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Letter: Keep connection with the past...
Some people mistakenly refer to Woodhouse Moor as Hyde Park. This is very common among newcomers to the city who are unfamiliar with the area.
The name “Woodhouse Moor” dates back hundreds of years. The first part of the name is “Woodhouse” because the Moor was situated in the administrative area called Woodhouse which in former times included all of Hyde Park, North Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Little Woodhouse and Little London, ie, all the land between the city centre and Headingley.
The second part of the name is “Moor” because in those days Woodhouse Moor was a real moor covered in gorse. Like the other Leeds moors, it was common land, which meant that local people could use it for grazing their animals.
The name “Hyde Park” refers to the residential area to the north of Woodhouse Moor. One story is that the name originated in the early 1800s when a local farmer re-named his farm “Hyde Park Corner” to commemorate a visit he’d made to London. Another is that it dates from 1865 when the parish of St Augustine at Wrangthorn was formed. It’s said that following a walk along the new parish boundary, a parishioner remarked that the area looked just like Hyde Park in London, and the name stuck.
Over the years, residents have successfully resisted numerous attempts to encroach on the Moor, and on each occasion, received invaluable assistance in the form of coverage in the Yorkshire Evening Post. Now we need the paper’s help again. By referring to the park only as Woodhouse Moor, the paper can ensure the continued use of that historic name, and prevent the disconnection of the park from its past.
It would be a real shame if, after so many hundreds of years as Woodhouse Moor, the park were to be re-named now as a result of the carelessness of this generation.
While many cities have parks called Hyde Park, there is only one Woodhouse Moor.
Bill McKinnon, Chair, Friends of Woodhouse Moor
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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leedsman
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 03:45 PMDear Sir......you are not a "chair", you are a "chairman"!
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