the significance of the beautiful but hidden setting of the Headingley Campus in the context of the development of partnerships in recent years.
The book documents the changes undergone throughout this century of education at Headingley Campus.
"The book launch is a momentous occasion for Leeds Met, celebrating the centenary of its origins as the City of Leeds Training College on what was once Beckett Park, now Headingley Campus," said Prof Beckett.
"The accompanying exhibition showcases the archival material, drawn from many sources including the Leeds Met Archives, repositories across the country, and private collections, some seen here for the first time."
Images
The 178-page book features dozens of pictures illustrating not just the 100 years of education at the Headingley site, but also charting the origins of the site and the Becketts – a family of merchant bankers from Barnsley who bought the estate in the 1830s.
In his foreword, Prof Lee said much had been learnt from examining the history of the site.
"The editorial team deserves much thanks and praise from our university for their determination to tell the stories and show the images of 100 years in Headingley of pioneering education, influential community life and significant controversy."
He added: "100 years ago, the first students of the City of Leeds Training College arrived to study in the temporary forerunner of what is now the considerable Headingley presence of Leeds Metropolitan University.
"By the start of the First World War, the main features of a beautiful campus had been built in the grounds of Beckett Park, enhancing the surroundings of the original Grange, which itself is more than 250 years old.
"During that war, some of the tensions between pioneers led to dramatic events in the college. From the beginning , then, this is a spirited educational community with stories to tell of vision and character."