View source for Wakefield

{{short description|City in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{about|the city in England}}
{{redirect|Eastmoor}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
 | country                  = England
 | coordinates              = {{coord|53|40|57|N|1|29|51|W|type:city_region:GB-WKF|display=inline,title}}
 | official_name            = Wakefield
 | type                     = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]]
 | population               = 109,767
 | population_ref           = (2021){{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 11.3
 | metropolitan_borough     = [[City of Wakefield]]
 | metropolitan_county      = [[West Yorkshire]]
 | region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
 | constituency_westminster = [[Wakefield and Rothwell]]
 | constituency_westminster1= [[Ossett and Denby Dale]]
 | post_town                = WAKEFIELD
 | postcode_district        = WF1-WF4
 | postcode_area            = WF
 | dial_code                = 01924
 | os_grid_reference        = SE335205
 | london_distance          = 160 mi
 | static_image = {{multiple images|border=infobox|perrow=1/2/2/2/1| total_width=270px
 | image1 = Wakefield, industry on George Street, from the railway - geograph.org.uk - 7652134.jpg
 | caption1 = Skyline of Wakefield city centre
 | image2 = WakefieldCathedral-1.jpg
 | caption2 = [[Wakefield Cathedral|The Cathedral]]
 | image3 = Wakefield Museum 2015.jpg
 | caption3 = [[Wakefield Museum]]
 | image4 = Hepworth Gallery Wakefield - geograph.org.uk - 7627642.jpg
 | caption4 = [[The Hepworth Wakefield|The Hepworth]]
 | image5 = Town Hall Wakefield - geograph.org.uk - 344720.jpg
 | caption5 = [[Wakefield Town Hall|The Town Hall]]
 | image6 = Kirkgate, Wakefield - geograph.org.uk - 5832282.jpg
 | caption6 = [[Kirkgate (Wakefield)|Kirkgate]]
 | image7 = County Hall (2) - geograph.org.uk - 5873210.jpg
 | caption7 = [[County Hall, Wakefield|County Hall]]}}
| static_image_caption = 
| static_image_2_name = Coat of arms of Wakefield.svg
| static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms
|static_image_2_width =100px
}}
'''Wakefield''' is a [[City status in the United Kingdom|cathedral city]]{{efn|The area that is the subject of this article does not have legal city status of itself, but is widely regarded as a city since it is the main and nominate settlement in the City of Wakefield local government area{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}}} in [[West Yorkshire]], England located on the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]]. The city had a population of 109,766 in the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021 census]], up from 99,251 in the [[2011 Census for England and Wales|2011 census]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/ |title=Wakefield |publisher=citypopulation.de |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224013655/https://citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The city is the administrative centre of the wider [[Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield]], which had a {{United Kingdom statistics year|England}} population of {{English district population|GSS=E08000036}}, the [[List of English districts by population|{{English district rank|GSS=E08000036}}]] most populous district in England. It is part of the [[West Yorkshire Built-up Area]] and the [[Yorkshire and the Humber]] region.

In 1888, it gained city status due to [[Wakefield Cathedral|its cathedral]]. The city has a [[Wakefield Town Hall|town hall]] and is home to the [[Wakefield County Hall|county hall]], which was the former administrative centre of the city's [[county borough]] and [[metropolitan borough]] as well as [[county town]] for the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]].

The [[Battle of Wakefield]] took place in the [[Wars of the Roses]], and the city was a [[Cavalier|Royalist]] stronghold in the [[English Civil War|Civil War]]. Wakefield became an important [[market town]] and centre for wool, exploiting its position on the navigable River Calder to become an [[inland port]]. In the 18th&nbsp;century, Wakefield traded in corn, coal and textiles.

==History==
===Toponymy===
The name ''Wakefield'' may derive from 'Waca's field' – the open land belonging to someone named 'Waca' – or could have evolved from the [[Old English]] word ''wacu'', meaning 'a watch or wake', and ''feld'', an open field in which a wake or festival was held.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reaney|1964|p=161}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Mills|1998|p=361}}</ref> In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, it was written ''Wachefeld'' and also as ''Wachefelt''.

===Early history===
[[Flint]] and stone tools and later [[bronze]] and iron implements have been found at Lee Moor and Lupset in the Wakefield area showing evidence of human activity since prehistoric times.<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=3}}</ref> This part of Yorkshire was home to the [[Brigantes]] until the Roman occupation in AD&nbsp;43. A Roman road from [[Pontefract]] passing Streethouse, Heath Common, Ossett Street Side, through [[Kirklees]] and on to [[Manchester]] crossed the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]] by a ford at Wakefield near the site of [[Wakefield Bridge]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=24}}</ref> A large group of coin moulds, the [[Lingwell Gate coin moulds]], representing Romano-British coin forgery were found at Lingwell Gate between 1697 and 1879.<ref name='Til'>{{cite report |last=Tilley |first=Emily |title=Dirty Money: Lingwell Gate's Roman Coin Moulds |url=https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/04/MMN-Lingwell-Gate-Project-Report-FINAL-with-images.pdf |publisher=Yorkshire Museum |date=April 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227010616/https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/04/MMN-Lingwell-Gate-Project-Report-FINAL-with-images.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Wakefield was probably occupied again, this time by the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], in the 5th or 6th&nbsp;century, and after AD&nbsp;876 the area was controlled by the [[Vikings]] who founded twelve hamlets or ''thorpes'' around Wakefield.{{refn|Wakefield's ''thorpes'' are: Alverthorpe, Chapelthorpe, Gawthorpe, Hollingthorpe, Kettlethorpe, Kirkthorpe, Milnthorpe, Ouchthorpe, Painthorpe, Snapethorpe, Woodthorpe, Wrenthorpe. Flanshaw, [[Kirkhamgate]], Carrgate and Lupset have [[Old Norse]] origins.<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=238}}</ref>|group="nb"}} They divided the area into [[wapentakes]] and Wakefield was part of the [[Agbrigg and Morley|Wapentake of Agbrigg]]. The settlement grew near a crossing place on the River Calder around three roads, [[Westgate (Wakefield)|Westgate]], [[Northgate (Wakefield)|Northgate]] and [[Kirkgate (Wakefield)|Kirkgate]].<ref name="Historic Wakefield EarlyHistory">{{cite web |title=EarlyHistory |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=16 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127183057/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/default.htm |archive-date=27 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The "gate" suffix derives from Old Norse ''{{lang|non|gata}}'' meaning road<ref>{{Harvnb|Mills|1998|p=403}}</ref> and kirk, from ''{{lang|non|kirkja}}'' indicates there was a church.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mills|1998|p=405}}</ref>

Before 1066 the [[Manorialism|manor]] of Wakefield belonged to [[Edward the Confessor]] and it passed to [[William the Conqueror]] after the [[Battle of Hastings]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=43}}</ref> After the [[Norman conquest of England|Conquest]] Wakefield was a victim of the [[Harrying of the North]] in 1069 when William the Conqueror took revenge on the local population for resistance to Norman rule. The settlement was recorded as ''Wachfeld'' in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, and covered a much greater area than present day Wakefield, much of which was described as "waste".<ref name="Manor of Wakefield">{{cite web |title=Manor |url=http://midgleywebpages.com/index-3.html |publisher=midgleywebpages.com |access-date=16 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904060526/http://midgleywebpages.com/index-3.html |archive-date=4 September 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The manor was granted by [[the Crown]] to [[William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey]] whose descendants, the Earls Warenne, inherited it after his death in 1088.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vO4GAAAAYAAJ&q=earl+warenne+wakefield+yorkshire&pg=PA111 |title=The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 1886 |date=30 July 2007 |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527214529/http://books.google.com/books?id=vO4GAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=earl+warenne+wakefield+yorkshire&source=web&ots=zHyItid2qF&sig=NgmkVHSzh4KIkcPFHyx4Re76s9A&hl=en |archive-date=27 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The construction of [[Sandal Castle]] began early in the 12th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butler|1991|p=1}}</ref> A second castle, [[Wakefield Castle]], was built at Lawe Hill on the north side of the Calder but was abandoned.<ref>{{Harvnb|Creighton|2004|p=32}}</ref> Wakefield and its environs formed the [[Caput baroniae|caput]] of an extensive baronial holding by the Warennes that extended to [[Cheshire]] and [[Lancashire]]. The Warennes, and their [[feudal]] sublords, held the area until the 14th&nbsp;century, when it passed to their heirs.<ref>{{Harvnb|Holt|1997|p=19}}</ref>
Norman tenants holding land in the region included the [[Levett|Lyvet]] family at Lupset.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IrkHAAAAQAAJ&q=lyvet+king&pg=RA1-PA92 |title=Dodsworth's Yorkshire notes, the wapentake of Agbrigg, Roger Dodsworth, 1884 |date=20 April 2007 |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527130015/http://books.google.com/books?id=IrkHAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA92&lpg=RA1-PA92&dq=lyvet+king&source=web&ots=M8In8xicy-&sig=yHEh-Mt-Z15w6jeWwKiVMie9-Y8&hl=en |archive-date=27 May 2013 |url-status=live |last1=Dodsworth |first1=Roger}}</ref>

The Domesday Book recorded two churches, one in Wakefield and one in [[Sandal Magna]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lupton|1864|p=10}}</ref> The Saxon church in Wakefield was rebuilt in about 1100 in stone in the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] style and was continually enlarged until 1315 when the central tower collapsed. By 1420 the church was again rebuilt and was extended between 1458 and 1475.

In 1203 [[William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey]] received a grant for a market in the town.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1066-1600">{{cite web |title=1066–1600 |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1066-1600.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204072731/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1066-1600.htm |archive-date=4 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1204 [[John, King of England|King John]] granted the rights for a fair at the feast of [[All Saints' Day|All Saints]], 1 November, and in 1258 [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] granted the right for fair on the feast of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June. The market was close to the Bull Ring and the church.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1066-1600"/> The townsfolk of Wakefield amused themselves in games and sports, the chief sport in the 14th&nbsp;century was [[archery]] and the [[Archery butts|butts]] in Wakefield were at the [[Ings]], near the river.<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=114}}</ref> Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lupton|1864|p=46}}</ref>

[[File:Richard of York Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 858000.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Memorial to the [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York|Duke of York]], killed in battle, 1460]]
During the [[Wars of the Roses]], [[Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York]] was killed on 30 December 1460 in the [[Battle of Wakefield]] near Sandal Castle. In [[medieval]] times Wakefield became an inland port on the Calder and centre for the woollen and [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]] trades. In 1538 [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]] described Wakefield as, "a very quick market-towne and meately large; well served of flesch and fisch, both from the se and by rivers, whereof divers be thereabout at hande, so that al vitaile is very gode chepe there. A right honest man shal fare well for two pens a meale". As preparation for the impending invasion by the [[Spanish Armada]] in April 1588, 400 men from the wapentake of Morley and Agbrigg were summoned to Bruntcliffe near [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]] with their weapons. Men from Kirkgate, Westgate, Northgate and Sandal were amongst them and all returned by August.<ref>{{Harvnb|Walker|1966|p=414}}</ref>

At the time of the Civil War, Wakefield was a [[Cavalier|Royalist]] stronghold. An attack led by Sir [[Thomas Fairfax]] on 20 May 1643 captured the town for the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]]. Over 1500 troops were taken prisoner along with the Royalist commander, [[George Goring, Lord Goring|Lieutenant-General Goring]].<ref name="British Civil Wars">{{cite web |title=Civil War Yorkshire |url=http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/military/1643-yorkshire.htm |publisher=british-civil-wars.co.uk |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308132810/http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/military/1643-yorkshire.htm |archive-date=8 March 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed creating the [[Aire and Calder Navigation]] which provided the town with access to the [[North Sea]].<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1600-1800">{{cite web |title=1600–1800 |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1600-1800.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220052616/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1600-1800.htm |archive-date=20 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The first Registry of Deeds in the country opened in 1704 and in 1765 Wakefield's cattle market was established and became the one of largest in the north of England. The town was a centre for cloth dealing, with its own piece hall, the Tammy Hall, built in 1766.<ref name="Old Wakefield">{{cite web |title=Old Wakefield |url=http://www.oldtowns.co.uk/Yorkshire/wakefield.htm |publisher=oldtowns.co.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154838/http://www.oldtowns.co.uk/Yorkshire/wakefield.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the late 1700s [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] town houses and St John's Church were built to the north of the town centre.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1600-1800"/><ref name="St Johns Church">{{cite web |title=St Johns Church |url=http://www.wakefield-stjohns.org.uk/stjohns/St_Johns_Church_History.html |publisher=St John's Church |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126131613/http://www.wakefield-stjohns.org.uk/stjohns/St_Johns_Church_History.html |archive-date=26 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Industrial Revolution===
[[File:Wakefield Westgate.jpg|thumb|right|Wakefield Westgate {{circa|1900}}]]
At the start of the 19th&nbsp;century Wakefield was a wealthy market town and inland port trading in wool and grain.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=7}}</ref> The [[Aire and Calder]] and [[Calder and Hebble Navigation]]s and the [[Barnsley Canal]] were instrumental in the development of Wakefield as an important market for grain and more was sold here than at any other market in the north. Large warehouses were built on the river banks to store grain from [[Norfolk]], [[Cambridgeshire]] and [[Lincolnshire]] to supply the fast-growing population in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. Great quantities of barley were grown in the neighbourhood and in 1885 more [[malt]] was made in Wakefield "than in any district of equal extent in the kingdom".<ref name="TDE">{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Samuel |title=Wakefield (All Saints) |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51368#s5 |series=A Topographical Dictionary of England |publisher=British History Online |pages=432–436 |year=1848 |access-date=14 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017051015/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51368#s5 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The market developed in the streets around the Bull Ring, and the cattle market between George Street and Ings Road grew to be one of the biggest in the country.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=89}}</ref> Road transport using [[Turnpike trust|turnpiked]] roads was important. Regular [[mail coach]]es departed to [[Leeds]], [[London]], Manchester, [[York]] and [[Sheffield]] and the 'Strafford Arms' was an important [[coaching inn]].<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=73}}</ref> The railways arrived in Wakefield in 1840 when [[Kirkgate station]] was built on the [[Manchester and Leeds Railway]].

When cloth dealing declined, wool spinning mills using steam power were built by the river. There was a glass works in Calder Vale Road, several [[breweries]] including Melbourne's and Beverley's Eagle Breweries, engineering works with strong links to the mining industry, soapworks and brickyards in Eastmoor, giving the town a diverse economy.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=92}}</ref><ref name="Historic Wakefield 1800-1900"/> Boats and [[sloop]]s were built at yards on the Calder.<ref name="TDE"/> On the outskirts of the town, coal had been dug since the 15th&nbsp;century and 300 men were employed in the town's coal pits in 1831.<ref name="Old Wakefield"/> During the 19th&nbsp;century more mines were sunk so that there were 46&nbsp;small mines in Wakefield and the surrounding area by 1869.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1800-1900">{{cite web |title=1800–1900 |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1800-1900.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129095442/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/History/1800-1900.htm |archive-date=29 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Galloway|1971|p=76}}</ref> The [[National Coal Board]] eventually became Wakefield's largest employer with Manor Colliery on Cross Lane and Park Hill colliery at Eastmoor surviving until 1982.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|pp=80,81}}</ref> Wakefield was also the site of the founding of the Miners' Association of Great Britain and Ireland, the country's first national trade union for miners, in 1842.<ref>{{cite book |page=9 |title=Industrial Relations in the Coal Industry |first=B. J. |last=McCormick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSOwCwAAQBAJ&q=the+first+national+union+was+the+miners%27+association+of+great+britain&pg=PP8 |publisher=Springer |date=17 June 1979 |access-date=24 July 2020 |isbn=9781349039463}}</ref>

During the 19th&nbsp;century Wakefield became the administrative centre for the [[West Riding]], when many familiar buildings were constructed.<ref name="Taylor 2008 43">{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=43}}</ref> The first civic building in Wood Street, [[Wakefield Court House]], was built in 1810.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=10 }}</ref> The [[West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum]] was built at Stanley Royd, just outside the town on Aberford Road in 1816. During the 19th&nbsp;century, the Wakefield Asylum played a central role in the development of British psychiatry, with [[Henry Maudsley]] and [[James Crichton-Browne]] amongst its medical staff. Most of it is now demolished. The old House of Correction of 1595 was rebuilt as [[Wakefield Prison]] in 1847.<ref name="Prison">{{cite web |title=Prison |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/WakefieldPrison/History/default.htm |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524041735/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/WakefieldPrison/History/default.htm |archive-date=24 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Wakefield Union workhouse<ref name="workhouses">{{cite web |url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Wakefield/ |title=The Workhouse in Wakefield, Yorkshire, W. Riding |access-date=7 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104025410/http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Wakefield/ |archive-date=4 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> was built on Park Lodge Lane, Eastmoor in 1853 and Clayton Hospital was built in 1854 after a donation from Alderman Thomas Clayton.<ref name="Taylor 2008 43"/> [[Wakefield Mechanics' Institute]] containing an Assembly Room, public library and newsroom supported by subscription was built in Wood Street in 1820–1821 in the [[Classical style]] with [[Ionic order|Ionic]] details. Wakefield Literary Society ran there from 1827 until the 20th&nbsp;century and its Geological Society left artefacts to Wakefield Museum.<ref name="TDE"/>

Up to 1837 Wakefield relied on wells and springs for its water supply; water from the River Calder was polluted, and various water supply schemes were unsuccessful until [[reservoir]]s on the Rishworth Moors and a service reservoir at Ardsley were built providing clean water from 1888.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=60}}</ref>
By 1885 the streets of the town were paved and flagged and lit with gas supplied by a company incorporated in 1822.<ref name="TDE"/> Between 1870 and 1885 they made improvements on the north side of town around St John's Church now a [[conservation area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=St John's Conservation Area |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E8944333-8A9A-4EF6-918B-07C1E1797E90/0/AppraisalManagementGuidelines_St_Johns.pdf |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=14 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626200003/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E8944333-8A9A-4EF6-918B-07C1E1797E90/0/AppraisalManagementGuidelines_St_Johns.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===20th century===
On 2 June 1906, [[Andrew Carnegie]] opened a new Wakefield Library on Drury Lane which had been built with a grant of £8,000 from the Carnegie Trust.<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Public Carnegie Library – Drury Lane, Wakefield |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/CarnegieLibraries/DruryLaneLibrary/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611065832/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/CarnegieLibraries/DruryLaneLibrary/default.htm |archive-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are seven [[Council house|ex-council estates]] in Wakefield which the council started to build after the [[First World War]], the oldest is Portobello, the largest is Lupset and the rest are [[Flanshaw]], Plumpton, Peacock, Eastmoor and [[Kettlethorpe, West Yorkshire|Kettlethorpe]]. Homes not bought by occupants under the [[Right to Buy]] scheme were transferred to a registered social landlord, Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in 2005.<ref name="WDH">{{cite web |title=WDH |url=http://www.wdh.co.uk/QUICKLINKS/AboutUs/Pages/Default.aspx |publisher=wdh.co.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218163826/http://www.wdh.co.uk/QuickLinks/AboutUs/Pages/Default.aspx |archive-date=18 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The outlying villages of [[Sandal Magna]], [[Belle Vue (Wakefield)|Belle Vue]] and [[Agbrigg]] have become suburbs of Wakefield.

The glass and textile industries closed in the 1970s and 1980s, and coal faced competition from alternative sources and demand decreased. The coal mines around Wakefield were amongst the first in Yorkshire to close under the government of [[Margaret Thatcher]], which altered the national energy policy from a reliance on British coal and opposed the political power of the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|NUM]]. Between 1979 and 1983, the pits at Lofthouse, Manor, Newmarket, Newmillerdam, Parkhill and Walton all closed.<ref>Colin Jackson, ''The Complete A-Z of Colliery Names, Pre-1947 Owners, Areas & Dates, Volume 2'', published by the National Coal Mining Museum for England, 2002</ref> As the Wakefield pits closed, the [[Selby Coalfield]] was being opened, many colliers in Wakefield accepted offers to transfer to the new pits which were built to facilitate commuting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adeney |first1=Martin |last2=Lloyd |first2=John |date=1988 |title=The Miners' Strike 1984-5: Loss Without Limit |location=London |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |page=26 |isbn=0-7102-1371-9}}</ref>

An April 2021 article in ''[[The Guardian]]'' discussed nearby Heath (or Heath Common), the "village of the [200 year old] mansions", located "around the edge of the green". These housed the wealthy merchants and business owners.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/apr/08/10-of-britains-most-eccentric-villages-chosen-by-readers |title=10 of Britain's most eccentric villages: chosen by readers |date=8 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408220902/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/apr/08/10-of-britains-most-eccentric-villages-chosen-by-readers |url-status=live }}</ref> The local newspaper published specifics about one of the mansions in March 2021: Dower House was built {{circa|1740}}; it was constructed for John Smyth by [[John Carr (architect)|John Carr]], of Yorkshire stone, and "retains many original features". It was intended to house widows.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/this-historic-home-is-for-sale-in-heath-the-village-of-mansions-3178608 |title=This historic home is for sale in Heath, the 'village of mansions' |work=The Wakefield Express |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=25 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325203027/https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/this-historic-home-is-for-sale-in-heath-the-village-of-mansions-3178608 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://govisit-yorkshire.com/2019/03/20/heath/ |title=Heath |date=20 March 2019 |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423080010/https://govisit-yorkshire.com/2019/03/20/heath/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Dower House is a Grade II*listed property; it was modified in the early 1800s.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1135585|desc=THE DOWER HOUSE, Warmfield cum Heath |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref>

The nearby [[Heath Hall, Heath, West Yorkshire|Heath Hall, Heath]], West Yorkshire, formerly known as Eshald House, was also built {{circa|1709}} for the wealthy wool trader, John Smyth. The Hall was modified by John Carr between 1754 and 1780 for the original owner's nephew (also known as John Smyth). The Hall is a Grade I listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1200238|desc=HEATH HALL, Warmfield cum Heath |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref>

==Governance==
[[File:The (new) Town Hall, Wood Street, Wakefield.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Wakefield Town Hall]]]]
Wakefield was anciently a market and parish town in the Agbrigg division of the [[wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg and Morley]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the [[Reform Act 1832]]. In 1836 the Wakefield [[Poor Law Union]] was formed following the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]] with an elected board of guardians.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=23 }}</ref> The town was incorporated as a [[municipal borough]] with elected councillors in 1848 under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]].<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=25 }}</ref>

Wakefield was the ''de facto'' seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the [[Local Government Act 1888]].<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=41 }}</ref> After Wakefield was elevated to a diocese in 1888, Wakefield council sought city status which was granted the same year.<ref>{{harvnb|Beckett|2005|pp=39,40 }}</ref> Wakefield became a [[county borough]] in 1913.<ref>{{harvnb|Freeman|1966|p=173 }}</ref> In 1974, under the terms of the [[Local Government Act 1972]], the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the [[City of Wakefield]] district.

Today the city is the headquarters of [[Wakefield Metropolitan District Council]], [[Yorkshire Ambulance Service]] and [[West Yorkshire Police]].<ref name="AboutWakefield">{{cite web |title=AboutWakefield |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/AboutWakefield/aboutdistrict.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110004759/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/AboutWakefield/aboutdistrict.htm |archive-date=10 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lgyh">{{cite web |title=Local Government Yorkshire and Humber |url=http://www.lgyh.gov.uk/ |publisher=Local Government Yorkshire and Humber |year=2009 |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513150259/http://www.lgyh.gov.uk/ |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 1987, the district council has been based in [[County Hall, Wakefield|County Hall]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/CountyHall/default.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130184945/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/CountyHall/default.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 January 2010 |title=County Hall |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=15 August 2019}}</ref>

Wakefield is covered by four electoral wards (Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield South and Wakefield West) of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority. In 2015 all the councillors elected for Wakefield East, North and West were members of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and the councillors for Wakefield South represent the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Your Councillors by Ward |url=http://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=25 May 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616071144/http://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |archive-date=16 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{update inline|date=April 2022|reason=Have been more recent elections}}

The parliamentary seat of [[Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)|Wakefield]] had been held by the Labour Party continuously from 1932 until the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]], when the Conservative Party's [[Imran Ahmad Khan]] defeated the incumbent [[Mary Creagh]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50772224 |title=Labour lose Wakefield after 87 years |work=BBC News |date=13 December 2019 |access-date=30 December 2019 |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101122801/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50772224 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Conservative Party expelled Khan from the party on 11 April 2022, following a conviction of sexual assault.<ref>{{cite news |title=Imran Ahmad Khan expelled from Conservative party |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/11/imran-ahmad-khan-expelled-from-conservative-party |access-date=11 April 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 April 2022 |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417161419/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/11/imran-ahmad-khan-expelled-from-conservative-party |url-status=live }}</ref> He announced three days after his conviction that he would be resigning as an MP, and left his post on 3 May, triggering the [[2022 Wakefield by-election]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/14/imran-ahmad-khan-resigns-after-child-sexual-assault-conviction |title=MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigns after conviction for child sexual assault |date=14 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531105711/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/14/imran-ahmad-khan-resigns-after-child-sexual-assault-conviction |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hinton |first=Megan |title=Imran Ahmad Khan quits as Wakefield MP after sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/imran-ahmad-khan-quits-as-wakefield-mp/ |access-date=3 May 2022 |work=[[LBC]] |date=3 May 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503143106/https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/imran-ahmad-khan-quits-as-wakefield-mp/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was held on 23 June and won by Labour's [[Simon Lightwood]].

The Wakefield South ward covering Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue, is in the [[Hemsworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Hemsworth constituency]], represented by the Labour party's [[Jon Trickett]] since 1996. He was re-elected in May 2010,<ref>{{cite news |title=Election 2010 – Hemsworth |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c13.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |access-date=9 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823072615/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c13.stm |archive-date=23 August 2017}}</ref> and returned in 2015 with 51.3% of the vote.<ref name="Hemsworth 2015">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000740 |title=Hemsworth Parliamentary constituency |access-date=25 May 2015 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513153247/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000740 |archive-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The seat has been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1918.

==Geography==
[[File:Fall Ing, Wakefield (15946442051).jpg|thumb|River Calder]]
Wakefield is {{convert|9|mi}} south-east of Leeds and {{convert|28|mi}} south-west of York on the eastern edge of the [[Pennines]] in the lower Calder Valley. The city centre is sited on a low hill on the north bank of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]] close to a crossing place where it is spanned by the 14th-century, nine-arched, stone [[Chantry Bridge]] and a reinforced concrete bridge built in 1929–1930.<ref name="Wakefield Bridge">{{NHLE |num=1273508 |desc=Wakefield Bridge |access-date=19 November 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Wakefield New Bridge">{{cite web |title=Wakefield New Bridge |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=495 |publisher=engineering-timelines.com |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529075349/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=495 |archive-date=29 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is at the junction of major north–south routes to Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster and west–east routes to Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Pontefract.

Wakefield is within the area of the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire coalfield and lies on the middle [[coal measure]]s and [[sandstone]]s laid down in the [[Carboniferous]] period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/jca38_tcm6-5073.pdf |title=Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire Coalfield Character Area 38 |publisher=Natural England |access-date=7 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906181005/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/jca38_tcm6-5073.pdf |archive-date=6 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Wakefield includes the former outlying villages of [[Alverthorpe]], Thornes, Sandal, Portobello, Belle Vue, Agbrigg, Lupset, Kettlethorpe and Flanshaw. In the 2011 Census, Newton Hill, Outwood, Stanley and Wrenthorpe were counted as parts of Wakefield, having been classified separately in the 2001 Census.
{{Weather box|location = Wakefield
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan high F = 44
|Feb high F = 44
|Mar high F = 49
|Apr high F = 53
|May high F = 60
|Jun high F = 65
|Jul high F = 69
|Aug high F = 69
|Sep high F = 63
|Oct high F = 56
|Nov high F = 49
|Dec high F = 45
|Jan low F = 36
|Feb low F = 36
|Mar low F = 37
|Apr low F = 39
|May low F = 45
|Jun low F = 50
|Jul low F = 54
|Aug low F = 54
|Sep low F = 50
|Oct low F = 45
|Nov low F = 39
|Dec low F = 37
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.41
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.50
|Mar precipitation inch = 2.67
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.46
|May precipitation inch = 2.19
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.63
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.01
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.50
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.53
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.91
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.06
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.62
|source 1 =<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/UKXX0152 |title=Average Weather for Wakefield, ENG – Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020192619/http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/UKXX0152 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

===Neighbouring towns and places===
{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Wakefield
|North     = [[Leeds]]
|Northeast = [[Castleford]]
|East      = [[Pontefract]]
|Southeast = [[Ackworth, West Yorkshire|Ackworth]]
|South     = [[Barnsley]]
|Southwest = [[Horbury]]
|West      = [[Ossett]]
|Northwest = [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]]
}}

==Demography==
{{update|section|date=November 2022}}
{| class="wikitable" id="toc" style="float:right; margin-left: 1em; width: 40%; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="5"
|-
|+Wakefield Compared in 2008
|-
!2008 UK Population Estimates<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=13&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258709294946&enc=1 |title=People and Society: Population and Migration: Key Figures: Area: Wakefield (Local Authority) |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613080205/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=13&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258709294946&enc=1 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
!Wakefield
!Yorkshire and the Humber
!England
|-
|Total population||322,300||5,213,200||51,446,200
|-
|White||95.7%||90.6%||88.2%
|-
|Asian||2.4%||5.7%||5.7%
|-
|Black||0.5%||1.3%||2.8%
|}
In 2001 the Wakefield subdivision of the [[West Yorkshire Urban Area]] had a population of 76,886<ref name="KS01"/> comprising 37,477 males and 39,409 females.<ref name="KS01">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224 |title=KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |date=5 August 2004 |publisher=Office for National Statistics (ONS) |access-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907084312/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224 |archive-date=7 September 2009}}</ref>
Also at the time of the [[2001 UK census]], the [[City of Wakefield]] had a total population of 315,172 of whom 161,962 were female and 153,210 were male. Of the 132,212 households in Wakefield, 39.56% were married couples living together, 28.32% were one-person households, 9.38% were [[cohabiting]] couples and 9.71% were lone parents. The figures for lone-parent households were slightly above the national average of 9.5%, and the percentage of married couples was above the national average of 36.5%; the proportion of one-person households was below the national average of 30.1%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=15&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258712304810&enc=1&dsFamilyId=55 |title=2001 Census: Key Statistics: Household Composition (KS20): Area: Wakefield (Local Authority) |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613080453/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=15&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258712304810&enc=1&dsFamilyId=55 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The population density was {{convert|9.31|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}}. Of those aged 16–74 in Wakefield, 39.14% had no [[National Qualifications Framework|academic qualifications]], much higher than 28.9% in all of England. Of Wakefield's residents, 2.53% were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.41% of the population.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The number of theft-from-a-vehicle offences and theft of a vehicle per 1,000 of the population was 7.9 and 3.9 compared to the English national average of 6.3 and 2.3 respectively.<ref name="CrimeFigs">{{cite web |url=http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-wakefield.html |title=Crime figures for 2008/09 in Wakefield |publisher=UpMyStreet |access-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129131806/http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-wakefield.html |archive-date=29 November 2009}}</ref> The number of sexual offences was 0.9, in line with the national average.<ref name="CrimeFigs"/> The national average of violence against another person was 16.7 compared to the Wakefield average of 15.<ref name="CrimeFigs"/> The figures for crime statistics were all recorded during the 2008–09 financial year.

===Population change===
Wakefield had a population of 76,886 in 2001.<ref name="Census2001tableKS01">[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D8271.xls Office for National Statistics: ''Census 2001: Urban Areas: Table KS01: Usual Resident Population''] Retrieved 26 August 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628203914/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D8271.xls |date=28 June 2011}}</ref> At the 2011 Census, the population was given as 99,251.<ref name=2011Census>https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108122327/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew |date=8 January 2018}} Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, West Yorkshire – Wakefield BUASD, code E35000474</ref> However, these two estimates are not directly comparable, as the 2001 Census did not classify the old [[Stanley Urban District, Yorkshire|Stanley Urban District]] as part of Wakefield whereas the 2011 Census classified all settlements in this area except [[Bottom Boat]] (a small village built for Newmarket Colliery workers) as parts of Wakefield.
{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%; border:0; text-align:center; line-height:120%;"
|+Population growth in Wakefield from 1881 to 1961
|-
!  Year
! 1881
! 1891
! 1901
! 1911
! 1921
! 1931
! 1939
! 1951
! 1961
|- style="text-align:center;"
!  Population
| 22,173
| 23,315
| 24,107
| 43,588
| 52,891
| 59,122
| 56,963
| 60,371
| 61,268
|-
| colspan="12" style="text-align:center;"|
Wakefield RSD 1881 – 1911<ref name="visionofbritain">{{cite web |url=http://vision.port.ac.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10555140&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wakefield RSD: Total Population |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152414/http://vision.port.ac.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10555140&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Wakefield MB/CB 1921 – 1961<ref name="visionofbritain2">{{cite web |url=http://vision.port.ac.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10136313&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wakefield MB/CB: Total Population |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152433/http://vision.port.ac.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10136313&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

==Economy==
{{update|section|date=November 2022}}
{| class="wikitable" id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;   text-align:center" cellspacing="5"
|+Wakefield Compared
|-
![[2001 UK Census]]||Wakefield||[[West Yorkshire Urban Area|WY Urban Area]]||[[England]]
|-
| Population (16–74)||55,789||1,072,276||35,532,091
|-
!colspan="5"|
|-
| Full-time employment||39.7%||39.5%||40.8%
|-
| Part-time employment||12.4%||12.1%||11.8%
|-
| Self employed||6.7%||6.3%||8.3%
|-
| Unemployed||4.1%||3.8%||3.3%
|-
| Retired||14.1%||12.8%||13.5%
|-
|colspan="5"|Source: Office for National Statistics<ref name="2001economicactivity">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8292&Pos=4&ColRank=1&Rank=240 |title=KS09a Economic activity – all people: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=National Statistics |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605094850/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8292&Pos=4&ColRank=1&Rank=240 |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>
|}
The economy of Wakefield declined in the last quarter of the 20th&nbsp;century as the coal mines and traditional manufacturing industries closed, contributing to high rates of unemployment. In the [[Index of Multiple Deprivation]] 2015, 14.35% of the district's lower super-output areas were in the most deprived 10% of England.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464464/File_10_ID2015_Local_Authority_District_Summaries.xlsx |title=Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015 – File 10 – local authority summaries |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007214738/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464464/File_10_ID2015_Local_Authority_District_Summaries.xlsx |archive-date=7 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Employment grew by 12% between 1998 and 2003 as the economy recovered and enjoyed growth as the economic base of the district was diversified. Growth has been supported by inward investment from European and United Kingdom government funding which has impacted on the regeneration of the area. Manufacturing remains an important employment sector although the decline is projected to continue whilst distribution and the service industries are now among the main employers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/AF5093EE-1B21-44F4-AE8E-889C2BBC5236/0/WakefieldInDepth2005.pdf |title=Wakefield in Depth 2005 |page=12 |last=Hunter |first=Phillip |year=2005 |publisher=Learning and Skills Council West Yorkshire |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130006/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/AF5093EE-1B21-44F4-AE8E-889C2BBC5236/0/WakefieldInDepth2005.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the 2001 census, there were 33,521 people in employment who were resident within Wakefield. Of these, 20.74% worked in the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 14.42% worked within manufacturing industry; 11% worked within the health and social work sector and 6.49% were employed in the transport, storage and communication industries.<ref name="2001industrydata">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8306&More=Y |title=KS11a Industry of Employment: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=National Statistics |access-date=5 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805122919/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8306&More=Y |archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> Wakefield is a member of the [[Leeds City Region Partnership]], a sub-regional economic development partnership covering an area of the historic county of Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedscityregion.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/About_Us/M02%20-%20Leeds_CRDP_Nov_2006.pdf?n=2445 |format=PDF |title=Leeds City Region Development Programme |date=November 2006 |publisher=The City Region Partnership |page=13 |access-date=22 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007074857/http://www.leedscityregion.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/About_Us/M02%20-%20Leeds_CRDP_Nov_2006.pdf?n=2445 |archive-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

===Regeneration===
[[File:Trinity Walk, Wakefield (10th March 2013) 003.JPG|thumb|Trinity Walk shopping centre]]
Regeneration projects in Wakefield included the [[Trinity Walk]] retail development to the north east of the city centre, including a department store, a supermarket and shop units.<ref name="Major Development">{{cite news |title=Work begins on major city centre development |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Work-begins-on-major-city.3182918.jp |work=Wakefield Express City |publisher=Johnston Press |date=7 September 2007 |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505150407/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Work-begins-on-major-city.3182918.jp |archive-date=5 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Work began in autumn 2007 but was halted in 2009, restarted in 2010 and opened in 2011.<ref name="Trinity Walk">{{cite web |title=Marsh Way Area (Trinity Walk) |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Planning/Regeneration/Wakefield/TrinityWalk.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730080809/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Planning/Regeneration/Wakefield/TrinityWalk.htm |archive-date=30 July 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The central square at the Bull Ring has been redesigned with a water feature and the [[Ridings Shopping Centre]] refurbished.<ref name="Bull Ring">{{cite web |title=Bull Ring |url=http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/news-events/local-news/bull-ring-refurbishment-begins-in-wakefield |publisher=yorkshire-forward.com |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216230119/http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/news-events/local-news/bull-ring-refurbishment-begins-in-wakefield |archive-date=16 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>   [[Wakefield Westgate railway station|Wakefield Westgate Station]] goods yard and land on Westgate and Balne Lane have been developed to create retail, residential and commercial space including new offices, a multi-storey carpark serving the station, and a hotel.<ref name="Westgate">{{cite web |title=Westgate |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Planning/Regeneration/Wakefield/Westgate.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627043937/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Planning/Regeneration/Wakefield/Westgate.htm |archive-date=27 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A new market hall opened in 2008, but closed in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunton |first1=Jim |title=Wakefield agrees to bankroll demolition of Adjaye market hall |url=https://www.bdonline.co.uk/wakefield-agrees-to-bankroll-demolition-of-adjaye-market-hall/5094790.article |access-date=1 November 2023 |work=Building Design |date=25 July 2018}}</ref>  In 2023, conversion began of it into [[Wakefield Exchange]], an events space.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wakefield former market hall to become new venue |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-64862938 |access-date=1 November 2023 |work=BBC News |date=7 March 2023}}</ref>

Developments by the river and canal, the "Wakefield Waterfront", include the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Navigation Warehouse and office, retail, restaurant and cafe units. The development includes the art gallery, [[The Hepworth Wakefield]] named in honour of local sculptor, [[Barbara Hepworth]] which opened in May 2011. The gallery has ten internal spaces, exhibiting many examples of Hepworth's work. The gallery added about £10&nbsp;million to the local economy by attracting 500,000 visitors in its first year.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/News/PressReleases/news/Hepworth.htm |title=Double celebrations for the Hepworth Wakefield as it celebrates its first birthday and welcomes its 500,000 visitor |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626193041/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/News/PressReleases/news/Hepworth.htm |archive-date=26 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Flats and offices were built at Chantry Waters, on an island between the river and canal.

==Landmarks==
[[File:Chantry Bridge.JPG|thumb|left|Chantry Bridge over the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]]]]
The most prominent landmark in Wakefield is [[Wakefield Cathedral]], which at {{convert|247|ft}} has the tallest spire in Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Architectural Guide |url=http://www.wakefieldcathedral.org.uk/?idno=988 |publisher=Wakefield Cathedral |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017013324/http://www.wakefieldcathedral.org.uk/?idno=988 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/WakefieldCathedral/default.htm |title=Wakefield Council – Wakefield Cathedral |access-date=4 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130185327/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/Buildings/WakefieldCathedral/default.htm |archive-date=30 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other landmarks in the Civic Quarter on Wood Street include the Grade II*[[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] Crown Court of 1810,<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1258996 |desc=County Court House |access-date=10 April 2013 }}</ref> [[Wakefield Town Hall]] designed by T.E. Collcutt and opened in 1880,<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1258995 |desc=Town Hall |access-date=10 April 2013 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and the [[County Hall, Wakefield|County Hall]] of 1898 built in a [[Queen Anne Style architecture|Queen Anne Style]] which are Grade I listed.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1242349 |desc=County Hall (offices of West Yorkshire County Council), Bond Street |access-date=10 April 2013 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> [[St John the Baptist's Church, Wakefield, West Yorkshire|St John's Church]] and Square, St John's North and South Parade are part of residential development dating from the Georgian period.

The old Wakefield Bridge with its [[Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield|Chantry Chapel]], Sandal Castle, and Lawe Hill in Clarence Park are [[Scheduled monument|ancient monuments]].<ref>{{harvnb|WakefieldMDC |2008|p=7 }}</ref> Another prominent structure is the 95-arch railway viaduct, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks in the 1860s on the Doncaster to Leeds railway line. At its northern end is a bridge with an {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}} span over Westgate and at its southern end a {{convert|163|ft|m|adj=on}} iron bridge crossing the River Calder.<ref>{{harvnb|Walker|1966|p=558}}</ref>

[[The Ridings Centre]], opened in 1983, was a UK first and served as a template for many shopping centres throughout the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiXxC-eoUpA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/CiXxC-eoUpA |archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live |title=The Ridings Shopping Centre Celebrates 30 Years |publisher=BBC Look North |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=11 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Clayton Hospital]], a substantial [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] edifice completed in 1880, closed in 2012 and has since been demolished.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/investigation-launched-cause-fire-old-hospital-building-wakefield-604520 |title=Investigation launched into cause of fire at old hospital building in Wakefield |newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=20 February 2017 |access-date=28 January 2020 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217003224/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/investigation-launched-cause-fire-old-hospital-building-wakefield-604520 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Transport==
[[File:Railway Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 362217.jpg|thumb|right|The brick-built 95-arch viaduct in Wakefield]]
[[File:23 Wakefield Kirkgate Railway Station (flash) -wikipedia-.jpg|thumb|right|Wakefield Kirkgate railway station]]
Wakefield has good access to the motorway system, with the intersection of the [[M1 motorway|M1]] and [[M62 motorway|M62]] motorways, junctions 42/29, lying to the north west, whilst the M1 to the west is accessed at junctions 39, 40 and 41. The [[A1(M)]] is to the east of the district. Wakefield is crossed by the [[A61 road|A61]], [[A638]], and [[A642]] roads and is the starting point of the [[A636]] and [[A650 road|A650]] roads.

The council is working with [[West Yorkshire Metro]], the other four West Yorkshire district councils and transport operators to provide an integrated transport system for the district through the implementation of the West Yorkshire [[Local Transport Plan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyltp.com/NR/rdonlyres/2CFE302B-5688-4FA8-B952-690CA755EA96/0/060403WYLTPINTRO_pg415.pdf |title=West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan 2006/07 to 2010/11 |publisher=West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan Partnership |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717110441/http://www.wyltp.com/NR/rdonlyres/2CFE302B-5688-4FA8-B952-690CA755EA96/0/060403WYLTPINTRO_pg415.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
A network of local buses, coordinated by West Yorkshire Metro and departing from [[Wakefield bus station]] in the town centre, serves Wakefield and district. Buses are operated by [[Arriva Yorkshire]], Watersons Coaches, Poppletons, [[Team Pennine]], [[Stagecoach Yorkshire]] and [[National Express Coaches|National Express]].<ref name="WBS">{{cite web |title=Wakefield Bus Station |url=http://www.wymetro.com/BusTravel/BusStationsAndStops/WakefieldBusStationStatistics.htm |publisher=wymetro.com |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111120004/http://www.wymetro.com/BusTravel/BusStationsAndStops/WakefieldBusStationStatistics.htm |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Wakefield Westgate station]] opened in 1867 on the [[Doncaster railway station|Doncaster]] to Leeds line. It has connections to the
[[East Coast Main Line]], trains to Leeds, Doncaster, and stations towards [[London King's Cross]]. [[CrossCountry]] trains go to [[Newcastle railway station|Newcastle]], [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh]], [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham]] and the [[South West England|South West]]. [[East Midlands Railway]] also run a limited service via Sheffield, [[Derby railway station|Derby]] and [[Leicester railway station|Leicester]] to [[London St Pancras]]. Wakefield Westgate is on the [[Wakefield Line]] of the [[West Yorkshire Metro]] network.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wkf/details.html |title=Wakefield Westgate |publisher=nationalrail.co.uk |access-date=7 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105214139/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wkf/details.html |archive-date=5 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The line was [[Rail electrification|electrified]] in 1989. Wakefield is served by inter-city express trains from both its railway stations. London can be reached in less than two hours.

[[Wakefield Kirkgate railway station]] was opened by the [[Manchester and Leeds Railway]] in 1840. Wakefield Kirkgate is unstaffed and operated by [[Northern (train operating company)|Northern]] who operate trains to [[Barnsley Interchange|Barnsley]], [[Meadowhall Interchange]], [[Sheffield railway station|Sheffield]], [[Normanton railway station|Normanton]], [[Pontefract Monkhill railway station|Pontefract]], [[Knottingley railway station|Knottingley]], [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]], [[Castleford railway station|Castleford]] and [[Nottingham railway station|Nottingham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wkk/details.html |title=Wakefield Kirkgate |publisher=nationalrail.co.uk |access-date=7 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016033503/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wkk/details.html |archive-date=16 October 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The station serves the [[Hallam Line]], [[Huddersfield Line]] and the [[Pontefract Line]] of the MetroTrain network. [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]] operating between [[London King's Cross]] and [[Bradford Interchange]] stop at Kirkgate. In 2009 [[CCTV]] was installed at the station, but it had acquired a reputation for being one of the country's worst stations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Wakefield-Kirkgate-CCTV-for-39worst.5807380.jp |title=Wakefield Kirkgate: CCTV for 'worst rail station in the country' – Central Leeds – Yorkshire Evening Post<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=6 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826040507/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Wakefield-Kirkgate-CCTV-for-39worst.5807380.jp |archive-date=26 August 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has, however, undergone extensive renovation (2014–).

The nearest airport is [[Leeds Bradford Airport]], {{convert|19|mi|km}} to the north of the city at [[Yeadon, West Yorkshire|Yeadon]].

The [[Aire and Calder Navigation]] is {{convert|33|mi|km}} from Leeds to [[Goole]], and {{convert|7+1/2|mi|km|0}} from Wakefield to Castleford, and was created by Act of Parliament in 1699. It was opened to Leeds in 1704 and to Wakefield in 1706, enabling craft carrying 100 tons to reach Wakefield from the Humber.<ref name="Old Wakefield"/> It is still used by a small amount of commercial traffic and leisure craft.<ref name="ACN">{{cite web |title=Aire and Calder Navigation |url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/aire/index.htm |publisher=penninewaterways |access-date=19 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829071255/http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/aire/index.htm |archive-date=29 August 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The Calder and Hebble Navigation was created by Act of Parliament in 1758 with the intention of making the Calder navigable to [[Sowerby Bridge]]. The route was originally surveyed by [[John Smeaton]], remains open and is used by leisure craft.<ref name="CHN">{{cite web |title=Calder & Hebble |url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/index.htm |publisher=penninewaterways |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514065921/http://penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/index.htm |archive-date=14 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Barnsley Canal, a broad canal with 20 locks, opened in 1799 connecting Barnsley to the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield and was abandoned in 1953.<ref name="BC">{{cite web |title=Barnsley Canal |url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/barnsley/index.htm |publisher=penninewaterways |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620003649/http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/barnsley/index.htm |archive-date=20 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:The Old Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.jpg|thumb|left|The original Queen Elizabeth Grammar School on Brook Street]]
{{See also|List of schools in Wakefield}}
Wakefield's oldest surviving school is [[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield|Queen Elizabeth Grammar School]], a boys-only school established in 1591 by [[Queen Elizabeth I]] by Royal Charter.
The original building in Brook Street is now the [[Elizabethan Gallery]]. QEGS moved to Northgate in 1854.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1066-1600"/>
The school was administered by the Governors of Wakefield Charities who opened [[Wakefield Girls' High School]] on Wentworth Street in 1878.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=125}}</ref> These two schools today are [[independent school]]s. [[National school (England and Wales)|National school]]s were opened by the Church of England including St Mary's in the 1840s and St John's in 1861.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|pp=129–130}}</ref> The original St Austin's Catholic School opened about 1838.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=134}}</ref> A Methodist School was opened in Thornhill Street in 1846.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=131}}</ref> Pinders Primary School, originally Eastmoor School is the only school opened as a result of the Education Act 1870 which remains open today.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=141}}</ref>

[[Wakefield College]] has its origins in the School of Art and Craft of 1868<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=145}}</ref> and today is the major provider of [[6th form]] and [[further education]] in the area, with around 3,000 full-time and 10,000 part-time students,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/About/ |title=Wakefield College Information |publisher=Wakefield.ac.uk |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816142439/http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/About/ |archive-date=16 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and campuses in the city and surrounding towns. In 2007 Wakefield City Council and Wakefield College announced plans to establish a University Centre of Wakefield but a bid for funding failed in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/University-of-Wakefield-plans.3459982.jp |title=University of Wakefield plans |work=Wakefield Express |access-date=23 November 2009 |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111044452/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/University-of-Wakefield-plans.3459982.jp |archive-date=11 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Wakefield-College39s-funding-bid-failed.5738789.jp |title=Wakefield College's funding bid failed |work=Wakefield Express |access-date=23 November 2009 |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030154346/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Wakefield-College39s-funding-bid-failed.5738789.jp |archive-date=30 October 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other schools with sixth forms include: QEGS, Wakefield Girls High School, and Cathedral High School, which is now a [[Performing Arts College]] for ages 11 to 18.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Education/CollegesAndUniversities/default.htm?wbc_purpose=...default.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htm%23centrecontent |title=Colleges and universities |publisher=Wakefield LEA |access-date=23 November 2009 |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130756/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Education/CollegesAndUniversities/default.htm?wbc_purpose=...default.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htmdefault.htm |archive-date=15 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Religion==
[[File:Wakefield - Cathedral.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wakefield Cathedral]]]]
{| class="wikitable sortable floatright" style="margin-left: 1em;"
|+Religion in Wakefield 2001<ref name="York2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=16&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258711463404&enc=1 |title=2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: Key Figures: Area: Wakefield (Local Authority) |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613081510/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276811&c=Wakefield&d=13&e=16&g=384621&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1258711463404&enc=1 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
![[UK Census 2001]] || Wakefield || [[Yorkshire]]|| England
|-
|Christian||78.21%||73.07%||71.74%
|-
|No religion||11.74%||14.09%||14.59%
|-
|Muslim||1.14%||3.81%||3.1%
|-
|Buddhist||0.10%||0.14%||0.28%
|-
|Hindu||0.20%||0.32%||1.11%
|-
|Jewish||0.04%||0.23%||0.52%
|-
|Sikh||0.08%||0.38%||0.67%
|-
|Other religions||0.18%||0.19%||0.29%
|-
|Religion not stated||7.57%||7.77%||7.69%
|}
Wakefield's oldest church is All Saints, now [[Wakefield Cathedral]], a 14th-century parish church built on the site of earlier Saxon and Norman churches, restored by Sir [[George Gilbert Scott]] in the 19th&nbsp;century, and raised to cathedral status in 1888. The first [[Bishop of Wakefield (diocese)|Bishop of Wakefield]] was [[William Walsham How]].
In 1356 the [[Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield|Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin]] on Wakefield bridge was built originally in wood, and later in stone. This chapel is one of four chantry chapels built around Wakefield and the oldest and most ornate of the four surviving in England.<ref name="Historic Wakefield 1066-1600"/><ref name="Bridge Chapels">{{cite web |title=Bridge Chapels |url=http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/bridgechapels/bridgechapels.htm |first=Edward |last=Green |publisher=buildingconservation.com |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216151649/http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/bridgechapels/bridgechapels.htm |archive-date=16 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Wakefield is also known for the [[Wakefield Cycle]], a collection of 32 [[mystery play]]s, dating from the 14th&nbsp;century, which were performed as part of the summertime religious festival of [[Feast of Corpus Christi|Corpus Christi]] and revived in recent times.<ref name="MysteryPlays">{{cite web |title=MysteryPlays |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/MysteryPlays/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508110337/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/HistoricWakefield/MysteryPlays/default.htm |archive-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[St John the Baptist's Church, Wakefield, West Yorkshire|St John's Church]] was built in 1795 in the [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] style. Three new Anglican [[Commissioners' church]]es, partly financed by the "Million Fund" were built as chapels of ease in the surrounding districts and were St Peter at Stanley in 1824, St Paul at Alverthorpe in 1825, and St James at Thornes in 1831.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=103}}</ref><ref name="MillionAct">{{cite web |title=The 'Million Act' Churches |work= Yorkshire Parish Registers |first1=Colin |last1=Blanshard Withers |date=6 September 2008 |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/Misc/CBW/YPRsMillionAct.html |publisher=GENUKI |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217115247/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/Misc/CBW/YPRsMillionAct.html |archive-date=17 December 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Holy Trinity in George Street was built in 1838–9.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=106}}</ref> St Andrew's Church opened on Peterson Road in 1846 and St Mary's Church on Charles Street was consecrated in 1864. St Michael's was consecrated in 1861.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|p=109}}</ref>

The [[Westgate Unitarian Chapel]] dates from 1752. In the 19th&nbsp;century Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent Methodist chapels were opened and the Baptists opened a chapel in George Street in 1844.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2008|pp=99–103}}</ref><ref name="Churchpics">{{cite web |title=Church Photographs |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/CHURCH/church.htm |first=Guy |last=Etchells |publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317142431/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/CHURCH/church.htm |archive-date=17 March 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[William Swinden Barber#Church of St John the Divine, Calder Grove, 1892|St John the Divine]] was built at Calder Grove in 1892.<ref name="LT 27 May 1893" >''[[Leeds Times]]'' Saturday 27 May 1893: "Chat in the porch"</ref><ref>''Leeds Mercury'' 24 May 1893: "The Mackie memorial church, Calder Grove"</ref>

The [[Church of England]] [[diocese]] of Wakefield covered parishes mainly in West Yorkshire, parts of South Yorkshire and five parishes in North Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.anglican.org/people/page/churches_and_clergy |title=Wakefield Diocese |publisher=Wakefield Diocesan Board of Finance |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404211712/http://www.wakefield.anglican.org/people/page/churches_and_clergy |archive-date=4 April 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was dissolved on Easter Sunday 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales |publisher=Wakefield Diocesan Board of Finance |url=http://www.wakefield.anglican.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918102414/http://www.wakefield.anglican.org/ |archive-date=18 September 2012}}</ref> [[Stephen Platten]] was the 12th and last [[Bishop of Wakefield (diocese)|Bishop of Wakefield]]. The [[Anglican Diocese of Leeds|Diocese of Leeds]]<ref>{{cite web |title=the Diocese of Leeds |url=http://www.leeds.anglican.org/ |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730171120/http://leeds.anglican.org/ |archive-date=30 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> now covers Wakefield.

Wakefield has two Catholic parishes – in the north [[St Martin de Porres]] incorporates the churches of [[St Austin's Church, Wakefield|St Austin's]], Wentworth Terrace, opened in 1828, and English Martyrs, opened in 1932, on Dewsbury Road, Lupset,<ref name="St Austins">{{cite web |title=St Austins |url=http://www.staustins.co.uk/pnw/ |publisher=staustins.co.uk |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121230930/http://www.staustins.co.uk/pnw/ |archive-date=21 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and in the south, St Peter and St Paul's off Standbridge Lane which has a modern church built in 1991. Wakefield is in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to the Diocese of Leeds |publisher=Diocese of Leeds |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121202936/http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/ |archive-date=21 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Agbrigg Muslim Association have a Zakaria Masjid Mosque in Wakefield.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tijarapages.com/details.asp?bid=1973867286 |title=Agbrigg Muslim Association Zakaria Masjid |publisher=Tijarapages.com |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717055231/http://www.tijarapages.com/details.asp?bid=1973867286 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 2021 Census, people stating they were Christian had decilned to 44.8%, which in line with the national change; however, those stating they were Muslim had increased to 11.5%.  Those with no religion had increased to 37.3%, again in line with the national average.

==Culture==
The [[Theatre Royal Wakefield]] on Westgate, designed by architect [[Frank Matcham]], opened in 1894 as the Opera House, and currently presents a programme of entertainment including musicals, drama, live music, stand-up comedy and dance.<ref name="theatreroyalwakefield">{{cite web |title=theatreroyalwakefield |url=http://www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk/aboutus/ |publisher=theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128095746/http://www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk/aboutus/ |archive-date=28 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Theatre Royal, Wakefield (17216645475).jpg|thumb|Theatre Royal]]

Wakefield's two central libraries moved into the £31&nbsp;million [[Wakefield One]] in October 2012. The new library was officially opened by singer [[Jarvis Cocker]] on 10 November 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jarvis Cocker opens new Wakefield library |work=BBC News |date=10 November 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20279865 |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904133046/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20279865 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Wakefield Museum]] moved from the former Mechanics' Institute on Wood Street to Wakefield One at the same time. The museum was officially opened by [[Sir David Attenborough]] on 9 March 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wakefield Museum |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Castlesandmuseums/Museums/Wakefield/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501022013/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Castlesandmuseums/Museums/Wakefield/default.htm |archive-date=1 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Balne Lane library once managed a regional collection of more than 500,000 items of music and 90,000 copies of plays for Yorkshire Libraries & Information (YLI).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Libraries/FindLibrary/MusicAndDramaLibrary/default.htm |title=Yorkshire Libraries and Information Music and Drama |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=2 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308102758/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Libraries/FindLibrary/MusicAndDramaLibrary/default.htm |archive-date=8 March 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Yorkshire Music and Drama Library at Balne Lane closed on 31 March 2012 when the music section moved to Huddersfield and the drama section to Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Music and Drama Library |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Libraries/FindLibrary/MusicAndDramaLibrary/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308102758/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Libraries/FindLibrary/MusicAndDramaLibrary/default.htm |archive-date=8 March 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:The Hepworth Wakefield - geograph.org.uk - 1507085.jpg|thumb|The Hepworth Wakefield and the River Calder]]

In May 2011 [[The Hepworth Wakefield]] gallery opened on the south bank of the River Calder near Wakefield Bridge, displaying work by local artists Barbara Hepworth and [[Henry Moore]] and other British and international artists. The gallery is thought to be the largest purpose-built gallery to open in the United Kingdom since 1968.<ref name="Gallery" >{{cite news |title=New Barbara Hepworth gallery opens in Wakefield |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13483212 |work=BBC News |access-date=22 May 2011 |date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521112459/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13483212 |archive-date=21 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Wakefield's three adjoining parks have a history dating back to 1893 when Clarence Park opened on land near Lawe Hill. The adjacent Holmefield Estate was acquired in 1919, followed by Thornes House in 1924, becoming Holmefield Park and [[Thornes Park]] respectively. The three parks form Wakefield Park to the south west of the city.<ref name="chatparks">{{cite web |title=CHaT Parks |url=http://www.chatparks.org.uk/index.php?pageid=20 |publisher=chatparks.org |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607122946/http://www.chatparks.org.uk/index.php?pageid=20 |archive-date=7 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Clarence Park Festival|Clarence Park Music Festival]] is held annually in Clarence Park, promoting local bands.<ref name="CPMF">{{cite web |title=Clarence Park Music Festival |url=http://www.themusiccollective.co.uk/ |publisher=themusiccollective |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418211227/http://www.themusiccollective.co.uk/ |archive-date=18 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Wakefield's newspaper, the ''[[Wakefield Express]]'',<ref name="WEx">{{cite news |title=Wakefield Express |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/ |publisher=wakefieldexpress.co.uk |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029131404/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/ |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> was founded in 1852. Another newspaper, the ''Wakefield Guardian'' was established in 2007, but has ceased publishing.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC Yorkshire]] and [[ITV Yorkshire]]. Television signals are received from the [[Emley Moor]] TV transmitter.

Wakefield's local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Leeds]], [[Heart Yorkshire]], [[Capital Yorkshire]] and [[Ridings FM]], was founded in 1999,<ref name="rfm">{{cite web |title=RidingsFM |url=http://www.ridingsfm.co.uk/ |publisher=ridingsfm.co.uk |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130153957/http://www.ridingsfm.co.uk/ |archive-date=30 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> and rebranded in September 2020 as [[Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire]].

Wakefield is known as the capital of the [[Rhubarb Triangle]], an area notable for growing early forced [[rhubarb]]. In July 2005 a sculpture was erected to celebrate this facet of Wakefield, and there is an annual 'Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb" which takes place over the last weekend in February.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|2009|p=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rhubarb |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=12377&query=rhubarb&SCOPE=www.wakefield.gov.uk&hiword=RHUBARBS%20rhubarb%20 |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=7 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728154009/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=12377&query=rhubarb&SCOPE=www.wakefield.gov.uk&hiword=RHUBARBS%20rhubarb%20 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rhubarb">{{cite web |title=Rhubarb Festival |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/RhubarbFestival/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205114427/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/RhubarbFestival/default.htm |archive-date=5 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The West Riding Registry of Deeds on Newstead Road is the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Archive Service, housing records from the former West Riding and West Yorkshire counties, and is the record office for the Wakefield Metropolitan District.<ref name=WYJS>{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=ablocw2.html |title=W Yorkshire Archives |publisher=wyjs.org.uk |access-date=13 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611043210/http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=ablocw2.html |archive-date=11 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1913 Albert Winstanley opened the Picture House cinema in Westgate. Shortly after opening it was renamed the Playhouse, and by 1972 it was part of the Classic cinema chain. It is now a nightclub.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/2326-playhouse-wakefield |title=Playhouse (Wakefield) |publisher=The Theatres Trust |access-date=22 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111401/http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/2326-playhouse-wakefield |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1935 [[Associated British Cinemas]] (ABC) opened the Regal Cinema in Kirkgate. The [[Art Deco]] building was renamed the ABC in 1962 and became a [[The Cannon Group|Cannon]] in 1986. [[Cineworld]]'s first purpose-built multiplex in Britain opened in Wakefield in December 1996. The ABC closed in 1997 and has remained derelict, but there have been successive proposals to redevelop or demolish it.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/local-news/former-abc-cinema-on-kirkgate-will-make-way-for-new-homes-and-shops-1-6301083 |title=Former ABC cinema on Kirkgate will make way for new homes and shops |newspaper=[[Wakefield Express]] |publisher=[[Johnston Press]] |date=7 December 2013 |access-date=22 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224103731/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/local-news/former-abc-cinema-on-kirkgate-will-make-way-for-new-homes-and-shops-1-6301083 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The ABC cinema was finally and fully demolished in August 2023

The British rock band [[The Beatles]] played at the [[ABC Cinema, Wakefield|ABC Cinema Wakefield]] on 7 February 1963 as part of the Helen Shapiro Winter Tour. The Cinema may still have been named the Regal at the time. This was their only performance in Wakefield and took place just a few days before the band recorded their first album ''[[Please Please Me]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |title=The Complete Beatles Chronicle |date=2004 |publisher=Hamlyn |isbn=9780681028906 |page=99}}</ref>

===Film and television locations===
The 1963 film ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' starring [[Richard Harris]], [[Rachel Roberts (actress)|Rachel Roberts]], [[William Hartnell]] and [[Arthur Lowe]] was partially filmed in Wakefield, specifically at [[Wakefield Trinity]] Rugby Ground, Belle Vue, the area around the top of Westgate and the demolished "Locarno Night Club" – Southgate, now the Cathedral entrance to [[Ridings Shopping Centre]]. The film's screenplay was by Wakefield born writer [[David Storey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=IMDB This Sporting Life Filming Locations |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057578/locations |website=IMDB |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113094248/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057578/locations |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1996 film ''[[Brassed Off]]'', starring [[Ewan McGregor]], was partly filmed at [[National Coal Mining Museum for England|The National Coal Mining Museum]] in Wakefield.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The 2018 television mini series ''[[The ABC Murders (TV series)|The ABC Murders]]'', starring [[John Malkovich]], [[Eamon Farren]], [[Michael Shaeffer]] and [[Rupert Grint]], was partly filmed at [[St John the Baptist's Church, Wakefield, West Yorkshire|St Johns Baptist's Church]] and St John's Square.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==Sport==
===Rugby===
[[File:Wakefield Trinity Wildcats hospitality suites (geograph 5814488).jpg|thumb|Belle Vue Stadium]]
[[Wakefield Trinity]] is a [[Rugby League]] club currently playing in the Super League following promotion from the Championship in 2024. The club, founded in 1873, was one of the initial founders of the [[Northern Union]] after the split from the [[Rugby Football Union]] in 1895. The club plays at [[Belle Vue (Wakefield)|Belle Vue stadium]].<ref name="WTrinity">{{cite web |title=Wildcats |url=http://www.wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/wildcats-history-c351.html |publisher=wakefieldwildcats.co.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031130154/http://www.wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/wildcats-history-c351.html |archive-date=31 October 2009}}</ref> Several local teams play in different leagues of the [[British Amateur Rugby League Association]], BARLA.
They include Wakefield City, Westgate Wolves, Crigglestone All Blacks, Kettlethorpe and Eastmoor Dragons.<ref name="BARLA">{{cite web |title=BARLA |url=http://www.barla.org.uk/Clubs/ |publisher=barla.org.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313160950/http://www.barla.org.uk/Clubs/ |archive-date=13 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rugby Union Football is played at [[Sandal RUFC]]<ref name="sandalrufc">{{cite web |title=Sandal rufc |url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/sandalrufc/?primary=theclub&secondary=history#_ |publisher=pitchero.com |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130021301/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/sandalrufc/?primary=theclub&secondary=history#_ |archive-date=30 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> and was played by [[Wakefield RFC]] at [[College Grove (sports ground)|College Grove]] from 1901 to 2004 when the club ceased to play.
===Football===
Wakefield briefly had a football team in the city itself when [[Emley F.C.]] moved to play at Belle Vue, the ground of Wakefield Trinity, hoping to progress further up the football pyramid. However, fortunes soon declined with supporters abandoning the club and they moved out of Belle Vue, first to College Grove and then briefly to share with [[Ossett Town]], ultimately, Wakefield FC folded in June 2014<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nonleague.pitchero.com/news/afc-emley-blow--wakefield-wound-up-32051/ |title=Wakefield Wound Up |date=23 June 2014 |access-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110112234/http://nonleague.pitchero.com/news/afc-emley-blow--wakefield-wound-up-32051/ |archive-date=10 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> with crowds in the low double figures by then. [[AFC Emley]] was founded to restore the club's original links with the village of Emley.<ref>[http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/afcemley/a/club-history-29996.html The History of AFC Emley] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107201403/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/afcemley/a/club-history-29996.html |date=7 January 2017 }} A.F.C. Emley</ref> the fans who followed the old club soon went back to following the new (continuation of the old club) in Emley who have gone from strength to strength.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/sport/football/emley-afc-are-reunified-with-their-history-and-achievements-3757493|title=Emley AFC are reunified with their history and achievements}}</ref> 

In 2019 a new club [[Wakefield A.F.C.]] was formed by a consortium including former professional player [[Chris Turner (footballer, born 1958)|Chris Turner]] and played in the [[Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior Football League]], in 2021 the club was bought by VO2 capital. Playing at Barnsley and [[Featherstone Rovers|Featherstone]], the club had not played in the City which bears their name until moving to share the rugby ground with [[Wakefield Trinity]] in 2023,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wakefieldafc.com/2021/07/01/vo2-capital-completes-investment-in-wakefield-afc/|title=VO2 Capital Completes Investment in Wakefield AFC |website=wakefieldafc.co.uk|accessdate=19 November 2023}}</ref> however, this arrangement only lasted 1 season before Wakefield moved back out of the city and back to [[Featherstone Rovers|Featherstone]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ncefl.org.uk/news/nceldivisionone/2024/6269-wakefieldafcreturntomillenniumstadium/ | title=Wakefield AFC return to Millennium Stadium | website=www.ncefl.org.uk | date=11 August 2024}}</ref> leaving the city of Wakefield without a senior football club yet again and therefore remains the largest settlement in the UK without its own football club.
===Other Sports===
Wakefield Hockey Club and Slazenger Hockey Club (based in [[Horbury]]) are [[field hockey]] clubs that compete in the [[Men's England Hockey League]], the [[North Hockey Association|North Hockey League]] and the [[Yorkshire Hockey Association|Yorkshire & North East Hockey League]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wakefieldhockeyclub.co.uk/ |title=Wakefield Hockey Club |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/clubs/wakefield-hc|title=England Hockey – Wakefield Hockey Club |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://slazengerhc.co.uk/|title=Slazenger Hockey Club |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/clubs/slazenger-hc|title=England Hockey – Slazenger Hockey Club |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref>

Wakefield Sports Club at College Grove also has the Yorkshire Regional Hockey Academy, Wakefield Bowls Club and Wakefield Squash Club on the same site.<ref name="WSC">{{cite web |title=Wakefield Sports Club |url=http://www.wakefieldsportsclub.co.uk/ |publisher=wakefieldsportsclub.co.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929152828/http://www.wakefieldsportsclub.co.uk/ |archive-date=29 September 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Wakefield Archers meet at QEGS in Wakefield or at Slazengers Sports Club, Horbury and has archers shooting Olympic re-curve bows, compound bows and longbows.<ref name="Archery">{{cite web |title=The Wakefield Archers |url=http://www.thewakefieldarchers.com/modules/news/ |publisher=thewakefieldarchers.com |access-date=21 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627024124/http://www.thewakefieldarchers.com/modules/news/ |archive-date=27 June 2009}}</ref>
Thornes Park Athletics Stadium is home to Wakefield Harriers A.C. Members [[Martyn Bernard]] and [[Emily Freeman]] competed in the Beijing Olympics.<ref name="WAC">{{cite web |title=Wakefield Harriers AC |url=http://www.wakefield-harriers.co.uk/ |publisher=wakefield-harriers.co.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327214421/http://www.wakefield-harriers.co.uk/ |archive-date=27 March 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Local teams Newton Hill and Wakefield Thornes are members of the Leeds-West Riding Cricket League.<ref name="lwrcl">{{cite web |title=lwrcl |url=http://lwrcl.org.uk/ |publisher=lwrcl.org.uk |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130195721/http://lwrcl.org.uk/ |archive-date=30 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There is a {{convert|100|acre|km2|adj=on}} watersports lake at [[Pugneys Country Park]] catering for non-powered watersports such as canoeing, sailing and windsurfing.<ref name="Pugneys">{{cite web |title=Pugneys |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/ParksAndOpenSpaces/PugneysCountryPark/About.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=22 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526204405/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/ParksAndOpenSpaces/PugneysCountryPark/About.htm |archive-date=26 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Golf clubs include the municipal course at Lupset and the private Wakefield Golf Club at Sandal.<ref name="Golf">{{cite web |title=Golf |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/LeisureFacilities/GolfCourses/default.htm |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=25 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620003305/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/LeisureFacilities/GolfCourses/default.htm |archive-date=20 June 2009}}</ref>

The racing teams [[Optimum Motorsport]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Driven by success |url=https://www.optimum-motorsport.com/about|publisher=[[Optimum Motorsport]] |access-date=31 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407002201/https://www.optimum-motorsport.com/about|archive-date=7 April 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[United Autosports]]<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.unitedautosports.com/about|publisher=[[United Autosports]] |access-date=10 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219142231/https://www.unitedautosports.com/about|archive-date=19 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> are based in Wakefield. United Autosports competes in the [[FIA World Endurance Championship|World Endurance Championship]], [[ELMS]] and the [[IMSA SportsCar Championship]]. While Optimum compete in the [[IMSA SportsCar Championship]], [[Asian Le Mans Series|ALMS]], [[British GT]] and [[GT World Challenge Europe]].

==Public services==
[[File:HM Prison Wakefield 1916.jpg|thumb|Wakefield Prison (1916)]]
[[Wakefield Prison]], originally built as a house of correction in 1594, is a maximum security prison.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wakefield Prison information |url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/wakefield |publisher=Ministry of Justice |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410230412/http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/wakefield |archive-date=10 April 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Wakefield is policed by the West Yorkshire Police force and is within the DA, Wakefield division, which covers the whole district.<ref name="WYP">{{cite web |title=West Yorkshire Police |url=http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/npt/Division.asp?id=15 |publisher=West Yorkshire Police |access-date=22 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221222444/http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/npt/Division.asp?id=15 |archive-date=21 December 2008}}</ref> Wakefield is also the location of the West Yorkshire Police Headquarters. The [[Fire services in the United Kingdom|statutory emergency fire and rescue service]] is provided by the [[West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service]], from Wakefield fire station.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/stations/wakefield |title=Wakefield Fire Station |publisher=West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service |access-date=23 November 2009 |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222070619/http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/stations/wakefield |archive-date=22 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

Hospital services are provided by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and community health services, including [[General practitioner|GPs]], district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are coordinated by Wakefield District [[Primary Care Trust]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.midyorks.nhs.uk/ |title=Home.The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust |publisher=The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust |access-date=23 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109170824/http://www.midyorks.nhs.uk/ |archive-date=9 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefielddistrict.nhs.uk/ourPCT/ |title=Our PCT – Wakefield District NHS Primary Care Trust |publisher=Wakefield District NHS |access-date=23 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218182453/http://www.wakefielddistrict.nhs.uk/ourPCT/ |archive-date=18 December 2009}}
</ref>
[[Waste management]] is co-ordinated by the [[local authority]]. Wakefield's [[distribution network operator]] for electricity is [[Northern Powergrid|CE Electric]]. [[Yorkshire Water]] manages Wakefield's [[drinking water|drinking]] and [[wastewater]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Environment/sewers.htm |title=Drainage – sewers |publisher=Wakefield Council |access-date=23 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114183035/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Environment/sewers.htm |archive-date=14 January 2010}}
</ref>

==Notable people==
{{See also |List of people from Wakefield}}
* [[Joseph Aspdin]] inventor of [[Portland Cement]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/joseph-aspdins-patent-of-portland-cement-23rd-october/| title = Joseph Aspdin's patent of Portland Cement, 23rd October [1824]| date = 1 October 2024| publisher =  Wakefield Historical Society| access-date = 1 March 2025}}</ref>
* Novelist [[George Gissing]] was born in Wakefield in 1857; his childhood home in Thompson's Yard is maintained by The Gissing Trust.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefieldhistoricalsoc.org.uk/The%20Gissing%20Trust.htm |title=The Gissing Trust |access-date=2 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006085006/http://www.wakefieldhistoricalsoc.org.uk/The%20Gissing%20Trust.htm |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Sculptor [[Barbara Hepworth]] was born in Wakefield in 1903.<ref name="BH">{{cite web |title=Barbara Hepworth |url=http://www.barbarahepworth.org.uk/biography/ |publisher=barbarahepworth.org.uk |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124052506/http://www.barbarahepworth.org.uk/biography/ |archive-date=24 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The art gallery The Hepworth Wakefield is named after her which features her work, alongside that of other local artists such as [[Henry Moore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hepworthwakefield.org/our-story/our-history/ |title=The History of The Hepworth Wakefield |last=The Hepworth |first=Wakefield |website=The Hepworth Wakefield |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811205302/https://hepworthwakefield.org/our-story/our-history/ |archive-date=11 August 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=11 August 2019}}</ref>
* Dame [[Marjorie Williamson]] was born in Wakefield in 1913. She was an academic, educator, physicist and university administrator.
* [[David Storey]], born in Wakefield in 1933, was a [[novelist]] and playwright, whose 1960 ''[[This Sporting Life]]'', was made into a 1963 film which was shot largely on location in the city.<ref name="DS">{{cite web |title=David Storey |url=http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth222 |publisher=contemporarywriters.com |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215133715/http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth222 |archive-date=15 December 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Anne Treisman]] (née Taylor, 1935–2018), a [[psychologist]] who specialised in [[cognitive psychology]], was born in Wakefield.<ref name="obit nyt">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/obituaries/anne-treisman-who-studied-how-we-perceive-dies-at-82.html|title=Anne Treisman, Who Studied How We Perceive, Dies at 82|work=The New York Times|date=13 February 2018|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|access-date=14 February 2018|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106113810/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/obituaries/anne-treisman-who-studied-how-we-perceive-dies-at-82.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Former Archbishop of York, [[David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes]], was born in 1940 in Thornes.<ref name="DH">{{cite web|title=David Hope |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009359c |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091023143840/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20051211.shtml |archive-date=23 October 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Jane McDonald]], singer, was born in Wakefield in 1963.
* The [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] politician [[John Leech (politician)|John Leech]] was born in Wakefield in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/person/1554/www.northwestlibdems.org.uk/ |title=John Leech for Didsbury West in the Manchester local election |website=Who Can I Vote For? by Democracy Club |access-date=14 June 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523114824/https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/person/1554/www.northwestlibdems.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He was Member of Parliament for [[Manchester Withington]] from 2005 to 2015.

==Twin cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom}}
Wakefield is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref name="Wakefield twinning">{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/TownTwinning/twintowns.htmclick |title=Wakefield's twin towns |access-date=14 July 2013 |work=Wakefield City Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017025315/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/TownTwinning/twintowns.htmclick |archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=33em|
*[[Alfeld (Leine)]], Germany (since 1958)
*[[Castres]], France<ref name="Archant twinning 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |title=British towns twinned with French towns ''[via WaybackMachine.com]'' |access-date=12 July 2013 |work=Archant Community Media Ltd |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705094933/http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |archive-date=5 July 2013}}</ref> (since 1953)
*[[Castrop-Rauxel]], Germany (since 1949)
*[[Girona]], Spain (since 1990)
*[[Hénin-Beaumont]], France<ref name="Archant twinning 2"/> (since 1972)
*[[Herne, Germany|Herne]], Germany (since 1956)
*[[Konin]], Poland (since 1996)
}}
Wakefield was previously twinned with [[Xiangyang]], China (2016–2020) and [[Nanning]], China (2019–2020). Both relations were ended due to human rights concerns relating to the [[Persecution of Uyghurs in China|treatment of Uyghur Muslims]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/business/wakefield-twin-partnerships-with-nanning-city-and-xiangyang-to-be-axed-over-china-human-rights-concerns-2986655 |title= Wakefield twin partnerships with Nanning City and Xiangyang to be axed over China human rights concerns |date=29 September 2020 |work=Wakefield Express |accessdate=16 July 2023 |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716140014/https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/business/wakefield-twin-partnerships-with-nanning-city-and-xiangyang-to-be-axed-over-china-human-rights-concerns-2986655 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = McGowan | first = Kathryn | title = Agenda and minutes – Council – Wednesday, 30 September 2020 2:00 pm | url = http://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=221&MID=14524#AI72418 | publisher = Wakefield Council | date = 30 September 2020 | access-date = 16 July 2023 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230716141020/http://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=221&MID=14524 | archive-date = 16 July 2023}}</ref>

Wakefield was also previously twinned with [[Belgorod]], Russia (1991–2022), but this agreement was ended in response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/wakefield-cut-ties-twinned-russian-23240230 |title=Wakefield to cut all ties with its twinned Russian city Belgorod |last=Johnson |first=Kristian |date=28 February 2022 |work=Yorkshire Live |accessdate=9 January 2023 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109184057/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/wakefield-cut-ties-twinned-russian-23240230 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Freedom of the City==
The following people and military units have received the [[Freedom of the City]] of Wakefield.

{{Incomplete list|date=March 2020}}

===Individuals===
* [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery|Lord Montgomery of Alamein]]: 4 November 1947.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/field-marshall-montgomery-receives-freedom-wakefield |title=Field Marshall Montgomery Receives the Freedom of Wakefield |publisher=Yorkshire Film Archive |access-date=31 March 2020 |archive-date=23 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523114831/http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/field-marshall-montgomery-receives-freedom-wakefield |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* James Benjamin Sykes: 18 May 1864.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/wakefield-history/essays-on-aspects-of-wakefield-history/walk-about-lupset/ |title=6. Wakefield Fever Hospital |publisher=Yorkshire Film Archive |access-date=2 July 2024 |archive-date=8 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808035630/https://www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/wakefield-history/essays-on-aspects-of-wakefield-history/walk-about-lupset/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Military units===
*The [[King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry]]: 1945.
*The [[Yorkshire Regiment]]: 13 March 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/the_yorkshire_regiment_given_the_freedom_of_the_city_1_975111 |title=The Yorkshire Regiment given the Freedom of the City |work=Wakefield Express |date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319040553/http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/the_yorkshire_regiment_given_the_freedom_of_the_city_1_975111 |archive-date=19 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[The Rifles]]: 11 September 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/march_marks_regiment_s_freedom_of_city_honour_1_2596082 |title=March marks regiment's Freedom of City honour |work=Yorkshire Post |date=12 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012174211/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/march_marks_regiment_s_freedom_of_city_honour_1_2596082 |archive-date=12 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Wakefield]]
*[[The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield]]
*[[Wakefield A.F.C. Women]]
*[[The Ridings Centre]]

==References==
{{notelist}}

'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|group="nb"}}

'''Footnotes'''
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{Refbegin|40em}}
*{{cite book |last=Beckett |first=J. V. |title=City status in the British Isles,1830–2002 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=0-7546-5067-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqqSSOyjBEoC&q=wakefield+city+status+1888&pg=PA40 }}
*{{cite book |last=Bell |first=Richard |title=Walks in the Rhubarb Triangle |publisher=Willow Island Editions |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-902467-18-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Butler |first=Lawrence |title=Sandal Castle Wakefield |publisher=Wakefield Historical Publications |year=1991 |isbn=0-901869-31-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Creighton |first=O. H. |title=Castles and landscapes |publisher=Equinox Publishing Ltd |year=2004 |isbn=1-904768-67-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Freeman |first=T. W. |title=The Conurbations of Great Britain |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjS8AAAAIAAJ&q=Wakefield%20County%20Borough&pg=PA173 }}
*{{cite book |last=Galloway |first=Robert L. |title=Annals of Coal Mining and the Coal Trade Vol. 1,1898 |publisher=David & Charles |year=1971 |isbn=0-7153-4980-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Holt |first=J. C. |title=Colonial England, 1066–1215 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=1997 |isbn=1-85285-140-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Lupton |first=Joseph Hirst |author-link=Joseph Hirst Lupton |title=Wakefield Worthies, biographical sketches |year=1864 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VdoHAAAAQAAJ&q=Wakefield+worthies |location=London |publisher=Hamilton & Co.}}
*{{cite book |last=Mills |first=A. D. |title=Dictionary of English Place-Names |publisher=Oxford |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-280074-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Reaney |first=P. H. |title=The origin of English place-names (corrected 3rd pr.) |publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |year=1964 |isbn=0-19-280074-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Saunders |first=John |title=The People's journal, Volume 4 |publisher=John Saunders |year=1848 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1QAAAAAYAAJ&q=Wakefield%20Corn%20Exchange&pg=PA102 }}
*{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Kate |title=The Making of Wakefield 1801–1900 |publisher=Wharncliffe |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84563-078-2}}
*{{cite book |last=WakefieldMDC |title=List of Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Buildings of Local Interest |publisher=City of Wakefield  Metropilitan District Council |year=2008 |url=http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EC7F3485-64A8-4D27-B478-7DB069212F91/0/Listed_Buildings_Nov_2008.pdf |access-date=23 November 2009 |archive-date=15 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615131155/http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EC7F3485-64A8-4D27-B478-7DB069212F91/0/Listed_Buildings_Nov_2008.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Walker |first=J. W. |title=Wakefield its History and People Vol.1&2 3rd Edn |publisher=S. R. Publishers |year=1966}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Wakefield, West Yorkshire (city)}}
{{wikivoyage|Wakefield (England)}}
*[http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/ City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council]

{{West Yorkshire}}
{{Wakefield, West Yorkshire}}
{{Portalbar|Yorkshire|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wakefield| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Yorkshire and the Humber]]
[[Category:County towns in England]]
[[Category:History of the textile industry]]
[[Category:Towns in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of the City of Wakefield]]