The name Tingley is first attested in the thirteenth century, and on through the Middle Ages, in forms such as Thinglaw, and Tinglawe in 1608. The name comes from Old Englishþing and hlāw. Thus it was probably the meeting place for Morley Wapentake. Just to the north of Tingley, at the northern end of East and West Ardsley parish, lies Dunningley, whose name is first attested around 1200 in the forms Duninglau and Duninglaue. Like Tingley and Ardsley, this came comes from a personal name followed by Old English hlǣw. In this case the name was Dun, and was followed by the element -ing- which in this instance is an Old English suffix indicating the connection between the name-bearer and the landscape feature. Thus the name once meant 'Dun's hill' or 'Dun's mound'.
Governance
Tingley was part of the Ardsley Urban district 1894–1937, which also included West Ardsley and East Ardsley and was then part of Morley Municipal borough 1937–1974. The village once formed part of the former Municipal Borough of Morley, and is still classed as part of Morley in the census. However, it is technically separate, and is not governed by Morley Town Council. Tingley is split into two Leeds City Council wards, Morley South and Ardsley and Robin Hood. Both elect three city councillors to the council. It is in the Morley and Outwood parliamentary constituency.
Culture and community
Until recently a semi-rural location, Tingley has seen much residential development over the last twenty five years, as it is only five miles south of Leeds City Centre. Close by to the east along the A650 is West Ardsley and East Ardsley, and Woodkirk to the south. The coal and woollen industries which provided much employment until well after World War II have now completely disappeared and Tingley is essentially a dormitory suburb. Within a five-mile radius of the settlement lie the town centres of Morley, Leeds, Batley, Dewsbury, Ossett and Wakefield. Tingley is also home to Tingley Athletic JFC. The club traditionally play in white and green stripes with black shorts and green socks, and have had a number of players go on to play at professional and semi-professional level. The club play at their home ground, The Crescent, which has changing rooms, showers, 2 Full sized football pitches, a 3/4 sized football pitch, and 3 7 a-side football pitches. Close by at the start of the A653 to Leeds is the main transmitter for Radio Aire, and also the studios of Heart Yorkshire. The Leeds branch of the Available Car chain of used car hypermarkets is also in Tingley, and is part of the Capitol Park development site. Tingley has had several public houses, including the former White Bear, now demolished and the New Scarborough. The former Bull's Head has now been closed and turned into housing. There are two more public houses in East and West Ardsley: The Hare and Hounds off Heybeck Lane and The British Oak off Westerton Road. Tingley has several places to Worship, including Tingley Methodist Church, on Westerton Road next to Westerton Academy, Hope Church, currently on Thirlmere Drive and West Ardsley Methodist Church, on Haigh Moor Road just off Batley Road.
Transport
Tingley is perhaps best known for its eponymous roundabout, at the junction of the M62 motorway and the A653 and the A650. Until major traffic light and lane works were undertaken in the early 2000s, this roundabout was the worst in the Leeds area for accidents. Tingley was intended to be the southern terminus of the main line of the now shelved Leeds Supertram project.
Railway past
Tingley was once served by its own railway station, which was located on the old now long closed ex-Great Northern railway line that ran from Ardsley Junction to Laisterdyke and opened to traffic in 1857. The station was also a junction station on the also now closed Batley to Beeston loop line in-between. Tingley railway station closed to passengers in 1954, and later to freight in 1964, with the line itself closing to all rail traffic in May 1969. The site of the former railway station has long been demolished, along with the Dewsbury Road bridge abutment. The former adjacent station lane which crossed of Dewsbury Road, and lead up to the station is what remains of the latter. Along the former ex-Great Northern loop line towards Beeston Junction, lies the now long disused Tingley Viaduct, this historic structure once carried the long closed down Batley-Beeston loop line en route.
Notable people
In June 1980, Zigmund Adamski, a coal miner at Lofthouse Colliery approaching retirement, set off from Tingley to go shopping in Wakefield. He was never seen alive again. His body was found on top of a mound of coal near Todmorden. He had died of a heart attack. The police were unable to understand why and how he died. His death has been claimed to have the hallmarks of a UFO incident. David Batty, who played for Leeds United and Newcastle United as well as England, is one of the most famous players to start off at Tingley Athletic.
