Leeds Local History Wiki - Recently Updated Pageshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/pageSearch/updatedRecently Updated Pages on http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.comen-usinfo@wetpaint.comWed, 07 May 2008 09:11:35 CDTWed, 07 May 2008 09:11:35 CDTwetpaint.com60Leeds Local History Wikihttp://image.wetpaint.com/image/1/nO-0QQT1k7C3fZ9FuFDZdA55553http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.comLeeds local history wiki west yorkshire.Add your own local history and memories of paces in the Leeds area, add your own photographs of the area and check out some of the places near where you liveLeeds at Warhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Leeds+at+Warmichelelefevrehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Leeds+at+WarWed, 07 May 2008 09:11:35 CDT
Just before the war... This is not intended to be a history of Leeds during World War Two, rather a look at some aspects of life during that time. It was inspired by two things – the many photographs on the Leodis web-site depicting life in Leeds during the war years, and also the accounts of events as reported in the local newspapers, such as the Yorkshire Evening News. They give a fascinating insight into what life was like in Leeds during the war – how people coped, what was going on politically and how we celebrated the end of the war. Much of the information in this account has come from the back copies of the Yorkshire Evening News.

Before the war even started, Hitler deprived Leeds of a couple of interesting buildings by his actions. Not many people today are aware that the current plans to build a skyscraper in Leeds are by no means the first time that this idea has been put forward. Plans were afoot in the late 30s to build a skyscraper on Briggate, showing that Leeds was a city with aspirations even then! The plans were deposited with Leeds Corporation on 8th March 1938, and were for a skyscraper of 23 storeys, twice as high as the Queen’s Hotel. The plot of land was where Marks and Spencer’s is now, and would have covered more than 3,000 square yards, with a frontage of 86 feet. It would have affected 50 to 60 tenancies, including the old Rialto cinema, which was, in the end, demolished to make way for the store. The intention was to demolish all existing buildings on the site, and cover the whole plot with a huge building, the chief characteristic of which was its height. It was claimed that, if built, it would be the tallest building in Yorkshire.The plans for this project were carried out in much secrecy, but it was rumoured that the new building would be occupied by well-known retail outlets, which makes it sound very much like an early shopping mall!


Hitler also deprived Leeds of a new Civic and Cultural Centre which was to have been built on the site of the existing library and art gallery, and would have extended across to Cookridge Street. It was to have housed the Library and Art Gallery, and the City Museum which was then housed on Park Row. The Libraries committee was very excited about these plans, and congratulated the architect, John Proctor, on his clean, modern design. There seems to be no doubt that the plans would have gone ahead, had not WW2 put a halt to them, and it would have meant the demolition of the Central Library and Art Gallery, which would have been a great loss to the city. The full potential and beauty of the Central Library can now be seen in the newly restored Tiled Hall.

In 1936, building work began on the famous Quarry Hill Flats, which were a symbol of the future for many Leeds people. Happily the war did not, at least, deprive us of them, however, short-lived they may have been. They were hailed as a modern miracle of housing and were inspired by the Karl Marx Hof in Vienna. They were built to replace some of the worst slums in Europe, and there is no doubt that they were infinitely better than the old back-to-backs they replaced. They were clean, warm, comfortable, and almost completely self-contained, with laundry rooms, a state-of-the-art waste disposal system, a communal restaurant, and safe play areas for the children. There is also a nice, if apocryphal story, that Hitler intended to use the flats as the military HQ for the German High Command in the event of a German invasion. Sadly, there is no evidence for this story. They were certainly used as temporary barracks for soldiers at the beginning of the war. Unfortunately, they developed serious and costly structural faults, and were eventually demolished in the 1970s. In this photograph, people are queueing up to have a look at look at the inside of the new flats.

Taking shelter. Air raid shelters soon became an inescapable fact of life for the civilian population. Coal cellars and basements were converted, and specially made shelters, such as the Anderson shelter, were called into use. According to public records, many householders in Leeds were not very impressed with the notion of having an air raid shelter, and initially refused to have them, but then, as soon as the raids began, demanded that the council provide them forthwith!

One Leeds couple, Mr. And Mrs. Horace Fawcett of Cardigan Avenue, Burley, were held up by the ARP as shining examples of resourcefulness and ingenuity. Their shelter was a strengthened coal cellar, and the Fawcetts had obviously gone to great pains to make it comfortable. When members of the ARP came to inspect this shelter, they found the walls neatly papered, electric lighting and a heater installed, chairs and a table, and pictures on the wall, with a cot for the baby in the corner. “It is a grand piece of work” was the comment of Cllr. HW Sellars, ARP chairman, “We only wish that other people would make the same sort of effort instead of rushing to the corporation with trivial complaints”.

At the time, the council was getting many complaints from ratepayers, about the lack of amenities in the public shelters. To be fair, the people of Leeds had a point – the public air raid shelters, such as the ones in City Square, were spartan in the extreme. Most public shelters were built of brick, with a thick concrete roof, and inside were divided up into rough ‘dormitories’ in which up to six bunk-beds would be installed. These shelters were built to accommodate thousands of people, so you can imagine what living cheek by jowl with complete strangers would be like!

Coal cellars were by no means the only sort of domestic shelter to be had. The Anderson shelter was the brain child of the then Home Secretary, John Anderson. He was concerned about the vulnerability of ordinary householders in their homes during bombing raids, and presented the problem to the engineers William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison, who came up with a blueprint in less than a week, and a model in two weeks.

The Anderson Shelter could hold up to six people, and was made of six corrugated curved steel sheets, with two ends pieces for the back and front. It was sunk into the ground, and covered with a thick layer of soil. It was said that this type of shelter could withstand anything but a direct hit. The shelters were given free to people who earned under £250 per year, and were £7.00 to everyone else. Morrison shelters were another solution for the householder, particularly for those who did not have a garden, or for whom an Anderson Shelter was impractical for other reasons. Morrison Shelters were designed to be used indoors, and were table-shaped, with wire mesh sides which could be removed if you wished to use the shelter as a table. Underneath, a mattress and bedding would be placed, and the householder would crawl in and settle down for the night

Public shelters began to proliferate. This photo was taken after the war, and shows how City Square had been transformed for the duration by these ugly buildings. Plans were made to demolish public air raid shelters as soon as the war was over, and this City Engineers photo would have been taken just prior to demolition work.







Bombing raids Leeds got off relatively lightly for bomb damage – certainly compared to cities such as Coventry and London. There were nine bombing raids in all, between 25th August 1940 and 28th August 1942 Many families were made homeless in the bombing raid of 1st September 1940.

Here we see a house on Easterly Road with its doors and windows blown out, but otherwise relatively undamaged. Repairs to such a house would have been carried out fairly quickly so that the family could move back in. In the meantime, they would go and live with friends or relatives, or transferred to other accommodation nearby. The early hours after the raid would have been spent in a nearby local church or chapel, or other community building.
On the same night, a block of working class flats were bombed, and later on, as repairs were started, the head of the Corporation Housing Department expressed his satisfaction at how well the flats had withstood the blast. He said “Close examination shows little, if any damage, to the superstructure”. Another bomb went off in the middle of a group of houses 30 hours after it had dropped. It had buried itself 4ft deep, which minimised the effect of the blast. Even so, one house completely disappeared and others were severely damaged. The occupants had already been evacuated, and the only casualty was a woman suffering from shock.






This photo illustrates how randomly bomb damage affected buildings. No 11, Cliff Side Gardens was neatly sliced in half in the bombing raid of April 1941. The damaged half was subsequently rebuilt to match its original appearance down to the last brick.





Leeds Town Hall was bombed in the so-called Quarter Blitz of 15th March 1941. This was one of the worst raids suffered by the city. The newspapers however, were very secretive about which towns had been hit, simply referring to “A North East inland town”. This was no doubt due to the strict censorship that was in force, although it seems a little naïve to suppose that the Germans did not know where and what they had bombed! The press was at pains to emphasise what a magnificent job the fire brigade and the AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service) had done, bringing the fires under control in remarkably short time. Whether this was true or not we don't know, but even if it wasn't, the best possible spin was always put on these reports, so as to boost the morale of the beleaguered civilians.

The report (from the YEN), goes on to describe how the public and their rescuers were laughing and smiling throughout their ordeal. A German communiqué at the time claimed attacks on Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Tilbury Docks, Plymouth and Southampton.



Food and rationing Ration books were first issued in October 1939, although rationing did not actually begin until 8th January 1940. It was meant to start in October 1939, but the Daily Express began a “Stop Rationing” campaign, which meant that it was postponed for several weeks. Here, we see women preparing the ration books for the people of Leeds. Some typical weekly rations for one person were: 4oz bacon per week, 2-4oz tea, 1-8oz cheese, 8oz sugar.

An advertising campaign in 1943 had this memorable little ditty:

Someone's going to be sorry

Someone's going to pay

Someone's going to be sorry

They wasted my life away.

This was accompanied by a picture of a tablet of soap dissolving down the sink because it had been left in water!


The scarcity of food made the new ‘British Restaurants’ popular with the public. These were industrial-style canteens set up by local authorities with money loaned by the Ministry of Food. The food they served was “off ration”, and were a cheap and popular alternative to eating at home. In the early days of the war, the rich few were still able to enjoy almost pre-war levels of fine cuisine at top hotels and restaurants, and this naturally led to much resentment from the rest of the population.

From 1942, the government prevented restaurants from charging more than 5/- a meal, and this helped to curb the most ostentatious examples. A three course meal in a British Restaurant would set you back a mere 9d. Standards varied from restaurant to restaurant, and the good ones were much appreciated, building up a large and regular clientele. They were set up in a variety of places. The crypt of Leeds Town Hall was the location of one such. Some local allotment holders would often supply any surplus vegetables for use in the restaurants. All food waste from the restaurants were given to the local Pig Clubs and the like, so there was no waste at all. Cafes and Restaurants had to comply with the Ministry of food regulations in that no one could be served at one meal with more than one main course of either Meat, Game, poultry, Fish, Eggs, or cheese.

People and events

Escaped Barrage Balloon An escaped barrage balloon was the cause of much excitement in Leeds on 15th May 1940. It had broken away from a barrage over a “Northern Town”, and its progress was followed by thousands of Leeds people as it drifted over the city, knocking chimney pots and spouts off houses as it went, as well as setting lots of alarm bells off. Some ARP men managed to secure one of its trailing wires to a lamp post near St. James's Hospital, but it tore the lamp post out of the ground and continued on its way.

Eventually, a contingent of RAF men, skilled at dealing with escaped balloons, arrived to deal with it. It finally came to rest on Sheepscar Street North opposite the Clarence Hotel, but not without knocking one more chimney pot off a nearby house in Clarence Square. The balloon had been loose over Leeds for four hours.

Escaped barrage balloons were, seemingly, a bit of a common occurrence. A former pupil of Royal Park School recalls: “I remember seeing a barrage balloon coming loose and so I set off to follow it with a dozen or so others. It ended up at the other side of Woodhouse Moor. The next morning we were given 1000 lines –‘I must not follow barrage balloons’.”

POWs reunion, Roundhay Park Seen here are some POWs boarding a special bus on 19th June 1945, which will take them up to Roundhay Park for a huge reunion celebration with friends and families.

The reunion had been organised by the Yorkshire Evening News, and came about as a result of the efforts of Mrs. Constance Gold, the hon. gen. secretary of the YEN POW Club. She had promised “When the boys come back we’ll have a really slap-up party together”. The BBC made a recording of the event to broadcast to Forces programmes, and newsreel cameras filmed parts of the programme. Mrs. Gold addressed the crowd with these words; “This is your day. I have so often written to you about the wonderful party we would have when we came back, and this is it. We have had to prepare for 10,000, but it's a job we've loved tackling”. She paid tribute to the courage, fortitude and devotion of the POWs.

A happy incident occurred when a call came over the loudspeakers for a Mr. And Mrs. Bolton of Heckmondwike. A wire had been sent to Roundhay Park to tell them that their son, who had been missing in the Far East for three and a half years, was now safely back in England. On the day, over 3,000 ex-POWs and 7,000 friends and relatives had gathered in Roundhay Park, on what was to be the hottest day of the year.

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Churchill visited Leeds in June 1945, part of a victory tour round the country to celebrate the end of the war. Here they can be seen waving to the crowds from their open Daimler, and have perched on the back of the seats so that the crowds can see them.

Churchill gave a speech from the steps of the Civic Hall, which was largely drowned out by the cheering of the crowds, and affectionate cries of “Good old Winnie!”, and “Good old cigar!”. The crowds swept aside the police barrier so that they could get closer to their hero. Churchill was given the freedom of the city of Leeds on 28th October 1953.

Despite Churchill’s great popularity, he lost the General Election on 5th July 1945 to Clement Attlee's Labour Party. The populace felt that a Labour Government would rebuild post-war Britain without the class and social divisions of previous generations.

Homes of Tomorrow Exhibitions The Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition took place in Lewis's Department Store annually, and was organised by the YEN. The 1944 exhibition was opened by JB Priestley, who remarked that women now had the vote, and could agitate and make elaborate nuisances of themselves. He even hinted that the war could have been prevented by women. “This has been very much a women's war, though if women had only exercised their prerogative to vote and taken a keener interest in affairs, this war might have been avoided”.

The newspaper did not report what the women in the audience had to say about this! The keynote of the exhibition was economy, with promises to save time, fuel, house-space, and the housewife's back. An inquiry bureau had been set up, where housewives could leave their questions, every one of which was to get an answer. In addition, they could put questions to a Brains Trust of building experts.

The exhibition of 1945 was opened by Professor A.M. Low, distinguished scientist and President of the Institute of Patentees, who told women to demand scientific improvements in the home, and not merely wait until they were thrown at them. He is seen here (the man wearing glasses), being shown the wall-mounted “Ascot” instantaneous hot water heater. Prof. Low had a particular interest in scientific applications for homes of the future, and in his speech made some astonishing claims:” Do you realise” he said, “it is now a perfectly simple matter to have apparatus in your kitchen which enables you to see a visitor standing on the doormat as he rings the doorbell? Do you appreciate that there is cloth that cannot be creased, even if the baby sits on it all night; curtains which can be cleaned by the wafting of a white rag; and rooms from which every particle of dust is taken electrically by a simple device to the ceiling, and emptied once a week?”

The war ends

VE Day The unconditional surrender of the German forces came about on May 7th, 1945, and the next day was declared Victory in Europe Day. Thus ended six nightmare years of misery and hardships. In this photo, a group of men from a Scottish regiment perform an impromptu sword dance on the steps of the Town Hall, to the delight of the watching crowds. Celebrations went on all night in some quarters, and street parties were the order of the day.





This is a few days later, on the 13th May 1945. The crowds are waiting for the appearance of the Lord Mayor to make his announcement and speech, after which the VE Day parade will begin. They seem happy and cheerful despite the pouring rain.




VJ day 15th August was officially declared Victory in Japan Day, after the Japanese surrendered to the Allies. In this photo, Lord Mayor Charles Walker stands at a podium draped with the Union Jack, reading the announcement that Japan had surrendered, thus bringing to an end the hostilities of the 1939-45 war.




Crowds of happy people throng the Town Hall Lions as VJ celebrations kick off in Leeds. The weather was awful, despite it being the middle of August, but no-one seems to mind the rain in the least.






A lovely heart-warming image of women dancing in the street as it finally sinks in that the war really is over at last.



This photo was taken at 1.30am on the 15th August, showing that celebrations went on for days, without much of a break! This group includes nurses, servicemen and children




Street Party One of the many street parties which took place all over the country in celebration of VJ day and the end of the war. This one took place somewhere in Woodhouse. The communities would have pooled their resources to provide goodies for the party, and particular attention would have been paid to the needs of the children. Note the plates of iced buns and even a trifle, all made with carefully hoarded ingredients. Trestle tables would be set up the middle of the street, traffic not being much of a problem then!


]]>leedshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/leedsmichelelefevrehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/leedsThu, 24 Apr 2008 08:37:36 CDTThis is a template page
Use this template when you want to use photos and text to tell your story. Click EasyEdit, then highlight this text with your cursor and type over it with your own words: You can write as much as you want!

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You can also change the size of your photo by clicking on it once to highlight it, then by clicking the "plus" or "minus" sign in the "Edit Image" toolbox. When you're all done, save your page.

]]>Quarry Hillhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Quarry+Hillmichelelefevrehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Quarry+HillWed, 23 Apr 2008 07:40:05 CDTEarly History...

The site of Quarry Hill has seen many changes, particularly in the twentieth century, when it blossomed from being the worst slums in Europe, through to the innovative social housing of Quarry Hill flats, and more recently the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds College of Music, BBC Leeds studios and Quarry House, HQ of the DSS. Little is known about its early history, but there is evidence to suggest that the site of Quarry Hill was the location of the Roman settlement, Cambodunum/Campodunum, back in the 7th century. If this suggestion is true, then it would indicate that Leeds was the administrative centre of an Anglo-Saxon Royal Estate, which was sacked by Penda of Mercia in AD633. Some earthworks on Quarry Hill are possibly remains of an ancient settlement, and it was the main early Anglo-Saxon site in West Yorkshire. The name Quarry Hill was thought, by the Rev. Daniel Haigh, to derive from Carrei, the name of a British Chieftain, and Caer, meaning a camp, the whole signifying the camp of Carrei. The word Hill would have been added in Old English days.

Jumping forward to the 18th century, we find evidence that Quarry Hill was growing as a residential location, but had not yet reached the stage of being the notorious slum area it was destined to become. The Leeds Mercury of 9th February 1884, in its series of articles “Pictures of Old Leeds”, has this description of a dwelling in Quarry Hill in 1738: “….A good house at Quarry Hill, consisting of three low rooms, three cellars, one good chamber, garden, outhousing, and other conveniences, belonging to, but not occupied by, Widow Rolland, of the White Hart Inn, Briggate.”

Jeffrey’s map of Leeds of 1770 shows the road named Quarry Hill, surrounded by fields and orchards, with only a handful of buildings scattered along it, so it would appear that the area was once quite a pleasant place to live. By 1815, the Giles and Netlam plan of Leeds shows the area is beginning to be built up, but is still mainly fields and open country to the east. Not until 1850 do we find that the area has become congested with high-density dwellings, and it is no coincidence that the railways had arrived in Leeds a few years earlier. The 1841 and 1851 census returns show dwelling houses occupied by up to 20 people, and we know from sources such as Robert Baker’s Report on the Sanitary Condition of Leeds that many of these houses were only two or three rooms at the most, including a cellar. A lot of the people that lived there came from Ireland, perhaps to escape the Potato Famine of the 1840s and 50s. Occupations in the main were jobs such as brick labourer, general labourer, flax mills, and agricultural labourer. Many women worked in the mills as well, and there were a good sprinkling of washerwomen listed.

So, from the 1840s and 1850s onwards, as far as we can tell, Quarry Hill began to grow rapidly, and fill up with cheap, sub-standard housing. Despite all this, a look at the maps for around 1890 and early 1900s show that the open county was still only a jump and a hop away. You only had to go up York Road a mile or so to be surrounded by fields, although whether the overworked population had the time or the energy for a country walk on their days off is unknown! To get a flavour of the 18th century, here are a couple of news items relating to a couple of Quarry Hill residents: Leeds Intelligencer of 6th May 1766:

On Friday last, a melancholy accident happened in this town: One Tomlinson, a poor labouring man at Quarry Hill, had some wearing apparel and other things left him by a relation who died a few days ago; upon examining of which, he found a paper of powder, which he supposed to be cream of tartar, and therefore laid it carelessly down; when a child of his own, and another of his neighbour’s, each about three years of age, in playing about the house, got hold of it, and believing it to be some kind of sweetmeats, tho’ it unfortunately proved to be arsnick, eat it up betwixt them, and notwithstanding all proper means were immediately used to expel the poison, they both expired a few hours after, in great agonies.

On a slightly happier note, the London Chronicle of 11th March 1786 reported this rather extraordinary human interest story:

There is now living at Quarry Hill, Leeds, one Peter Johnstone, a blind man of Irish extraction, aged 91, who has had five wives and twenty-seven children; by the first wife he had twenty-three; by the second two, by the third and fourth none, and by the fifth two. What is remarkable, he has only two (children) living.

to be continued....

]]>Adelhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/AdelRoseGibsonhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/AdelTue, 22 Apr 2008 11:08:55 CDT

]]>Hunslet Landscapehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Hunslet+LandscapeAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Hunslet+LandscapeFri, 18 Apr 2008 02:19:34 CDT

]]>Hunslet Millshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Hunslet+MillsAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Hunslet+MillsThu, 17 Apr 2008 15:36:56 CDT

]]>History Wiki, Leeds, West Yorkshirehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/History+Wiki%2C+Leeds%2C+West+Yorkshirecath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/History+Wiki%2C+Leeds%2C+West+YorkshireThu, 17 Apr 2008 03:32:10 CDTjoin in and contribute you can click on any of the links on the left and contribute your own information. You can also click on the 'add new page' link if we haven't already covered your area in Leeds. To see some of the more recent contributions have a look at the Hunslet and Cottingley sections .
Many visitors come to this site to learn and build their knowledge, others to contribute to the site and share knowledge. In fact, we hope you will help us to build up this wiki by contributing your information about any location in and around Leeds, share with the world your memories of Leeds - its easy!
Garden Gate Pub
Hunslet, Leeds.
Photograph - Leodis Database
Use the nav bar on the left to locate other entries for the Leeds area
Welcome to the Leeds Local History Portal
The Local Studies Library is a department within Leeds Library and Information Service, and is located on the second floor of the Central Library, Calverley St, Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.


This image shows the newly refurbished tiled hall at the Central Library in Leeds which now houses a cafe and shop. The splendour of the Hall had been hidden from the public for so long by shelves and a mezzanine floor level prior to its re-opening in June 2007.
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]]>Central Libraryhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Central+Librarycath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Central+LibraryThu, 27 Mar 2008 10:55:34 CDTThe Tiled Hall in Central Library, Leeds
Leeds’ magnificent new Municipal Buildings were opened on 17th April 1884 by the Mayor, Alderman Edwin Woodhouse, after a competition was held to design them. It was won by George Corson, whose plans included dividing the buildings into the ‘business’ side, which fronted onto Calverley Street, and the ‘popular’ side which led onto Centenary Street, now the Headrow. The popular side was occupied by the Free Public Library and took up less than a third of the whole building. This consisted of a reading room, lending library and reference library.
The reading room was sited in the Tiled Hall at the front of the building. The Yorkshireman described the reading room on opening as ‘a magnificent place. The floor is the finest parquetry in oak, walnut and ebony..’ The roof was so magnificent it was feared that ‘people will be continually gazing up at it, instead of quietly reading the magazines and newspapers’. The Reading Room was used for the opening ceremony. A report of the opening noted that ‘inside the edifice a select company assembled to participate in the opening ceremony. On a slightly raised dais were seated the Mayoress and other ladies of note. Behind… stood a mixed group of politicians, barristers, clergymen, magistrates, merchants and manufacturers. Here and there in various parts of the handsome reading room were well known local dignitaries and would-be dignitaries.’

The original reading room or tiled hall at the front of the building is 80 ft x 40ft. It is divided into a nave and aisles by arches supported by granite pillars. The tiled walls have medallion portraits in relief and include Homer, Milton, Burns, Scott, and Macaulay. The vaulted ceiling is covered in mosaic with hexagonal bricks of various colours with golden bosses. These ceiling bosses were part of the Victorian ventilation system, which is still working today. The Art Gallery was erected as an extension to the Municipal Buildings and was opened on 3rd October 1888 by the Mayor, Alderman Scarr. The Tiled Hall, formerly the Reading Room, was then converted to a sculpture gallery and the Reading Room was transferred to the Art Gallery and renamed the News Room. The Commercial and Technical Library was established in the News Room in 1918, but in cramped conditions. In 1955 it moved into the Tiled Hall. The Commercial and Technical Library was then able to expand and have both a lending and a reference collection.
A gallery for staff use was also created in the Tiled Hall where further book stock was shelved and work space was created for the typists from the cataloguing department. The ceiling and walls of the Tiled Hall were then hidden for nearly fifty years behind a false ceiling, bookcases and panelling. The Music Library was moved into the Tiled Hall space in 1998 but was only there until 1999, when the Central Library building closed for refurbishment and rewiring. The 1950s panelling and bookcases were removed, along with the false ceiling, to once more reveal the Tiled Hall and the inevitable damage caused by work done in the 1950s.

The present restoration work has now fully restored the Tiled Hall to its original magnificence, after a £1.5m refurbishment of the gallery and the adjacent Art Gallery. Its restoration was one of the key parts of the scheme and the hall is right at the heart of the Central Library/Art Gallery complex. A new entrance has been created to link it directly to the art gallery, allowing people to move easily between it and the library building.. A new café and shop has also been located within the Tiled Hall, serving both library and gallery visitors.

]]>Leeds City Centrehttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Leeds+City+Centrecath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Leeds+City+CentreMoved from: History Wiki, Leeds, West YorkshireThu, 27 Mar 2008 09:42:05 CDT
]]>Alwoodleyhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Alwoodleycath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/AlwoodleyThu, 27 Mar 2008 05:31:50 CDTSlavering baby/Babbling baby/Slavering Sal
The correct name for this feature is actually "Old Man's Mouth". It is a 19th century carved stone outlet for spring water, located near Adel Crags. It is said to have been carved by a Mr. D.Verity, stonemason, and great-grandfather of Benjamin Verity, of the nearby Verity's Tea Rooms. It used to have a stone trough to catch the water, but this, and the carving itself, was damaged by vandals in the early 70's.

Revolution Well
Located on Stonegate Road at the junction with Parkland Drive. Erected in 1788 as a memorial of the coming of King William, by Joseph Oates, gt. Grandfather to Capt. Oates, the famous explorer.







Seven Arches aqueduct A tunnel was built to carry water from Eccup Reservoir to Leeds in order to supply the population with clean drinking water. The tunnel had to cross Adel Beck, hence the building of the Seven Arches aqueduct. Made of local gritstone, water first flowed across it in August of 1841. However, the demand proved too much for the aqueduct to cope with, and it was obsolete within 30 years

]]>Adel Cragshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Adel+Cragscath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Adel+CragsThu, 27 Mar 2008 05:29:16 CDT
]]>Beestonhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Beestoncath01http://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/BeestonWed, 26 Mar 2008 09:39:55 CDT
]]>New Houses & Commercial Developmenthttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/New+Houses+%26+Commercial+DevelopmentAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/New+Houses+%26+Commercial+DevelopmentWed, 12 Mar 2008 09:16:11 CDT If anything defines Cottingley, ask Leeds people and they will say "the two tower blocks of flats" reputedly 'the tallest flats in Leeds' and indeed they are a landmark. They were included in the First Phase of re-build by the council who wanted to replace the long-serving pre-fabs. The well-known, high-rise flats - Cottingley Heights and Cottingley Towers were twenty five stories high, two hundred and twenty feet high and containing two hundred and ninety four homes with a top-flat rent of £3.95 a week. They were officially opened on 19th April 1972.

This First Phase included 'white triangular' terrace homes on the northwest side of the estate and included a Shopping Hall with a fish and chip shop, Post Office, launderette, public toilets and attached by a canopied area to The Sphinx Pub. The irregular-shaped complex was covered by an unusual white multi-pyramid roof. Cottingley School has remained throughout on its old pre-fab road of Dulverton Grove on the far (west) side of the estate.



"Cottingley had a bit of a reputation in Leeds for being 'rough', I moved there in 1979 as there was a housing shortage on all Leeds council estates, Cottingley was all they could offer, the Churwell side. The problem seemed to be on 'rough people' in the flats, someone was discovered keeping a goat on the fifth floor but they sorted out the tenants and put retired tenants in and security,etc and they were much improved. I remember the doctor's surgery being on the 24th floor of one of the tower blocks and it made you feel ill just looking out of the waiting-room window. One of the problems, even though the new houses were really nice with three bedrooms, two toilets, central heating and good-sized rooms and gardens, good neighbours - it was the lack of ammenities; no chemist, dentist, off-licence, take-aways, the rent-office over at Dewsbury Road, no supermarket, etc, you had to walk up the hill to Beeston Co-op or get a bus to Morley town. Another problem was the nature of the street numbering, anyone visiting the estate had a real problem finding a particular house as the numbers went along roadside terraces and continued on a terrace behind or went around a corner. I remember if the wind was in a certain direction the 'bad meat' smell of the dripping factories on Millshaw, you'd pass the sheds and see small lorries with cows heads under tarpaulins. The plus-side was that there were still lots of farmfields to go walking in, old farms and dirt tracks to follow either side of the Ring Road and up Churwell - remains of a 'fever hospital', coal slag-heaps to clamber up, farm animals - cows, sheep, horses, if you crossed the footbridge to Snittals Farm .. and nice friendly pubs up Churwell Hill - the Sphinx was a bit 'scary' and the Drysalters, too quiet".

In the 70's the remaining pre-fabs were cleared, Phase 2 'red' terrace housing was built on the southeast side of the estate in 1979/80. In 1973, the M621 motorway was built through Beeston Near Royds, on farmfields and waste land between Cottingley Drive north and Gelderd Road leaving a single field and barn at the side of the cemetry (Now a garage, B&Q and retail units).

In the late 1980's, commercial buildings began to be built either side of the Ring Road, Millshaw beck below the London railwayline footbridge was covered over and Sulzers built their engineering factory, below Crow Nest farm. Further warehousing development took place as Millshaw small industrial units and farm cottages were cleared to construct Millshaw Industrial Park, filling in land from Beeston Ring Road up to the Churwell railway line. 1988 saw the re-opening of a local rail station at the footbridge near Snittals Farm - not Churwell but Cottingley Station.
Further building has included a new Community Centre at the top of Cottingley Drive with community resources; a church, library, doctors and health facilities, cafe and meeting rooms. Close by, a small Barratt estate of private houses has been built adjacent to the school fields.

There is little that remains of 'Old Cottingley' except the trees beyond the rooftops in this photo which are claimed to be original trees from Cottingley Hall walled garden.

]]>Old Cottingley Hall Farmhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Old+Cottingley+Hall+FarmAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Old+Cottingley+Hall+FarmSteve01Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:35:14 CDT Memories of Cottingley Hall Farm - to 1914
Mr Roland Ellis of Whitkirk remembers how his grandfather, Simeon Ellis owned it as a farmhouse, "my father, Charles Percey (b. 1879) and his brother Harry and three sisters, Kate, Emma and Alethea all born there, now deceased. After Simeon's death, the family moved away and married. Harry still ran the milk round business from Pudsey, as did his nephew, Ernest after him".

Memories of Cottingley Hall Farm 1914 - 1923

"It brings back many happy memories", wrote Mrs Irene Nichols of Bramley, "I was brought up in the village of Millshaw for twenty odd years until I left to be married in 1933. It was lovely looking across two becks and fields to Cottingley Hall beyond. A Mr Entwhistle owned the farm and his pastures were always full of cows".


Mrs May Entwhistle of Manchester wrote, "my husband's brother and sister farmed same ... Mr Ellis had the farm before them. It was Miss Entwhistle (Edith) and Mr William Entwhistle - bachelor who farmed it. Mr Entwhistle's father died when my husband was eight and he wrote a book on poultry, the things they specialised in - showbirds. Miss Edith Entwhistle published it when he died of pneumonia when he was fifty four. He was originally a Devon man. Miss Entwhistle died at the farm but she was not the tenant. They were the two eldest of the family. Yes, it would be 1914-1923 for we were married in 1920. In 1923, the Entwhistle family moved to South Hindley and had a milk round, then returned to Knottingley near their other sister.
Cottingley Hall had tapwater in a sink, hot and cold water with a large kitchen range with fuel fires. there was large dairy, morning room, long narrow passage, large drawing room, bathroom too, two stairs, don't know how many bedrooms. Yes, it had electric light, milking by hand, the large greenhouse in the garden, full of passion flowers."


Mrs Thompson's mother well remembered the Entwhistles and George Tuppling, the farm foreman, "the Entwhistles, two brothers and one sister were very religious and rigid, they did not work on Sundays. They would not sell milk to the local residents, it all went to Holbeck Workhouse. When I was born (my mother) she tells me I had to have special milk form a cow that had just calved (on doctor's orders). Entwhistle was most reluctant to do this but a letter from the doctor brought results. He stipulated she must be at the farm before 7.30am and if she was late she could not have any until 3.30pm. Mother was 21 after I was born and it was quite a trek up the lane to the farm. Entwhistles had a brother, a gentleman farmer. Everything was scruplously clean, white wood tables , chairs, shelves, all scrubbed to perfection, the stone floor was spotless too".

Memories of Cottingley Hall Farm 1923-1933

Mrs D. Westcott of Cottingley told me, "in the year 1933 was when I first rented one of the two farm cottages owned by Illingworth's Farm nearby. We used to buy milk, etc at the farm and I well remember Mrs Illingworth who loved children".


"I was friends with Lily Illingworth", says Mrs Florence Jones of Cottingley, "her parents ran the farm. I don't remember the farm layout clearly but recall being asked to the farmhouse for a drink of milk straight from a cow. We sat in a room with no furniture, only stone slab seats around the walls".

Mrs Lily Atkinson of Barwick-in-Elmete gave an accurate picture of old Cottingley Hall, "We, the Illingworth family came from Bradford. Father (William Illingworth) had married and originally obtained a license in Bradford to clean roads with a horse-drawn vehicle. Soon he saved up a sum of money and wanted to buy a farm but he only had enough for the farm or the cows. So he bought his farm and was loaned half of each cow. His dairy farm was a success and he also operated a charar (a motor-coach used for sight-seeing tours) or a three horse-drawn waggonette in Bradford. It was called Silver Bird and was pulled by a special 'grey' team of horses, the wagonette had an upstairs and planks could be placed between seats down the centre aisle to make extra seating. We don't remember it coming to Cottingley.


We bought Cottingley Hall Farm in 1923 and mother brought us, Ida (15), May (12), Percey, Tom, me aged 5 and Fred (1) with our belongings in a pony-trap whilst father drove our dairy herd on foot from Bradford.
We thought it was a lovely house, above the front door, over the porch was carved the date 1616. Either side of the front door there were sitting rooms, with a staircase and a passage leading to the back of the farmhouse. This turned right bringing you to the back door which faced another staircase, alongside there was another passage to the large kitchen on the front corner of the house, one window facing on to Beeston. Beneath these windows there was a carved 'settle' or pew-like seat, such as seen in old pubs. This had cushions and the windows (east) gave a fine view of Beeston. A large stone slab table stood on bricks in the centre of the kitchen, it was smooth and rounded, scrubbed spotless and ideal for baking, always cool.

The garden was surrounded by a high wall which lowered around a little yard at the back door. At the back of the house there was a toilet block, two mens and three ladies, back-to-back within the walled garden. We had a greenhouse full of passion
flowers".





Memories of Cottingley Hall Farm 1933-1947

Mrs Lily Atkinson told me, "beyond the garden wall at the back of the farmhouse, there was a cobbled farmyard with a muck heap in the middle. This was bricked round with a low wall with two gaps for access with a wheelbarrow. At the end of our house, there was a dairy, then a kennel, boilerhouse with a chimney and a grainery over the stables. Opposite the back of the house, across the yard, were mistrals for cattle (milking sheds) and behind this, at the top of the Drysalters track, there was the rick-yard for hay. The Houseman family took the farm after us, they were dairy farmers. Cottingley Hall was demolished by 1947, the old Elizabethan oak beams were saved and carved by Samuel Firth into a church cross and candle-sticks,as a gesture of continuity from the Hall to the Pre-fab church."


"Mr Houseman lived in for a while, then he moved out, his partner ran the farm", recalled Mr Alf Inman of Churwell.

"There were still cows in the fields", Mr Raine of Cottingley told me.

Mrs Thompson wrote, "I remember Cottingley Hall, which in my opinion should not have been demolished. Houseman and his partner did live in the farmhouse. They used to let us children help, if you could call it that, with haymaking, the Crowthers ran the farm last, they lived out, they were a farming family from Rothwell".

]]>Industrial timeshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Industrial+timesAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Industrial+timesSteve01Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:32:50 CDT
The arrival in 1845/47 of the Manchester/Morley railway line cut into the back of Cottingley estate, with Churwell station built on the eastern end of Churwell viaduct, whose construction displaced Churwell waterworks, the line terminated originally in Wortley. The construction of the London/Wakefield/Leeds line followed above Millshaw and below Windmill Hill and Crow Nest farm, Beeston. The aspect of Cottingley Hall facing south was not only marred by the new railway embankments but by smokey Millshaw mills, open coal pits and quarrying and surrounding poorly erected cottages.

The 1851 census is the first to give details of the occupants of Cottingley Hall, Richard Crosby was 46 years old and born in Churwell, a farmer of 156 acres. His wife, Jane Crosby was also 46 years old and born in Hunslet and their five children all Beeston born. He employed seven labourers and two 'lived in'. The Hill family were Beeston village squires at this time.

The 1861 census shows Jonathan Kendall, aged 23, born in Otley and his wife, Mary aged 26 born in Chapeltown and two infant girls. They were farming 135 acres and had servants Barbara Pike, an 18 year old house-servant born in Leeds, Christopher Bradley aged 20 a farm servant born in Darley, Patrick Rape an Irish farm servant and William Lupton aged 15 born in Adel.

In 1871, James Ellis, a 50 year old farmer had 200 acres and employed five men. His wife, Elizabeth was helped by daughter, Anne aged 31, other children were Charles aged 25, Alfred aged 23, Rueben aged 21, Elizabeth aged 18, Hannah aged 14, Edwin aged 11 and John aged 9 (born at Snittals Farm, Gelderd Road). William Padget, aged 29 was a farm servant born in Harrogate, Thomas Lawrence aged 53, a farm journeyman and his Leeds-born wife Mary aged 55. In one of the farm cottages were Edward Greaves, a 57 year old farm journeyman, his wife Sarah aged 43 and Sarah E. Greaves aged 3. And in the other Samuel Inman, a 44 year old milkhand, born in Morley and his wife Hannah and Elizabeth aged 15 years old. In 1881, the Ellis family were still in residence with Sarah aged 26 and Hanah aged 24 on household duties, John Baines-Ellis helped on the farm. 'Living in' was John Risdale, a 23 year old agricultural labourer born in Pocklington and Joseph Perkins,a 13 year old agricultural student. Another three households on the estate were; Thomas Murphy aged 29, Edward Murphy, Irish cowmen and Charles Regan, a 24 year old servant from Ireland. Thomas Bailey aged 42 was a Yorkshire-born agricultural labourer with his wife Louisa and four young sons and finally the household of Charles Ellis who was farming his own 66 acres and employing three men, his Leeds-born wife Elizabeth was 33 years old and their servants were Isabella Ridsdale aged 16 and William Wilkinson aged 20 both from Norfolk.

In 1874, Norrsion Scratcherd wrote in his book the History of Morley, "It is painful to contemplate, now such spots as Cottingley Hall, New Hall (Stanks farm) and many such Halls in the vicinity especially in a politcal view ... instead of such families as the Beestons, the Hodgsons ... we find upon their premises mere labourers or handy craftsmen".


]]>Cottingleyhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/CottingleyAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/CottingleySteve01Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:25:39 CDT
Cottingley is an historic estate in the Manor of Beeston, southwest Leeds,
famous for its twin tower-block flats, near Elland Road Football ground.

Medieval times
Tudor & Stuart times
Agricultural times
Industrial times

Old Cottingley Hall Farm
New Cottingley Housing

]]>1923 Churwell Tram Crash at Cottingleyhttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/1923+Churwell+Tram+Crash+at+CottingleyAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/1923+Churwell+Tram+Crash+at+CottingleySteve01Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:22:08 CDTA morning tram loaded with workers for Ingle's Tannery (Millshaw), Hepworth's Dyers (Churwell Bar) and the Kirby Screw Company left Morley and started to run away down Churwell Hill at about 7.00am. A dozen or so passengers jumped off, as the driver left his seat to operate the back brake. The tram gathered increasing speed from 4mph to over 30mph, two passengers came forward to wrestle with the brake wheel, turning it 'over a hundred times'. The tram ran for half a mile, negotiated a loop line after the viaduct at the bottom of Churwell and as the electric arm came off the wire, it de-railed and crashed in to a field wall at Cottingley, on the bend (just to the right of this later photograph, which was the former site of a willow farm, beck cottages and shows Churwell Railway Station Master's house on the left, below the embankment where Churwell Station was).
The passenger who had remained at the front brake was thrown underneath the tram, he was killed instantly and five others died and thirty five injured. Newspaper headlines read "Hero" regarding the man killed whilst trying to stop the runaway tram and at the inquiry into the accident, the driver was blamed for 'leaving his post'.

Mrs Florence Jones (nee Sandcraft) of Cottingley had heard how "passengers panicked and released the failing brake".

"When the tram ran away down Churwell Hill, it ended up through the wall opposite where we lived. My mother was a witness and first at the scene helping the injured", added Mrs W. Thompson of Moortown.

Mr Inman of Churwell recalled how "the first-aid man from Ingles helped the injured".

]]>Cottingley Farm fieldshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Cottingley+Farm+fieldsAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Cottingley+Farm+fieldsSteve01Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:18:35 CDTIn the photograph Beeston corn mill is on the right and beyond the houses (Holly Farm), we see fields on the right belonging to Cottingley Farm which stretched to the beck by the corn mill. Later plans in the 1930's for Beeston Ring Road would cut several acres of meadow pasture to the east of the farm. Millshaw was the main route from Morley to Leeds, via Beeston and we can see big mills, tanneries and dye works in Millshaw Bottoms. The flatter route to Leeds was by Elland Road through Holbeck.

Mrs May Entwhistle of Manchester remembered, "the old carriage drive, the fields we crossed after the (railway) level crossing coming from Gelderd Road. There were little field footpaths, my husband and his brother used to ride horseback and chase couples out of the field who were in the haycocks. We used it the 'short cut' from Gelderd Road over those fields from the level crossing. It was not very good in winter and my sister (was) molested twice with railwaymen working on the line. Remember all the rhubarb fields growing from the beck opposite the pit hill to the Wheatsheaf and Packhorse Inn. Don't know much about the farm animals, the milk was delivered by horse and trap to individual houses down Elland Road near the Peacock Inn, a family named Fielding was licenced.



Mrs Lily Atkinson of Barwick-in-Emete described how at the farmyard "We had a serious fire in the hay-rick, we had to put up the firemen in the house and mother had to feed them for several days whilst they were 'damping down'. We also chased courting couples out of our ricks but it was the field above the 'cat-steps' in front of Crows Nest Farm, that was full of courting couples in summer, we had a fine view of them from our kitchen window which overlooked Beeston.
We were 'chapel' and once a year our parents would 'put on tea' for them (chapel people). We liked Cottingley, many a time we would stand at the top of the Drysalters track leading to our farm and sell biscuits and milk by the glass. We didn't like Beeston School, so we changed to Churwell School. People came to watch the 'Illingworth children' at work in the fields, we were given baskets of potatoes by father and sent off in rows, down field, heel a hole, drop potatoe in and kick it dirt over. Our younger brothers and sisters would say 'where's Mister?', so used were they to people asking at the farmhouse 'Is Mr Illingworth there?'
Did we have foremen? No! We had no foremen, father was boss! Thresher men were hired and at one time, a labourer had a room in our house. Father may have seemed a hard man but hard work achieved his success.
We were dairy farmers, that was our speciality! We had our milk cows and supplied Dairies, we had no local rounds. We had three work horses for ploughing, grass-cutting but these would also pull a cart. We had a few hens, sheep, no goats, we had cats and dogs, one was a cow-dog. We did keep a bull in one field but it would have been chained. We walked in our fields without fear.
Yes, we do remember the 'Coal Strike', people came and dug up our fields for coal, they also ate our turnips and even 'pitched out'. What could we do? We were helpless.
We heard of a dispute over a field which was rented to Snitalls Farm (Gelderd Road), on someone's death, they claimed it as theirs, so we lost it. In 1928, father bought another farm at Bramham Crossroads because the Council was starting to take land for a new Ring Road.



Mrs Westcott of Cottingley added this tribute, "there were cows and sheep, green fields all around with stone walls seperating the fields. It was beautiful in summer, cornfields one could see for miles".



This idylic picture was confirmed by Mrs Ingham of Cottingley, "we would help in the fields on the farms around here at harvest time. Many helpers would be needed for such as potatoes at 'lifting time'. I remember the long stone wall which ran around Cottingley, alongside Elland Road. Farmers would lend out their fields for picnics".



This rural scene had its 'scares', as Mrs Florence Jones of Cottingley describes, "once when my friend and I left Cottingley farmhouse by some other door, we found ourselves in a field with Mr Illingworth's bull, as we walked, it moved towards us, so we had to run for it and dive through a hedge".





In later years, Mr C. Woods of South Milford visited Cottingley farm, "actually my first visits to that farm were when I was four or five years old, accompanied by other and older members of the Wood family. My actual visits into the barn and other buildings were in the war-years, a bit before they were demolished. Everything was derelict and the tenant farmer using the land until each acre was used for pre-fabs and building, were not resident at that time. The medieval barn at Cottingley was joy to behold, the carpentry, not a nail used in those times, the actual trunks of trees, roughly fashioned with an adze, and plugged or notched with wood to other beams. The narrow look-out or arrow-slits, later used for ventilation purposes and not defensive areas. Yes, I recall now, more than twice visiting that fine old place on my walks, etc. Standing there, wondering imaginatively about the life and times of the people past. The New Hall or Stanks (Dewsbury Road), that barn too is another medieval type but I have not seen inside Stanks. In my opinion, for what it is worth, Cottingley Barn would be the finest, considering the outside architecture and inside for comparrison with New Hall".



Mrs Irene Nichols of Bramley remembered a feature of the farm estate, "looking across Millshaw, in the centre of the field was a huge tree. It was sad to see it go. The farmhouse could be approached from two sides up long dirt tracks. One entrance was at Churwell Bar side, the other at the Drysalter's. Walking up the track from the Drysalters side, one came to (two) farm cottages."


"In 1935, the Alan Cobham Circus gave trips in a bi-plane for 2s 6d and 5s from a Cottingley field, where the school is now", Mr Alf Inman of Churwell recalled.



Mrs D. Westcott lived in Cottingley Farm cottages, "the year 1933, was when I rented one of two farm cottages situated at the top of the hill and owned by Illingworth's farm nearby. From the cottage door, we could see who was coming up both lanes, one now Cottingley Approach, Cottingley Drive was the other lane and the old Drysalters Pub was situated where the new one now stands. We could see who was coming up the lane, my mother usually and my little daughter would run down to meet her. My mother loved Cottingley, having been born at Churwell. Life was very peaceful, though there was only a cold tap, no bath and just one door. Grass surrounded the two cottages, with a shared toilet at the back of the second cottage. In front of the grass to the farmgate was the farm stone yard. Two steps lead up to the housedoor, behind this was a staircase, shut off with a door. The downstairs room had a fire-range with oven and there was gas-mantle lighting. The cottages were damp and extremely cold in winter, with the second cottage un-occupied.We lived in the cottage and the rent was only a few shillings a week, I forget how much but we used to pay it at the farm weekly.
No traders called although occasionally tramps came begging. It was very quiet and once while coming up the Drysalters track, there was a little bend so far up and in a dark corner where the field-wall fell back, a man was loitering. I shouted at him and hurried home".



Mr John Kay's memories were, "I think I remember Mrs Westcott living in the cottage as I was eight years old then and used to go to the farm. In one of the cottages was a family called Coggins, I think the daughter was Winnie and her father worked for the cleansing department".



"A family called Watsons lived in one", recalled Mrs Irene Nichols.



"Yes, the cottages were occupied when Entwhistles owned the farm. Tupplings family, forget who was in the other, I worked with an Elizabeth Tuppling for a short while, who lived in the farm cottages, her father being a foreman for the Entwhistles. I believe Fanny Tuppling was the one who married the Horning's (Crow Nest House) son". wrote Mrs May Entwhistle.


ENTRIES from St Mary's Church Register:
Tuppling George (farm foreman) and Mary Jane of Cottingley Hall farm cottages
a daughter, Fanny b.1903 - baptised 22.03.21
Tuppling Thomas (farm foreman) and Violet May of Cottingley Hall farm cottages
a daughter, Hilda May - baptised 30.07.22
Holt Alfred (joiner) and Mary of Cottingley Hall farm cottages
a daughter, Lucy b. 02.02.24 - baptised 06.03.24

"Mr Tuppling (George)" she remembers well. "He was very kind to my mother. Mary and Alfred Holt moved from the cottages to Churwell Bar", wrote Mrs W. Thompson (nee Bollen) of Moortown.


"The cottages were occupied in my time by either farm labourers named Coggins or Tupplings. The cottages were demolished approx. the time of the farmhouse and buildings", wrote Mr C. Woods of South Milford.

Mrs Lily Atkinson of Barwick-in-Elmete did not recall residents of the cottages, often they stood empty, "father brought a Tuppling from Bradford, he specialised in something. Yes, we remember Mr Holt, his family didn't live in the cottages though, mother and father felt sorry for them, so they had a room in the farmhouse. We remember the baby being born in the house. The tram crash had happened just before we moved in, we saw where the stone wall at the bottom of our field had been rebuilt".

]]>Medieval timeshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Medieval+timesAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Medieval+timesSteve01Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:04:59 CDT The year 1226 is the earliest date to a building being present on Cottingley, which stands above where Morley beck joined Millshaw beck. The farm was probably a single, stone barn-type building, with wood and reed out-buildings and it was part of Beeston Manor which was first noted in the Domesday Book as 'Bestone' and in charters as 'Beystone' and 'Beiston', which was said to have 'waste wood and pasture land' with two manors, one probably Cad Beeston (Hunslet). The meaning of Cottingley is; Cot=house, Ing=meadow and Ley=field, but in the volume of West Riding Names, it gives the meaning of Cottingley as 'the meadow of the sons of Cota or Cotta'. The area would be wooded and marshy.

The 'De Beston' family were the hereditary Lords of Beeston Manor and in 1311, Sir William of Beeston, a knight had a 'grant of free warren in his demese lands of Cottingley' and he had one third a 'knight's fee in Beeston' held in Pontefract.

In 1411, Anthony de Beeston had 'land tenements and rents in Beeston, Snaith, Cottingley, Churwell, Morley and Ardsley'. Ralph (of Beeston) Lord of the Manor, had a son born in 1490 who lived at Cottingley farm. Robert, popularly known as 'Robert of Cottingley' married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Calverley of Calverley according to Norrison Scratcherd's 'History of Morley'. Robert of Cottingley died at the 'ripe old age' of sixty in 1550.

Around Cottingley farm, there would be some strips of land cultivated, no fences or walls but some open moor and heath, where cattle and sheep would have herd-boys with them as they foraged on the common meadows. West of Cottingley ranged a large forest, later called Farnley Wood. To the east of Cottingley farm, in a valley below Beeston, running from Churwell to Holbeck in the valley is Millshaw beck which worked a corn mill for Beeston village across from the Cottingley estate on it's rising hill. Beeston Manor Hall was sited on present-day Town Street above the Heath estate, near St. Mary's church.

]]>Agricultural timeshttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Agricultural+timesAnonymoushttp://addyourlocalhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Agricultural+timesSteve01Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:02:28 CDTIn 1659, John Jackson lived at Cottingley Hall and it was described as a 'grange' reflecting it's production of corn but the surrounding countryside was still open territory, much used for common grazing. In 1714, Thoresby researching his book, Ducas Leodiensis came to Beeston and later wrote of Cottingley, "whether this was anciently Cot-Land(s) and so called as belonging to and occupied by the Cotari or Cotmanni, a sort of under-tenant, so called from their Cotes or sheds which with certain parcels of land adjoining were originally assigned them in respect of their services, or from the British 'Coit Wood', I shall not determine though inclined to the latter as well for the plenty of wood with which it is furnished to this day as for the adjoining Shaw or Grove".

Thomas Kitchingman, a wealthy businessman (and twice Lord Mayor of Leeds) bought Cottingley Hall and Beeston Hall in 1715, followed by New Hall from the last Hodgson heiress, Francis who had married William Robinson, Minister of Beeston in 1710.

In 1742, John Wesley, the famous preacher broke a journey to Birstall to stay with a Mr Moore at Cottingley Hall, and Mr Moore's son accompanied John Wesley the next day. It was reported, he knew the locality well and was twice entertained at Cottingley Hall by Mr Moore. He himself recorded in his journal when he last visited the district at over eighty years of age, Cottingley "how willingly could I spend the residue of my busy life in this delightful retirement".

Many Manor Halls, at this time were being converted into smaller chambers and rooms, oak-panelling was replacing bare plaster and floor-boarding used. Orchards and gardens were being laid-out with new imported flowers, bushes and trees.

Farming was developing at a fast rate and gentleman farmers were consolidating land into huge fields. New feed and root crops were providing winter feed for animals, which were now being selectively bred to develope our modern-day farm animals (which are twice the size of medieval horses, cows and sheep), the production of beef, leather and wool greatly increased. Beeston was a busy village at this time, it was famous for its 'Beeston Lace' with it's 'wild rose' design, as it was 'Mrs Denton's hats'.

In 1755, the Tollgate Act was passed making the Parish responsible for roads to be constructed and repaired to help the developing woollen industry. A toll was paid to use the road, there was a Beeston toll-bar on Elland Road bordering Holbeck and one at Churwell. Previously, road routes were pitted with mud quagmires which could result in a horse stumbling and throwing it's rider, a pack-horse losing its load and a cart or coach becoming stuck.

With the Enclosure Acts 1750 onwards, common land being used by anybody, came under private ownership, plus many ordinary people could not afford to build walls around their little bit of land according to the new laws. So it was sold to rich farmers and landowners, the poor people's little cottages were pulled down, prices for land and farmstock 'slumped' and these displaced agricultural labourers drifted into the new cloth factories and industry in the nearby towns. Some coal, stone and brick, cloth and leather industy was also begining to develope around Cottingley using the water-power of Millshaw beck.

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