Swarcliffe

File:Cock Beck Barwick Road 03.jpg

The Battle of the Winwaed, between the army of the Christian king Oswiu of Bernicia and the pagan army of King Penda of Mercia, took place in 655 AD, according to Bede, although some historians favour 654 or 656.{{cite book |page=8| first=James |last=Campbell |title=Essays in Anglo-Saxon History|publisher=Hambledon Continuum |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-907628-33-0}} The actual site of the battle is disputed, but one possibility is that the River Winwaed is now the Cock Beck, to the east of Swarcliffe.{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/VikingWeb/Anglosaxonhist.htm|title=Anglo-Saxon West Yorkshire: The historical background|publisher=West Yorkshire Joint Services|access-date=19 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728120500/http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/VikingWeb/Anglosaxonhist.htm|archive-date=28 July 2011}} The battle is remembered in the names of Pendas Way, a street south of Swarcliffe, and the nearby Pendas Fields estate.{{cite web|url=http://www.winwaed.com/history/winwaed/location.shtml|title=The Battle of Winwaed – Location|first=Richard|last=Marsden|publisher=Winwaed|access-date=23 August 2011|archive-date=15 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415013114/http://www.winwaed.com/history/winwaed/location.shtml|url-status=live}}

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror granted the parish of Whitkirk, which included Seacroft, to Ilbert de Lacy of Pontefract, whose descendants held the title of Earl of Lincoln. The parish was subsequently leased by the de Lacys to the Somerville family.{{cite web|url=http://www.seacroftparish.org.uk/history/|title=A Brief History of Seacroft|first=John|last=Gilleghan |publisher=Seacroft Parish|access-date=27 July 2011}} During the English Civil War in 1643, Lord Goring's Royalist army defeated the Parliamentarians under Sir Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Seacroft Moor.{{cite web|url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/civil-war/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=50|title=Battle of Seacroft Moor – 30 March 1643|publisher=UK Battlefields resource Centre|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=20 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720144540/http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/civil-war/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=50|url-status=live}}

In the 1820s, Swarcliffe and Stanks were part of the Barwick-in-Elmet parish.{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Barwickinelmet/index.html |title=The Ancient Parish of Barwick-in-Elmet |first=Colin |last=Hinson |publisher=Genuki |date=29 May 2011 |access-date=23 July 2011 |archive-date=21 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921000847/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Barwickinelmet/index.html |url-status=live }} The name "Stanks" derives from a French word meaning ponds or pools of putrid water.{{cite web|url=http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=stank&use1913=on&use1828=on|title=Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)|publisher=The ARTFL Project|access-date=31 August 2011}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klcvAAAAIAAJ&q=Stanks|title=The Scottish law reporter|first1=W.|last1=Veitch|first2=R. A. |last2=Veitch |year=1910|access-date=28 July 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://13edinburgh.boys-brigade.org.uk/Village.html|title=A Brief History|first=K.|last=Aitchison|publisher=A. S. Cowper & The Corstorphine Trust|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=10 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810141224/http://13edinburgh.boys-brigade.org.uk/Village.html|url-status=live}} Before the Swarcliffe Estate was built, the area contained Winmore Lodge (renamed Winn Moor Lodge in 1893), Penwell House, Hill Top, Spikeland Nook, Swarcliffe Farm,In 1997, Alan Noble, the church warden of St James' Church, Seacroft, remembered moving to a tied cottage in Taylors Yard in 1926, when his father was employed by Mr. Presious; the owner of Swarcliffe Farm. From: Memories of Seacroft as a Village 1926 to 1947, a pamphlet by Alan Noble. Published by Seacroft St James' PCC. 1998 and a parochial school on Stanks Lane South/Barwick Road, which was replaced by Windsor Terrace before 1892.{{cite web|url=http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html|title=Swarcliffe/Seacroft/Stanks maps from 1849 to 1991)|publisher=old-maps|access-date=30 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430134621/http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html|archive-date=30 April 2012}}

File:OSmapSeacroftSwarcliffe.jpg map of Seacroft, showing Swarcliffe's woods/plantations (marked in red)]]

The Leeds to Halton Dial road was turnpiked in 1751. Tolls were collected at the Penny Toll, a toll house on York Road, at the north-eastern border of the area.{{cite web|url=http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/English%20turnpike%20table.htm|title=List of Turnpike Trusts|publisher=Turnpikes.org|access-date=24 August 2011|archive-date=29 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329161408/http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/English%20turnpike%20table.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://home.freeuk.net/seacroft/documents/noblea.htm|title=Memories of Seacroft as a Village 1926–1947|first=Alan|last=Noble|date=1997–1998|publisher=The Seacroft Village Preservation Society(originally in Seacroft Herald)|access-date=24 August 2011|archive-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614053729/http://home.freeuk.net/seacroft/documents/noblea.htm|url-status=live}} This road is the A64 Leeds to York road{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xJZFAAAAcAAJ&q=Toll+Road+Seacroft&pg=PA708 |title=The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volumes 32–33|publisher=Great Britain|page=708|year=1840|isbn=9780331531558|access-date=2 August 2011}} The toll house was owned by Sir Thomas Gascoigne, whose agents charged one penny per pair of wheels, which was "a considerable sum", according to the historian, Ralph Thoresby, who visited the area in 1702.{{cite web|url=http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/5148.html|title=Ralph Thoresby's Journey to Barwick – 1702|first=Ralph|last=Thoresby|publisher=The Barwicker No.51|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004112201/http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/5148.html|url-status=live}} In 1886, the property was owned by Colonel Frederick Trench-Gascoigne, of Parlington Hall, Aberford, who rented it out for three pounds, fourteen shillings and sixpence a year. Gascoigne owned and rented out a number of houses, coal mines, woodland and farm land in Seacroft, Whinmoor, Barnbow, Garforth, Barwick-in-Elmet, Cross Gates, and Scholes.{{cite web|url=http://www.parlington.co.uk/mines.lasso?process=10&subProcess=mines2|title=The Gascoigne Mines in Garforth|first=Brian|last=Hull|publisher=Parlington Hall Website|access-date=4 August 2011|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927172508/http://www.parlington.co.uk/mines.lasso?process=10&subProcess=mines2|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/rate1886.html#Top|title=A History of the Parish of Barwick-in-Elmet in the County of York|first=F. S.|last=Colman|publisher=Barwick-in-Elmet Historical Society|year=1908|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004112138/http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/rate1886.html#Top|url-status=live}} The toll house was situated north of a cottage and a 19th-century granite-built windmill, which is now part of the Britannia Hotels Leeds hotel.{{cn|date=November 2024}} In the mid-1800s, Isaac Chippindale, who lived at Windmill Farm, started the Scholes Brick and Tile Works on Wood Lane, on the border with Scholes. The company's quarry produced high-quality bricks, which were used to build many houses in the surrounding area.{{cite web|url=http://www2.leedstoday.net/YourCommunity/Seacroft/History.html|title=Seacroft History|publisher=Leeds Today|access-date=17 August 2011|archive-date=17 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317123356/http://www2.leedstoday.net/YourCommunity/Seacroft/History.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=B14303&tabType=HISTORY|title=Isaac Chippindale & Sons, brick and tile manufacturers|publisher=The National Archives|access-date=4 August 2011|archive-date=19 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619133629/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=B14303&tabType=HISTORY|url-status=live}} Its kilns and house were demolished in the early 1980s, leaving two small fishing lakes, but the site is still known as "Chippy's Quarry".{{cite web|url=http://www.pro-patria-mori.co.uk/barwickandscholes/id133.html|title=The Chippindale Family|first=Nigel|last=Marshall|publisher=pro-patria-mori|access-date=4 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328124100/http://www.pro-patria-mori.co.uk/barwickandscholes/id133.html|archive-date=28 March 2012}}

The Leeds to Wetherby Railway had a station at Scholes and passed under the turnpike to the northeast. The line was built by the North Eastern Railway and ran past the eastern border of Swarcliffe and Stanks. It opened on 1 May 1876 and closed in 1964.{{cite web|url=http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/Leeds%20Wetherby.htm|title=Leeds to Wetherby|publisher=Lost Railways West Yorkshire|access-date=18 August 2011|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718200832/http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/Leeds%20Wetherby.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/8508.html|title=The Leeds – Cross Gates – Wetherby Railway|first=Tony|last=Cox|publisher=Barwick-in-Elmet Historical Society|access-date=4 August 2011|archive-date=20 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820172129/http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/8508.html|url-status=live}} Services were withdrawn as part of the Beeching Axe, an informal name for the British Government's attempt to reduce the cost of running British Railways in the 1960s.{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=14|title=The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes|publisher=Railways Archive|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=18 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418212554/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=14|url-status=live}}

In 1874, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners published a report that noted that two new parishes would be delineated by "an imaginary line commencing at the point where the boundary dividing the said new parish of Seacroft from the new parish of Manston aforesaid crosses the footpath leading from Seacroft through Little Swarcliffe Plantation to Wood Laith Lane"—leading from the Cock Beck to Scholes; now called Wood Lane.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0OAAAAQAAJ&q=Swarcliffe+plantation |title=Appendix to the twenty-sixth (twenty-seventh, thirty-fifth-forty-seventh) report |page=327|publisher=Ecclesiastical Commissioners |year=1874|access-date=27 July 2011}}

In 1812, the title Squire of Seacroft was held by the Wilson family, the last member of which was Squire Darcy Bruce Wilson. According to the 1891 census, he lived at Seacroft Hall with his sister, Louisa, and five servants - a footman, cook, kitchen maid and two housemaids.{{cite web|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2004317_9392947|title=Seacroft Hall, view across the lake|publisher=Leodis|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916201714/http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2004317_9392947|url-status=live}} He was a Master of Arts, barrister at law, justice of the peace, and captain in the Yorkshire Hussars.{{cite web|url=http://www.whobegatwhom.co.uk/ind3039.html|title=Darcy Bruce Wilson (1851–1936)|publisher=Who begat Whom|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=23 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323002430/http://www.whobegatwhom.co.uk/ind3039.html|url-status=live}} After his death at Seacroft Hall in 1936, his nephew sold the family estate to Leeds Corporation one year later.{{cite journal |year=1940 |title=Transactions of the Newcomen Society |journal=The Newcomen Society for the Study of the History of Engineering and Technology.|volume=19 |pages=103 |publisher=Newcomen Society |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bnkPAAAAIAAJ&q=Squire+Darcy+Wilson |access-date=2 August 2011 }} The hall was demolished in 1953, and its ornamental lake was filled in to make way for Parklands Girls' High School.{{cite web|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2004317_9392947|title=Seacroft Hall, view across the lake|publisher=Leodis|access-date=7 August 2011|archive-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916201714/http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2004317_9392947|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.findmyschool.co.uk/schooldetails.aspx?id=8073|title=Parklands Girls' High School|publisher=Find My School|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=3 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003164038/http://www.findmyschool.co.uk/schooldetails.aspx?id=8073|url-status=live}} Templar Villas, a cluster of semidetached Victorian houses, was built on Templar Lane/Barwick Road before 1893, and a row of large houses was built on Templar Lane before 1908. Between 1938 and 1952, private houses were built on the north side of Barwick Road, between Stanks Lane South and the Cock Beck.

File:Cinderpanelhouse.jpg panels in the 1950s, before refurbishment in the late 2000s]]

File:Elmet Towers Swarcliffe April 2017 01.jpg

In a boundary change on 1 April 1937, Whinmoor was added to the Leeds County Borough from the Tadcaster Rural District. In 1953, The Civil Engineer reported that Myton Ltd, from Kingston upon Hull, were paid £227,232 "for the erection of 172 dwellings on the Swarcliffe (Seacroft) Estate".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cuwiAQAAMAAJ&q=Hull|title=The Civil engineer, Volume 7|year=1953|access-date=26 July 2011}} In 1955, The Civil Engineer reported a further payment of £2,867 for "Electrical installations in 130 dwellings at the Swarcliffe (Seacroft) estate".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6QiAQAAMAAJ&q=Swarcliffe|title=The electrical Review, Volume 157, Issues 1–9|year=1955|access-date=26 July 2011}} The estate was built between the Seacroft and Manston estates, bordered by the A6120 Leeds Outer Ring Road to the west, the A64 York Road to the north, and Barwick Road to the south, with Cock Beck and Scholes to the east. The adjacent Whinmoor estate was built in the 1960s, to the east and north.{{cite web|url=http://www.scholesfamily.co.uk/scholes/villages.htm|title=The Scholes Villages|publisher=Scholes' Family|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716031555/http://www.scholesfamily.co.uk/scholes/villages.htm|url-status=dead}} Swarcliffe measures {{convert|0.84|mi|km}}, from north-west to south-east, and {{convert|0.83|mi|km}}, from east to west. It is {{convert|4.9|mi|km}}, east of the Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 Leeds postcode area, which encompasses Swarcliffe, Seacroft, Whinmoor, Killingbeck, Scarcroft, and Thorner.{{cite web|url=http://www.doogal.co.uk/UKPostcodes.php?Search=LS14%205|title=LS14 5 postcodes, Leeds|first=Chris|last=Bell|publisher=Doogal|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=23 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323101416/http://www.doogal.co.uk/UKPostcodes.php?Search=LS14%205|url-status=live}}

The housing estate consisted of two and three-bedroomed semi-detached houses, and a number of three-storey blocks containing 12 flats or more, but some have been demolished. Most houses were built of brick, but a number were constructed of prefabricated cinder and concrete panels.

The 1980 right to buy scheme enabled tenants to buy their homes{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/20/newsid_4017000/4017019.stm|title=1979: Council tenants will have 'right to buy'|publisher=BBC|date=3 October 1980|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=23 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223083115/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/20/newsid_4017000/4017019.stm|url-status=live}} and in 2008, the average price for a house in Swarcliffe was £109,810. In 2010, 1,025 homes were privately owned, and 1,394 rented.

The three brick ten-storey flats were built to a T-plan with access from balconies. Each block contained 60 dwellings. The Leeds Planning Committee approved the application in 1959 and the contract to build was won by W J Simms Sons & Cooke Ltd.{{cite PastScape|mnumber=1507684 |mname= Elmett Towers|access-date=23 August 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://fields.eca.ac.uk/gis/?p=2584|title=Tower Block|first=Miles|last=Glendinning|publisher=Fields|access-date=29 July 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328074920/http://fields.eca.ac.uk/gis/?p=2584|url-status=live}} In 1998, Swarcliffe Towers and Manston Towers were demolished. In 2007, Elmet Towers was also demolished.{{cite web|url=https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/buildingControlDetails.do;jsessionid=5BD5B83309C9F24C3E29A1F29BA685EA?previousCaseUprn=000072633458&previousCaseType=Property&previousKeyVal=IDG3MIJBS7033&activeTab=summary&previousCaseNumber=IDG3MIJBS7032&keyVal=JV1XV2JB08000|title=Building Control – Building Control Summary|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328052027/https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/buildingControlDetails.do;jsessionid=5BD5B83309C9F24C3E29A1F29BA685EA?previousCaseUprn=000072633458&previousCaseType=Property&previousKeyVal=IDG3MIJBS7033&activeTab=summary&previousCaseNumber=IDG3MIJBS7032&keyVal=JV1XV2JB08000|url-status=live}} An old people's home, Woodview Court,{{cite web|url=http://www.anchor.org.uk/our-services/service-search/Woodview/ServiceDetail/serviceid=1029|title=Woodview, Leeds|publisher=Anchor Trust|access-date=26 July 2011}} was built on the site of Swarcliffe Towers and Manston Towers, and new housing was built on the Elmet Towers site. The West Yorkshire Archaeological Service believes that the Elmet Towers site may contain the remains of medieval pottery, which was once manufactured there.

File:Hathaway Walk - Coal Road, Whinmoor - geograph.org.uk - 894871.jpg

Since Swarcliffe estate was built in the 1950s, and Whinmoor estate in the 1960s,{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2011/6/e02002358.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929023324/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2011/6/e02002358.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=Wellington Hill, Whinmoor and Red Hall|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=29 July 2011}} the southern part of Whinmoor is now within the Swarcliffe boundary.A small part of the Swarcliffe estate in the north-east is now within Seacroft Houses built in the Whinmoor area were mostly prefabricated terraces, along with seven partly prefabricated high-rise blocks: 44 metres high, with fifteen floors. The Leeds Neighbourhood Index, provided by Leeds City Council, states that the new boundary contains 38 per cent terraced housing, 37 per cent semi-detached and 22 per cent purpose-built flats:{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2011/6/e02002370.pdf|title=Leeds Neighbourhood Index|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=29 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929023334/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2011/6/e02002370.pdf|url-status=live}} 1,187 semi-detached homes, 873 terraced, 488 flats, 108 detached, 46 bungalows, and 28 maisonettes.{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2010/28/axciom_e02002370_swarcliffe.pdf|title=Household Demographics (Swarcliffe)|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=29 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929020202/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2010/28/axciom_e02002370_swarcliffe.pdf|url-status=live}}

Langbar Towers, next to a shopping parade, was the first of five 15-storey H-plan tower blocks to be completed at Whinmoor. The high rise blocks had reinforced concrete frames with no-fines concrete infill panels. The planning application was approved in 1964 and the first block, Langbar Towers, completed on 24 January 1966 was officially opened on 19 February 1966 by Denis Healey.{{cite PastScape|mnumber=1507775 |mname= Sherburn Croft|access-date=23 August 2011}} Ash Tree Court, Brayton Grange, Farndale Court, Langbar Grange, Langbar Towers and Pennwell Croft, six of seven high-rise blocks of flats built in 1966, were demolished in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/bdbsearch.php?cs=100&city=Leeds&so=completiondate&to=ASC|title=No. of entries in Leeds: 201|publisher=Skyscraper News|access-date=29 July 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/work_starts_on_163_113m_revamp_of_estate_1_2055391|title=Work starts on £113m revamp of estate|first=Howard|last=Williamson|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=27 July 2006 |access-date=29 July 2011}} Sherburn Court, the remaining high-rise block, was refurbished and given a new roof, windows and lifts.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/leeds_tower_block_s_new_lease_of_life_1_2210606|title=Leeds tower block's new lease of life

| work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=27 April 2009|access-date=29 July 2011}}

Yorkshire Transformations began a £100 million scheme to refurbish the area's housing began in 2006.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/yep-letters/163_100m_investment_for_swarcliffe_homes_1_2143368|title=£100m investment for Swarcliffe homes|first=Mark|last=Harris|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=29 July 2011|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=20 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920114203/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/yep-letters/163_100m_investment_for_swarcliffe_homes_1_2143368|url-status=live}}{{cite book |first1=Phil |last1=Jones|first2=Dorothy |last2=Moss |first3=Pat |last3=Tomlinson |page=190 |first4=Sue |last4=Welch|title=Childhood: services and provision for children|publisher=Longman |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4058-3257-1}} This Private finance initiative is a partnership between Leeds City Council, Carillion and the Bank of Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarcliffeppfi.co.uk/|title=Swarcliffe Housing Project|publisher=Yorkshire Transformation|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=24 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724123415/http://www.swarcliffeppfi.co.uk/|url-status=live}} In the late 2000s, Persimmon Homes built St Gregory's, seventy-three private houses east of Stanks Drive.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/estate_will_replace_tower_flats_1_2102346|title=Estate will replace tower flats|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=24 June 2005|access-date=29 July 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.persimmonhomes.com/st-gregorys-1794|title=St. Gregory's|publisher=Persimmon Homes|access-date=29 July 2011}}

File:Elmet Towers, Swarcliffe.jpg

File:Flats on Stanks Drive viewed from Stanks Cross, Swarcliffe, Leeds.jpg

File:Stanks Lane South - telephone box.jpg

File:Sherburn Court York Road 07 April 2017 01.jpg

{{update section|date=July 2016}}

Swarcliffe is in the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of the City of Leeds.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Denis Healey was the Labour Party MP for Leeds East, including Swarcliffe, from 1955 to 1992, when he was succeeded by George Mudie.{{cite web|url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Lcommons1.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813003354/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Lcommons1.htm|archive-date=13 August 2009|title= The House of Commons Constituencies beginning with "L"|first=Leigh |last=Rayment|publisher=Leigh Rayment|url-status=usurped|access-date=29 July 2011}}

File:Map of Swarcliffe, Leeds.JPG

The Swarcliffe housing estate is situated between the Seacroft, Whinmoor and Manston estates, and is bordered by the A64/York Road to the north, Barwick Road to the south, Cock Beck and Scholes to the east, and the A6120, Leeds Outer Ring Road to the west. The smaller Stanks estate is included in the Swarcliffe area. After the western part of the estate was built in the 1950s, Whinmoor estate was built to the east and north in the 1960s. After a boundary change, the southern part of Whinmoor (to the east of the original Swarcliffe estate) is now part of Swarcliffe.

The underlying rocks are coal measures towards the northern extremity of the Yorkshire coalfield containing shales, mudstones, sandstones and coal seams laid down in the Carboniferous period. The rock strata have a general dip towards the south and south-east.{{cite web |url= http://www.leedsgeolassoc.freeserve.co.uk/localgeol.html |title= Leeds Geological Association: local geology |year= 2009 |access-date= 10 August 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716030233/http://www.leedsgeolassoc.freeserve.co.uk/localgeol.html |archive-date= 16 July 2011 }}

Great Swarcliffe Wood, formerly Great Swarcliffe Plantation, which borders Swarcliffe Avenue, Eastwood Gardens, Swarcliffe Drive and Eastwood Drive, contains sycamore, oak and rowan trees, being approximately {{convert|260|yards|m}} long, and {{convert|170|yards|m}} wide. The Little Swarcliffe Wood, formerly Little Swarcliffe Plantation, borders Swarcliffe Drive, but can be accessed via Swarcliffe Bank. It has a collection of European trees, including sycamore, oak, ash, elm and lime. It is approximately {{convert|138|yards|m}} long, and {{convert|97|yards|m}} wide. Although the woods can be crossed along desire pathways, there are no official public rights of way.{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/fol/fol_21.html|title=Great and Little Swarcliffe Woods|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=26 July 2011}} Fed by the Grimes Dike from the north of York Road, the Cock Beck runs in a southerly direction past Swarcliffe and Stanks' eastern borders, and joins the River Wharfe to the south of Tadcaster.{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2008/39/lcc%20flood%20defence%20policy%20statement.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929122121/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2008/39/lcc%20flood%20defence%20policy%20statement.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=Policy Statement on Flood Defence|page=5|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=30 July 2011}}

{{Geographic location

|title =

|Northwest = Roundhay

|North = Whinmoor

|Northeast = Thorner

|West = Seacroft

|Centre = Swarcliffe

|East = Scholes, Barwick-in-Elmet

|Southwest = Killingbeck

|South = Manston, Cross Gates

|Southeast = Pendas Fields, Garforth

}}

{{Clear|left}}

Although the climate in Swarcliffe is generally relatively moderate, in 2011 it was reported that extreme winds had damaged the roofs of several flats in the Lombardy House block on Southwood Close. Structural engineers were called to inspect the damage.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-12365656|title=High winds damage roof of Swarcliffe flats|publisher=BBC|date=4 February 2011|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=7 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207152257/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-12365656|url-status=live}}

{{Weather box/concise C

| location=Swarcliffe/Seacroft (2011)

| source=World Weather

"Climate info for Swarcliffe"

World Weather, 30 July 2011, web:

[http://www.worldweatheronline.com/weather-averages/United-Kingdom/806139/Seacroft/819420/info.aspx worldweatheronline.com].

| 8|9|11|13|17|19|22|22|18|14|10|7

| 2.0 |3.0 |4.0 |5.0|7.0|10.0|13.0|13.0|10.0|7.0|4.0|2.0

| 41|46|40|55|43|61|46|44|55|65|62|69

}}

In 2009, the population of Swarcliffe was 6,751, of which 6,163 were considered to be "hard-pressed".{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.nhs.uk/mapping/JSNA/Atlases/PDF/E02002370.pdf|title=2009 Population ACORN Profile|publisher=CACI|year=2009|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328132742/http://www.leeds.nhs.uk/mapping/JSNA/Atlases/PDF/E02002370.pdf|url-status=dead}}

In the 2001 census Swarcliffe was recorded as having 4,819 Christians, 18 Sikhs, 17 Muslims, nine Buddhists, six Hindus and six Jews. The census recorded the ethnicity of the inhabitants: 6,303 White British, forty-seven Irish, thirty-two mixed race Black Caribbean and White, three mixed race Black African and White, thirteen mixed race Asian and White, twelve Indian, eleven Pakistani, three Black Caribbean, eleven Black African, and seven Chinese.

Swarcliffe School, on Swarcliffe Drive, was an infant (5 to 8-years-old) and junior school (8 to 11-years-old), but the junior section was demolished in the 2000s,{{cite web|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2003911_63514346|title=Swarcliffe Primary School|publisher=Leodis|access-date=28 July 2011}} and the school renamed Swarcliffe Primary School and Nursery.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarcliffeprimary.co.uk/index.asp|title=Swarcliffe Primary School and Nursery|publisher=Swarcliffe Primary|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004215644/http://www.swarcliffeprimary.co.uk/index.asp|url-status=live}}{{cite web |first=L. |last=Murphy |url=http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_reports/download/%28id%29/54116/%28as%29/107944_268018.pdf |title=Inspection Report: Swarcliffe Primary School and Nursery |publisher=Ofsted |date=5 May 2005 |access-date=9 October 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In the early 1960s, Oxfam made a colour film for its 21st anniversary about the pupils of Swarcliffe School, called Swarcliffe Junior School Presents Our Daily Bread, which featured pupils creating a stand for Leeds' Freedom From Hunger exhibition.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/video_hunt_for_stars_of_1960s_leeds_school_film_1_2238623|title=Video: Hunt for stars of 1960s Leeds school film|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=3 February 2010|access-date=29 July 2011}}

In September 1964, St. Gregory's Catholic Primary School opened on Stanks Gardens to accommodate the overflow of children from St Theresa's Primary School in Cross Gates, which is {{convert|0.9|mi|km|0}}, to the south. In 1989, the school moved to the former St. Kevin's Secondary modern school premises on Barwick Road.{{cite web|url=http://www.st-theresas.co.uk/parish-history.php|title=History of the Parish|publisher=St. Theresa's Church, Cross Gates, Leeds|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328055748/http://www.st-theresas.co.uk/parish-history.php|url-status=live}} The school closed in 2008 and was demolished in late 2009. The old school became St Gregory's Youth & Adult Centre, offering adult education classes, older people's services, child care, a Youth Service, and the Swarcliffe Good Neighbours Scheme which was established in 1994.{{cite web|url=http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgOutsideBodyDetails.aspx?ID=378|title=Swarcliffe Good Neighbours Scheme|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=29 July 2011|archive-date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006210852/http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgOutsideBodyDetails.aspx?ID=378|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sgns.org.uk/|title=Welcome to the SGNS Website|publisher=sgns|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=13 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313120206/http://www.sgns.org.uk/|url-status=live}}In 2010, 600 people signed a petition to prevent the closure of the centre. Grimes Dyke Primary School was built in the late 1960s in the north eastern part of Swarcliffe.{{cite web|url=http://www.grimesdyke.leeds.sch.uk/index.asp|title=Grimes Dyke Primary School|publisher=Grimes Dyke Primary School|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=2 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302075915/http://www.grimesdyke.leeds.sch.uk/index.asp|url-status=live}} In a 2008 census, it was reported that 1,419 children lived in the Swarcliffe area.

Swarcliffe Children's Centre is a privately owned day nursery, on Langbar Road (behind The Staging Post public house),{{cite web |url=http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/daynursery.cfm/searchazref/50004009LANA |title=Swarcliffe Children's Centre |publisher=Day Nurseries |access-date=23 December 2012 |archive-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427171543/http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/daynursery.cfm/searchazref/50004009LANA |url-status=live }} and the Tykes Pre-School Playgroup is situated in the St Gregory's Y & A Centre,

Stank Gardens.{{cite web |url=http://www.educationvacancies.com/schools/school_profile/schoolname/Tykes%20Pre-School%20Playgroup/rid/46764/ |title=Tykes Pre-School Playgroup |publisher=Education Vacancies Ltd |year=2009 |access-date=23 December 2012 |archive-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331062725/http://www.educationvacancies.com/schools/school_profile/schoolname/Tykes%20Pre-School%20Playgroup/rid/46764/ |url-status=live }}

St Luke's Church is in the parish of Seacroft and part of the Seacroft Team Ministry, a group of Anglican churches in Seacroft, Whinmoor and Swarcliffe.{{cite web|url=http://www.seacroftparish.org.uk/|title=The Seacroft Team Ministry|publisher=WordPress|access-date=7 August 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328055842/http://www.seacroftparish.org.uk/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Swarcliffe: St Luke, Swarcliffe|url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/swarcliffe-st-luke/|work=A church near you|access-date=6 August 2011|archive-date=5 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005101836/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/swarcliffe-st-luke/|url-status=live}} The parish is in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds.{{cite web|title=Parish of Seacroft Team Ministry|url=http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/directory_parish_info.php?id=132|work=Diocese of Ripon and Leeds|access-date=7 August 2011|archive-date=28 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928063327/http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/directory_parish_info.php?id=132|url-status=live}} Funds to build the church were provided by the Lilley family, who were connected with the Samuel Smith Old Brewery in Tadcaster. The church was designed by M. J. Farmer and built in 1963, with stone taken from Ripon Cathedral being used to support the altar.{{cite web|url=http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/020_2008WEB.pdf|title=Religion and Place in Leeds|first=John|last=Minnis|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=2 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323162640/http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/020_2008WEB.pdf|archive-date=23 March 2012}} Swarcliffe Baptist Church, opposite Swarcliffe Primary School and Nursery, was used as a classroom when the school suffered from overcrowding.{{cite web|url=http://www.swarcliffebaptistchurch.org.uk/|title=Welcome to the Swarcliffe Baptist Church, Leeds web site|publisher=Swarcliffe Baptist Church|access-date=28 July 2011}} Stanks Methodist Church on Barwick Road was opened on 23 February 1869 by Primitive Methodists, but the building was closed and the congregation disbanded in 2007.{{cite web|title=Spring Synod 2007 Agenda|url=http://www.leedsmethodist.org.uk/synod_agenda_2007.htm|work=Methodist Church – Leeds District|access-date=6 August 2011|archive-date=20 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820061249/http://www.leedsmethodist.org.uk/synod_agenda_2007.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/9303.html|title=Stanks Methodist Church|first=Arthur|last=Bantoft|publisher=Barwick-in-Elmet Historical Society|access-date=8 August 2011}}

St Gregory's Catholic Church (Swarcliffe Drive, opposite Southwood Gate), formally called St Gregory the Great Church,{{cite web|title=St. Gregory The Great|url=http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/d_parishes/searchparish.php?keywords=gregory|work=Diocese of Leeds|access-date=6 August 2011|archive-date=1 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001043618/http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/d_parishes/searchparish.php?keywords=gregory|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/PhotoFrames/WRY/SwarcliffeStGregoryTheGreatRC_2.html |title=St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church |publisher=Genuki |access-date=19 August 2008 |archive-date=10 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010215926/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/PhotoFrames/WRY/SwarcliffeStGregoryTheGreatRC_2.html |url-status=live }} is in the Catholic Diocese of Leeds. The land on which it stands was bought in 1954, but before building work started, Mass was held in the priest's council house, with confessions taken through the dining hatch of the kitchen. The first church on the site, a red brick hall opened on 11 October 1956, is now occupied by St Gregory's Social Club. On 12 March 1970, an octagonal church of modern design, by A. G. Pritchard Son & Partners, was opened next to the original church. It has simple bench seating for 335 worshippers, and stained glass windows designed by Jerzy Faczynski and a ceramic relief by Adam Kossowski.{{Cite web |title=Leeds (Swarcliffe) - St Gregory the Great |url=https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/leeds-st-gregory-the-great/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Taking Stock |language=en-GB}} St Gregory's Social Club hosts meetings of the Swarcliffe and Stanks' Residents and Tenants' Association.{{cite web|url=http://www.avhleeds.org.uk/files/SSEHL/2008/24/local%20area%20information%20-%20swarcliffe.pdf|title=Local Area Information| publisher=avh Leeds|access-date=1 August 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/yep-letters/fighting_back_1_2256098|title=Fighting back|first=Peter|last=Thorpe|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=30 September 2003|access-date=1 August 2011}}

File:St Gregory RC Church Swarcliffe April 2017 01.jpg|St Gregory's Church

File:St Luke's Church Swarcliffe April 2017.jpg|St Luke's Church (closed 2012)

File:Swarcliffe Baptist Church April 2017 01.jpg|Swarcliffe Baptist Church

File:CollageSwarcliffepubs.jpgs]]

Unil 2002, when the north row was demolished, Swarcliffe Parade had two rows of shops.{{cite web|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2003911_18386477|title=Swarcliffe Parade, Swarcliffe|publisher=Leodis|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916201605/http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2003911_18386477|url-status=live}} {{As of|2011}}, the remaining parade consists of a Chinese takeaway,{{cite web|url=http://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-tungyingls14/menu?gclid=CNSSxbfzn6oCFcWJDgod6UgW6A|title=Tung Ying|publisher=Just-Eat|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=15 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915120431/http://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-tungyingls14/menu?gclid=CNSSxbfzn6oCFcWJDgod6UgW6A|url-status=live}} a newsagent and off-licence,{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/a_superstar_is_born_1_2146439|title=A superstar is born|first=Jayne|last=Dawson|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=17 February 2006|access-date=27 July 2011}} a minimarket,{{cite web|url=http://www.leedsonline.co.uk/info/6035/|title=Food King Superstores|publisher=Leeds Online|access-date=27 July 2011}} a bakery, and a betting shop.{{cite web|url=https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/propertyDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=005NH4JBLI000|title=Property History|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328052058/https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/propertyDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=005NH4JBLI000|url-status=live}} {{As of|2011}}, Stanks Parade has a newsagent, a fish-and-chip shop and a unisex hairdresser.{{cite web|url=http://www.118.com/biz/6231134.mvc/leeds-ladies-hairdressers-unisex-salons-jamnian-wool|title=Jamnian Wool|publisher=118|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006191339/http://www.118.com/biz/6231134.mvc/leeds-ladies-hairdressers-unisex-salons-jamnian-wool|url-status=live}} A parade of shops and a post office on Langbar Gardens was closed in 2004.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/save_our_shops_beg_estate_residents_1_2275220|title='Save our shops' beg estate residents|first=David|last=Marsh|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=29 December 2004|access-date=29 July 2011}}

File:Stanks Parade Shops April 2017.jpg

The Squinting Cat public house, once known as the John Smeaton after the 18th-century civil engineer from nearby Austhorpe.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:U85nqL7XL18J:www.kirkstallward.net/west/appendixF.pdf+Squinting+Cat+Swarcliffe&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESguYts97l2MvJrXHqCsRylnuByCRwX4x8XHSPHSf3oI9tODmCLS5UZCqNuMJlgWo2hnPLFsFunbIITz9alNdW4edJ4xsLkzkwOKyqYXKQl_w-0EREMAJq_Hplo5qkml73zEZDbn&sig=AHIEtbT76hz60qllKufahnCoTvEPw9Sccg&pli=1|title=Capital Receipts – Sites scheduled for disposal 2008/09 to 2012/13|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=9 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109114607/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:U85nqL7XL18J:www.kirkstallward.net/west/appendixF.pdf+Squinting+Cat+Swarcliffe&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESguYts97l2MvJrXHqCsRylnuByCRwX4x8XHSPHSf3oI9tODmCLS5UZCqNuMJlgWo2hnPLFsFunbIITz9alNdW4edJ4xsLkzkwOKyqYXKQl_w-0EREMAJq_Hplo5qkml73zEZDbn&sig=AHIEtbT76hz60qllKufahnCoTvEPw9Sccg&pli=1|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/calls-for-problem-leeds-pub-to-be-torn-down-1-5661548|title=Calls for problem Leeds pub to be torn down|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=12 May 2013|archive-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607114250/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/calls-for-problem-leeds-pub-to-be-torn-down-1-5661548|url-status=live}} The Whinmoor public house was closed in December 2010, and re-opened three years (2012) later as a pub, but also offers self-defence classes for ages of all which is placed on the left hand side of the building.{{cite web|url=http://www.novaloca.com/property-details/41330?search=true|title=Long Leasehold Public House For Sale|publisher=NovaLoca|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=5 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005013124/http://www.novaloca.com/property-details/41330?search=true|url-status=live}} Swarcliffe Working Men's Club, a members only club, was built in the 1960s, in 2011 it had 1,700 members.{{cite web|url=http://swarcliffewmc.co.uk/aboutus.aspx|title=Swarcliffe WMC|publisher=Swarcliffe WMC|access-date=26 July 2011|archive-date=30 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830091227/http://swarcliffewmc.co.uk/aboutus.aspx|url-status=live}} St. Gregory's Social Club was next to St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church and was closed in 2011.{{cite web|url= http://www.yell.com/b/St.+Gregory%27s+Social+Club-Clubs+and+Associations-Leeds-LS145AW-417586/index.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130210093526/http://www.yell.com/b/St.+Gregory's+Social+Club-Clubs+and+Associations-Leeds-LS145AW-417586/index.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 10 February 2013 |title=St. Gregory's Social Club|publisher=Yell|access-date=1 August 2011}}{{clarify|date=August 2011}} The Staging Post public house is on Swarcliffe Avenue/Whinmoor Way.{{cite web|url=http://www.useyourlocal.com/pubs/LS14+5NE/staging-post/q/ref-64148/|title=Staging Post, Whinmoor|publisher=UseYourLocal Ltd|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320145616/http://www.useyourlocal.com/pubs/LS14%205NE/staging-post/q/ref-64148/|url-status=live}}

The nearest rail station is Cross Gates station. Buses in Swarcliffe are provided by First Leeds.{{cite web|url=http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/leeds/|title=Welcome to First in Leeds| publisher=FirstGroup plc. |access-date=2 August 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.travelfor.co.uk/West_Yorkshire/Swarcliffe/|title=Travel For West Yorkshire|publisher=Travel For|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=26 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326005619/http://www.travelfor.co.uk/West_Yorkshire/Swarcliffe/|url-status=live}} The nearest international airport is Leeds Bradford Airport, which is {{convert|12.4|mi|km|0}} away.{{cite web|url=http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/|title=Leeds Bradford International Airport|publisher=Leeds Bradford International Airport Company|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508172505/https://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/|url-status=live}}

Built in 1973, Stanks Fire Station on Sherburn Road is manned by 24 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters.{{cite web|url=http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/stations/stanks|title=Stanks (Fire Station)|publisher=West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=9 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709034103/http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/stations/stanks|url-status=live}}

Policing is provided by West Yorkshire Police, operating from Killingbeck police station.{{cite web |url=http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/npt/division.asp?id=21 |title=West Yorkshire Police ::: Neighbourhood Policing ::: |year=2011 |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717004343/http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/npt/Division.asp?id=21 |url-status=live }}

There are currently{{when|date=November 2024}} no dentists' practices or doctors' surgeries in the Swarcliffe area, although the Windmill Health Centre is just outside the north-west boundary, on Mill Green View.

Leeds City Council provides all local authority services in the area.{{cite web|url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/|title=Leeds City Council|year=2011|access-date=22 August 2011|archive-date=28 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110328041218/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/|url-status=live}} It decided to close Swarcliffe library in 2011 and replace it with a mobile service.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13448937|title=Leeds City Council to close 13 libraries|publisher=BBC|date=19 May 2011 |access-date=2 August 2011}}

East Leeds FM was started in 2003, by students from John Smeaton Community College in neighbouring Manston.{{cite web|url=http://www.elfm.co.uk/|title=elfm|publisher=East Leeds FM|access-date=30 July 2011|archive-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728190448/http://www.elfm.co.uk/|url-status=live}}

• Norman Harding (1929-2013), trade unionist, socialist and author{{cite book |first=Norman |last=Harding |title=Staying Red: Why I Remain a Socialist|publisher=Index Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-871518-25-2}}

File:AAASwarcliffeCRIME.jpg

In 2008, a Swarcliffe man posted more than eighty videos of his anti-social behaviour on YouTube, including high-speed road races, verbal abuse, trespassing, apparent theft and also illegal use of class A drugs. He was described as "Leeds' dumbest criminal".{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-05-22/dumbest-criminal-banned-from-uploading-crime-videos/2445422|title='Dumbest criminal' banned from uploading crime videos|date=22 May 2008|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=15 September 2020|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811052602/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-05-22/dumbest-criminal-banned-from-uploading-crime-videos/2445422|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7412381.stm |website=BBC News| date=21 May 2008| title='Dumbest criminal' records crimes| access-date=24 November 2024}}

In 2010, a Swarcliffe smuggler was jailed for avoiding £1.5 million duty on cigarettes hidden in shipments of plastic bags and storage shelves.{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/leeds_cigarette_smuggler_jailed_1_3013300|title=Leeds cigarette smuggler jailed|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=20 October 2010|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-date=20 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920095231/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/leeds_cigarette_smuggler_jailed_1_3013300|url-status=live}}

In 2011, a Swarcliffe drug dealer was jailed for bribing others to confess to her own crimes.{{cite news |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/scourge-of-estate-drug-dealer-tried-to-make-addict-take-blame-1935270 |title='Scourge of estate' drug dealer tried to make addict take blame |date=14 April 2011 |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Yorkshire Post}}

{{Reflist|group="NB"}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}

• {{cite book |title=The Municipal Journal, Volume 70, Issues 3594–3606|publisher=Great Britain, Ministry of Housing and Local Government |year=1962 |ref={{SfnRef|Journal|1962}}}}
• {{cite book |first=Albert Hugh |last=Smith |title=The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire: Lower & Upper Strafforth and Staincross wapentakes |publisher=The University Press|year=1961 }}

{{Commons category|Swarcliffe}}

Category:Places in Leeds