Morley, West Yorkshire

Morley is a town in the county of Yorkshire (since 1974, West Yorkshire), England, in Leeds Metropolitan Borough and is situated 5 miles south-west of Leeds City Centre , with a population of roughly 50,000.

Related Topics:
County - West Yorkshire - England - Leeds

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Morley, like Rome is built on 7 hills: Scatcherd Hill, Dawson Hill, Daisy Hill, Chapel Hill, Hunger Hill, Troy Hill and Banks Hill.

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Morley Town Hall is the most striking building in the town, dominating the town centre.

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The town's Municipal Coat of Arms feature the symbolic principal industries of the Borough: Manufacturing of Woolen Cloth, Coal Mining and Quarrying.

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Natives of the town refer to themselves as Morleians. Famous Morleians include:

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• British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith
• Sir Titus Salt, the creator of Saltaire
• Beryl Burton (racing cyclist)
• Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones' Diary.
• Leigh Francis, comedian best known for "Bo Selecta!" and "A Bear's Tale".

Morley has a twin town, Siegen in Germany.

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Morley is traditionally famous for its textile industry; notably the cloth "Shoddy", which was worn by both sides in the American Civil War.

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The town's rugby club was founded in 1878 and was a member of the Northern Union. When the Northern Union clubs broke away from the RFU to form what is now Rugby League, the Morley representatives missed the train to Huddersfield as they were still in the pub.

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The club's heyday was in the 1970's where they won the Yorkshire Cup on five occasions, and some of this glory was recaptured in April 2005 when the club won the Powergen Intermediate Cup at Twickenham.

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Morleans were strongly opposed to their Borough's incorporation into the new Metropolitan District of Leeds in 1974 but not until 2000 was local democracy restored, when a town council www.morley.gov.uk established and then only for a part of the borough.

Related Topics:
Town council - Www.morley.gov.uk

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You can read a bit more about the history of Morley from the West Yorkshire archeology service

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