Wakefield
- This is about the English city of Wakefield. For other uses, see Wakefield (disambiguation).
Wakefield is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Leeds, and by the River Calder. Its population was 74,764 in 1991. Today it forms part of the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough. The town was a centre for cloth dealing and had its own Piece Hall. The cathedral was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Its name is often said to derive from "Wacca's field" -- the field belonging to Wacca. However, it is more likely to have evolved from Old English wacu, meaning "a watch or wake", and feld, an open field in which a wake was held (Reaney, 1964, p.161). In the Domesday Book in 1086, it was listed as Wachefeld (Mills, 1998, p. 361).
Cheapside is the longest continuous street of woolstaplers' warehouses in England.
In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated near this city (then a town) in the Battle of Wakefield.
Famous people born in or near Wakefield include:
Famous songs regarding Wakefield include:
- "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" - about Wakefield Gaol
- "Grand Old Duke of York" - regarding the battle at Sandal Castle, Wakefield
