Wakefield Town Centre

History

Wakefield is a city located in West Yorkshire, England, on the River Calder and the eastern edge of the Pennines, Back in 2001 the city had a population of 76,886, This then increased slightly for the five Wakefield wards (East, North, Rural, South and West) to 77,512 at the 2011 Census.

The name "Wakefield" has many different origins, Some believe it is derived from "Waca's field" – the open land belonging to someone named "Waca" others believe it 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.

Wakefield is 9 miles southeast of Leeds and 28 miles southwest of York on the eastern edge of the Pennines. The city centre is sited on a low hill on the north bank of the Calder, close to a crossing place where it is spanned by a 14th-century, stone bridge and a reinforced concrete bridge built later in 1929–1930.