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New Cottingley Housing
The Ring Road and the Crematorium
The beginning of housing for Cottingley really starts with the great changes made to the area in the previous century with two railway routes, one reducing the farm estate to the west and in the twentieth century the construction of the Ring Road and Crematorium to the east. And finally the clearance of cottages and Cottingley Hall farm to build a small housing estate.
But Beeston Ring Road didn't 'happen overnight', it was built in stages. Before 1927, Royds Lane was a dirt track from Elland Road Chain Bar, London-line railway bridge (now Leyland Way) to a Near Royds Mill and yard (M621 junction 1 roundabout), off this yard east was Millshaw beck and west was a terrace of cottages, and at the other side of the mill was another dirt track leading to the Wheatsheaf Inn on Gelderd Road. In 1927, 'slag' from the old Drysalters pit was used to build a two carriageway road from the bottom of Crow Nest Lane, over the site of dis-used Lee Pit, passing alongside Near Royds Mill to Gelderd Road.
Mrs W. Thompson of Moortown remembers, "the Drysalters Arms and the terrace house opposite, with their cellar kitchens and steps up to their front doors. Policeman called Eagle lived in the terrace when I went to school in 1907. Also remember the beck (Royds Lane) and two pit hills, how we had to pick bits of coal too, in the Strike".
Mr John Kay of Cottingley told me, "in the 1926 Strike, mother-in-law and young men from Churwell came digging for coal there, she said it was hard work but they had fun as well. There were four houses with about five steps to go up".
Mrs Irene Nichols of Bramley described how "Mankins & Eccles lived here, Harry Mankin was a monumental mason outside Holbeck Cemetry".
"We used to go 'johnnying' searching for what looked like coal to burn, lots of people came from all around to do this, it would be during the Depression, in the early 1930's".
Later in 1935, this road was extended from Crow Nest Lane to Dewsbury Road cutting through Cottingley meadows east of Elland Road and cutting Millshaw, it incorporated a little of Elland Road (seen in the photo view above). The crematorium was built in the same year, a newspaper reported:
Cottingley Hall
New Municipal Cemetry for Leeds on Estate of Historic Cottingley Hall
A portion of the old Cottingley Hall Esate between Leeds and Morley is to be consecrated as a cemetry on October 19th. The cemetry will cover an area of nearly four acres of land which the Leeds Corporation bought from the West Riding Company and which for many years was in the possession of the Low Moor Colliery Company. The Estate has an interesting history that centres chiefly on Cottingley Hall, an old house of Elizabethan character. The Hall, now a farm stands on the rise of the meadows on the right-hand side of the tram route from Leeds to Churwell. The Bishop of Knaresborough will perform the ceremony of consecrating the new cemetry and the Lord Mayor of Leeds (Dr. Hawkyard) and members of the City Council will attend.
Mr Raine was one of the first residents in new housing on Cottingley, he told me "I was away but my wife bought produce from Cottingley farm. I don't remember any farm cottages but from Churwell to Royds was a popular walk for courting couples. I've lived here since those houses were built and I remember them closing the far track and extending out cul-de-sac as Cottingley Drive for the pre-fabs. Many iron railings found around the farm fields were removed in the War from Cottingley. Between here and the cemetry were allotments used by many from Beeston. Below the allotments, coming down Elland Road, there was a football pitch at one time but it was often water-logged. Then it was used a a tip and beneath the raised and stepped area now, there lies the wreck of a car".
Rev. John Oliver of Beeston told me, "I lived in those houses as a child and I recall a fire at Cottingley Farm".
Mr C. Woods of South Milford wrote about the "allotments were there and belonged as much in the area in my time (1935) as the farm and terrace house in front of the Drysalters, sited at the traffic roundabout in front of the crematorium gates. The allotments were just below the old pit stack, now Cottingley flats".
In the corner of Crow Nest Lane bend off Elland Road, was the old site of the inn named after the drysalter who worked there and ceased trade in 1830. There was also a coal pit closeby. In 1892, a Tannery works belonging to the Lee family was set up behind the inn, directly at the bottom of Crow Nest Lane, utilising Millshaw beck, by 1908 the factory was in dis-use. It later belonged to Kraft & Hornings of Crow Nest House who started an animal by-products firm. Crow Nest Lane is a notable steep hill and in 1917, Rev. W. Nutley's bicycle brakes failed and he hurtled down the hill and crashed into the tannery wall at the bottom and was killed. By the 1950's, a new Drysalters pub had been built in a back-paddock further south where the beck originally flowed close to Elland Road (see the Ring Road photo above, the white cottage left is probably the old Drysalters). Kraft & Hornings had moved out and a transport firm used Crow Nest House.Mrs May Entwhistle of Manchester remembered, "the Krafts were interned in the First World War, as they were Germans. I went to school with some of the Hornings children, believe Fanny Tuppling (Cottingley farm cottages) was the one who married Horning's son. I remember the vicar who was killed one afternoon".
Mr Alf Inman of Churwell recalled the First World War hysteria, "Kraft and Hornings, both German, interred in the First World War, Belgians also from Churwell. They dealt in tripe. George Horning, a son married one of the Tuppling family".
Mrs Ingham of Cottingley said, "I don't know if it's true, but it was said Mr Entwhistle was related to Kraft & Hornings, that owned the sausage skin works at the Drysalters. On a fine day, skins and guts could be seen stretched on frames drying outside, ready to be put into tennis raquets. Has anyone commented about the big stone bird over the portals of the house? It was said to be a German eagle and during the First World War, someone went and smashed it up. I was only nine years old, when the war finished, my mother said it was a crow, because it was at the bottom of Crow Nest Lane. It must have been the Horning family someone wanted to get at. My auntie used to work in their factory, she wore clogs and 'harding' sacks for aprons to keep her dry. She used to walk home to Churwell, because no one would sit against them in the tram".
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, Aug 7 2007, 7:40 AM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| Steve01 | Cottingley memories | 0 | Aug 3 2007, 7:23 PM EDT by Steve01 | |
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Thread started: Aug 3 2007, 7:23 PM EDT
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Please ask any older people for their memories of Cottingley and add their comments to this page. thank you. Steve Morrell - author.
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