Wakefield is a city by the River Calder, in the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Its population was 76,886 in 2001. The city's boundaries are subject to a wide range of definitions,[LINK: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10472878&c_id=10001043] Map of Historical Boundaries and it is not clear what definition the census was using in its calculations. Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages. Etymology The name "Wakefield" is often said to derive from "Waca's field" - the field belonging to Waca. 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. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was listed as Wachefeld. History In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, the D