km110

KIRKSTALL MATTERS

Summer 2012

Issue 110

£1

www.kirkstall.org.uk

@kirkstallonline

Kirkstall Online

2 KIRKSTALL MATTERS Issue 110 - Summer 2012

Two Course Set-Menu £22.00 per person

Four Course Set-Menu £27.00 per person

Starters

Leeds asparagus – mushroom ketchup – poached free-range egg – Grassington cured ham crisp – black caviar

*

Cold water prawns - crayfish - chilli, lime & coriander mayonnaise – pineapple salsa - coriander oil

*

Braised Wakefield buffalo – creamed leek – filo basket – yoghurt & mint sauce – blue cheese – onion crisps

*

Sprouting fennel & potato salad – asparagus gazpacho – roast aubergine – cucumber – blue cheese mousse [v]

*

Swordfish sashimi – scallop sashimi - asparagus gazpacho– crab quenelle - pineapple salsa [£3 supplement]

Sorbet

Leeds raspberry & balsamic sorbet

Mains

28 day matured Barnsley fillet beef - wild boar pate – blue cheese potato cake – cream of asparagus – Horsforth white asparagus [£5 supplement]

*

Free-range chicken stuffed with chorizo and Whitby crab – broad beans with chorizo and mint– tiger prawn – paprika velouté

*

Roasted red pepper – fountain’s gold cheese– olive tapenade– summer coleslaw– blue cheese rosti- mushroom ketchup [v]

*

Slow cooked goat– wrapped in filo pastry –saffron sauce – beetroot salsa – olive tapenade – goat’s cheese

*

Fillet of sea bass– smoked halibut infused vegetables - nettle nage– tiger prawns

Sides

Twice cooked hand cut chips £3.00

Tender stem Leeds broccoli with fountains gold cheese £4.00

Organic carrot and green beans with coriander £3.50

Leeds grown spinach with garlic, nutmeg and butter £4.00

Leeds grown new potatoes with Paganum chorizo and rosemary olive oil £4.00

Desserts

Summer berry pudding poached in Cointreau – marmalade ice cream – spiced orange sauce

*

Basil fool – strawberry sorbet – basil & strawberry posset

*

Rhubarb, ginger & lime parfait – rhubarb & chilli sorbet – poached rhubarb

*

Cheese and biscuits served with celery, grapes, and maple syrup [£3 supplement, £8 as a course]

Seven Course Tasting Menu £40 per person

[Whole table must take this menu]

Complimenting drinks £30 per person

Cold water prawns - crayfish - chilli, lime & coriander mayonnaise – pineapple salsa - coriander oil

*

Braised Wakefield buffalo – creamed leek – filo basket – yoghurt & mint sauce – blue cheese – onion crisps

*

Leeds raspberry & balsamic sorbet

*

Fillet of sea bass– smoked halibut infused vegetables - nettle nage– tiger prawns

*

28 day matured Barnsley fillet beef - wild boar pate – blue cheese potato cake – cream of asparagus – Horsforth white asparagus

*

Lime & black pepper posset – lime syllabub topping – crushed ginger and oat biscuit

*

Rhubarb, ginger & lime parfait – rhubarb & chilli sorbet – poached rhubarb

Latest News

* We have already started receiving inquiries about Christmas and party bookings. We welcome group bookings and can fit up to 50 in our restaurant. or private parties for up to 22 or 30 in our respective

rooms. *

*We now have a local ale & wine board, including specialist items only for Dough’s customers, not to be

found anywhere else!*

*Award - Best restaurant at the ‘Best of Leeds Awards’*

*We are on twitter, follow us at www.twitter.com/doughleeds*

Dough; 293-295 Spen Lane, West Park, LS16 5BD

Reservations: Tel: 0113 2787255

*Best of Leeds Award – Best independent restaurant 2011/12* *Winner of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s ‘Oliver Award’ for Best

Chef 2009* *Featured in BBC Olive Magazine’s Best British BYO’s*

*Winner of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s ‘Oliver Award’ for Best Suburban Restaurant 2010*

*Winner of the Budapest Food Festival’s most innovative Chef 2010*

*Winner of Leeds Menu of the Year 2010* *The Good Food Guide recommended 2011/12*

Dough Bistro June Evening Menu 2012

http://www.twitter.com/doughleeds*

http://www.twitter.com/doughleeds*

KIRKSTALL MATTERS 3 Issue 110 - Summer 2012

From The Editor Well, here we are, the last edition of Kirkstall Matters in

its current form.

Since I took over the magazine 2 years ago I've realised

what a privilege it is to be able to produce something

that reaches out to everyone in our community, and how

many people are involved in its production: from

contributors, photographers, advertisers, printers,

distributors and more. We’ve tried to bring you a wide

range of articles and I hope there are lots of things in

each issue that interest everyone.

As we have talked about for the last couple of issues, and

at KVCA meetings, however, the amount of time it takes

to produce a magazine on this scale is a daunting task!

That is why we will be moving for the final issue this year

into a smaller newsletter style magazine, focussing on the

activities of the association and important news about

issues and developments affecting your area.

There are still discussion to be had about the shape and

need for a printed magazine in the future which we

welcome your thoughts about, but in the meantime with

the time we save we will also be putting articles more

regularly onto our website, Facebook and Twitter so that

we can try to communicate with as many people as

possible, as quickly as possible.

With this being the last magazine of this size, I’ve been

able to include the remaining serialisation for Derek

Hutchinson’s story into one magazine, and of course

there’s some information about this year’s Kirkstall

Festival!

I’d like to thank all our past editors and contributors for

developing the magazine over the last 34 years, our

printers (who’ve always been so helpful getting the

magazine turned around quickly) and distributors (who

deliver it through your doors come rain or shine), and our

advertisers without whom we wouldn’t have been able to

produce a magazine or such quality. But most of all I

thank you, our readers, for giving us feedback that has

helped us to grow or into the best community magazine

in Leeds.

Event though the magazine in its current form is at an

end, you can still keep in touch with us as usual. Times

change, and we may change format and method of

delivery, but we will continue the hard work for our

community.

Simon x


@kirkstallonline

Kirkstall Online

KIRKSTALL MATTERS

Issue 110 –Summer 2012

Cover:

The winning poster for the

2012 Kirkstall Festival

By Serena Singh, age 11,

Kirkstall St Stephens

Primary School

Editor

Simon Dawson

[email protected]

KIRKSTALL MATTERS, 19 Norman Street, Leeds, LS5 3JN

The views expressed in KIRKSTALL MATTERS are those of the

contributors and if not attributed to individuals, they are from the

editorial team. They are not necessarily the views of the KVCA.

Distribution

Delivered through the doors of Kirkstall and beyond by members

of the KVCA. If you can help distribute on your local street, please

contact Mary on 0113 2752441 or [email protected]

The magazine is also kindly sold through our stockists:

J News (Morris Lane)

Neil’s Store (Kirkstall Road)

Bargain Booze (Kirkstall Hill)

Abbey Phones and Accessories (Abbey Road)

Abbey House Museum (Abbey Walk)

Gatehouse Cafe (Abbey Walk)

Leeds Pilates Place (Victoria Road)

Printed by Thistle Print, tel 0113 204 0600


A look back at the first ever

issue of Kirkstall Matters As this is the last issue of the magazine in its current form, we

thought it’d be interesting to look back at how it all started...

B ack in 1978, a small group of local residents formed the

KVCA . Now, some 34 years later, it is interesting to

read the motivation for what started it all. What’s even

more interesting is that the issues that were faced back then

are still the same ones we face today.

The times may change but the issues stay the same, meaning

its just as important today to have a community association

that is vibrant and active, for the benefit of the whole

community.

Have a read of these first two pages of the very first issue of

Kirkstall Matters. You can read the full issue on our website at



KVCA Update From the Chairman Well it's the end of an era for our local magazine. I along with

many are so sad to see the magazine cease in it's present form

but the reality is, it is just too much work for one person. Times

change and we have to move on.

We will now be using online facilities which will enable us to be

more up to date with news and items of interest and we think

this has to be the way forward. We hope to publish and

distribute 'news letters' as another way of keeping in contact

with members who are not online.

Our Kirkstall Matters magazine has been a source of pride for us

since it's beginning in 1978 and over the year's thanks' to the

hard work of the individuals involved in it's production has

become much admired by many other organisations.

I myself would like to thank and acknowledge Val Crompton,

Ken Stratford and Simon Dawson for the fantastic work they did

in transforming the magazine into what it is today. It is a natural

process for things to change and progress and I myself see this

as a way of expanding our contact with the wider community.

There is so much happening in our area at this time, people

need to be informed on an up to the minute basis on what is

going on and a three times a year magazine is not the way. So,

this is not the end, it is the beginning. Please let us know what

you think and any ideas you have which could help us in the

future.

And now for the last time in the KM magazine could I remind

you, Saturday 14th July is our 32nd annual Kirkstall Festival in

the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey. Those on the festival committee

will once again be on day release from their secure units to

welcome you to a fantastic fun day filled with no expense

spared entertainment, I'm so excited I may pop along myself.

Do tell your family and friends, for those of you with no friends,

come along and you may make some! Remember the Parade

sets off from Hesketh Road at 12 noon and makes it's way down

to the Abbey grounds, come and watch, it's quite a sight. As a

postscript, if anyone can recognise me from my 12 year old

photograph in this magazine, there is a prize, family and friend

are not eligible.

John

The Chair

I ♥ Kirkstall and I want to join the

Kirkstall Valley Community Association

Name ………………………………………………………………………

Address …………………………………………………………………………

Postcode …………………………………………………………………………

Phone …………………………………………………………………………

Email …………………………………………………………………………

Hobbies …………………………………………………………………………

Would you like to help at Kirkstall Festival?

Would you like to get involved in KIRKSTALL MATTERS

or KIRKSTALL ONLINE?

Could you help deliver KIRKSTALL MATTERS on your

street?

Post to: KVCA Treasurer, 18 The Rise, Leeds, LS5 3EP


@kirkstallonline

Kirkstall Online

Join in the fun with the Kirkstall Valley

Community Association

The KVCA was founded in 1978 to benefit the inhabitants of

Kirkstall Valley and the neighbourhood. We campaign and co-

operate with other local organisations on developments

affecting Kirkstall Valley and KVCA volunteers organise events

and activities such as Kirkstall Festival, Kirkstall Online and

Kirkstall In Bloom.

Membership is free and open to everyone. Simply visit

www.kirkstall.org.uk and click on “join”, or you can send us

the form below.

- get news and updates on what’s happening in Kirkstall

- find out what events are going on in the area

- help shape the association activities

- find out about opportunities to get involved with exciting

community projects

John Liversedge

Chairman

0113 278 5987

Steve Gradys

Vice Chair

Ken Stratford

Secretary

0113 275 5413

Rita Samuel

Treasurer

KVCA Officers


Kirkstall Festival is 14th July 2012!

S aturday July 14th is our 32nd annual Kirkstall Festival. As always our

festival is held in the beautiful grounds of Kirkstall Abbey.

We do ask people to walk or get use the bus but if you do use the

car then we will have a free car park on the sports fields on Vesper Lane.

As always we will have a full days entertainment aimed at the whole family,

from grandparents to toddlers, there's something to please everyone.

Canoes on the river, main music stage, youth stage, birds of prey display,

marvellous tea dance, mini motorbikes, mini cars, pony rides, fairground,

over 100 stalls, dog show, photo forest, refreshment marquee, lots of hot

and cold food from all over the world, children's games, entertainment in

the Cloister, Music in the Nave, even a church service starting at 4,30pm

and lots more.

Our theme this year is 'Kirkstall Going for Gold' and we hope the splash of

colour in the grounds will be a sight to see.

Our festival Parade sets off from Hesketh Road at twelve noon, along

Morris Lane, down Abbey Walk on to the A65 then into the Abbey

grounds.

Make a point of watching the Parade or why not join in, you are most

welcome. Everything begins in the grounds about 11am, there is lots to see

and do.

Entry is free but we would ask you to buy a festival programme as the

proceeds all go towards the costs of the festival. Come along and support

us and we hope you have a memorable day with us.

■ COMMUNITY NEWS


Enter the Woods of Wonder Submit your photos for the amazing Kirkstall Festival Photo Forest!

I n the run up to Kirkstall Festival 2012

we're asking you to take pictures of

everything and anything you love

about Kirkstall and your community. These

can be artistic, sentimental, fun,

odd...anything goes (so long as it's legal

and family friendly!)

These images will be printed and displayed

at the festival in our Photo Forest,

creating The People's Exhibition of

memories and experiences from the

people of Leeds. We need lots and lots of

photos to go into the Photo Forest. Think

about what you love, go and take a picture

of it, repeat for as many times as you like,

and send the pictures to us

at [email protected]. We'll upload them

to the blog at

www.tpeleeds.blogspot.com and print

them out to display in the Photo Forest.

You'll be included in the credits and retain

all rights to your picture.

Organised by Kirsty Ware, who also did the

People’s Exhibition at 2011 Light Night, the

Kirkstall Festival Photo Forest will display

your photos in an innovative setting in the

festival grounds. Its going to be an

incredible sight and we’d love your photos

to be part of it - remember, your photos

can be anything and everything! Email

your photos to [email protected]

W e are all looking forward to the

summer and the key sporting

and cultural event that will be

hard to miss. It going to be nearly

impossible to avoid it and there will be

coverage everywhere. The opening

ceremony and the sheer excitement of

attending will fantastic and the whole

community can get involved. Yes Kirkstall

Festival is the event to look out for this

summer particularly if you want to avoid

the Olympics!

Kirkstall’s own community event really will

get into the spirit of the Olympics by being

part of the cultural Olympiad that is going

to be across the whole country. We will be

looking for a festival that reaches all parts

of the community and seeks out a few new

areas of art, music and culture for

everyone to enjoy and even take part in. As

regulars will know Kirkstall Festival always

includes some sports on the day but this

year we will extend these sports and in

particular celebrate the success of disabled

athletes.

There will also be an opportunity for

everyone to participate in a version of our

own sports event – a cross between It’s a

Knock Out and The Generation Game. It

will be aimed at local schools and help to

generate funds for the sports activities of

the schools who participate. If you are a

parent or grandparent of a pupil at a local

school then look out for further

information and get involved.

There will be special events which are all

for fun and which will all generate cash for

local schools. Extra points (and points

mean prizes) will be awarded for head

teachers who participate, chairs of

governors who take part and grandparents

who are willing to join in the fun. There will

of course be gold medals to be won and at

Kirkstall Festival everyone is a winner.

So what else.. we’ll have all your favourites

performers, new features and a few more

artistic activities in which you can get

involved. My colleagues on the committee

are putting together a great day which will

have food tastes from around the globe

and a fabulous selection of stalls from all

your favourite local charities. Our long

standing friend Albert Evans (Albert the

Fair) will be bringing along his fairground

attractions. As usual we will have our

walking parade and everyone can join in

by dressing up, or dressing down, to get

into the spirit of the day. The main stage

will have great music and there will be

music around the park for you to enjoy.

Its your community event and the more

you take part the more you’ll enjoy it. Get

down there early on, lay out your picnic

blanket and have a great day. If you’ve got

a well behaved dog then there’s the dog

show. If you fancy a Church Service then

get in the nave later in the afternoon. If all

you want is great music and a great day

out then come along to Kirkstall Festival.

PS. Buy a programme and know that you

are supporting a community event run by

volunteers for the whole community.

Kirkstall Festival is 14th July 2012

Are You Ready For The Blue Ribbon? Alan Crump outlines some of the fun we’ll have at this year’s festival

COMMUNITY NEWS ■


J.NEWS 1 MORRIS LANE, KIRKSTALL

0113 278 6859

Newsagents

Sweets,

Tobacco,

Off-Licence,

Greetings Cards,

Newspapers Delivered,

Major Credit Cards Accepted

BARGAIN BOOZE FOR ALL YOUR GROCERIES,

NEWS, LOTTERY, ETC.

154-160 Kirkstall Hill

Kirkstall

Leeds

LS4 2SX

Tel: 0113 278 5766

Off Burley Road

Over 250

BIG BRAND

Savings!

Hawksworth Wood

Community Association 6 Broadway, Leeds LS5 3PR

Tel & Fax 0113 228 5550

Email: [email protected]

www.hawksworthcommunity.leedslearning.org

Local Councillor Surgeries

Multi-agency Advice Surgeries

1st Wednesday each month 10am-12 noon

Leeds City Credit Union Services

Tony Wilson

Electrical Installations

16 Vesper Gardens Kirkstall Leeds LS5 3NS

Tel. 0113 274 6027

Mob. 07946 608 869


COMMUNITY NEWS ■

Barbara Walker Barbara was a lovely lady, loved by many. She was well known to

all - a real stalwart of Kirkstall. She had been the "lollipop lady" at

St Stephen's school for 36 years until her retirement due to ill

health this February, only having one day off when the school was

closed because of snow. She had been involved with the guiding

movement, being Brown Owl at Kirkstall for many years.

Together with Ken, her devoted husband, she was an active and

committed member at St Stephen's Church, helped at the Kirkstall

Community Centre and of course was involved with the Kirkstall

Festival. Barbara looked after the 'found children and lost adults'

tent at the festival every year since the festival began in 1980.

It was in recognition of all these devoted activities that Barbara

was presented last year with an award by the City of Leeds on

behalf of all the friends who had nominated her.

St Stephen's school had intended giving her a present and the

Council was also going to present her with a crystal bowl for all her

long year's of dedication on the Friday before Easter.

Sadly Barbara died day's before, but she did know about the

presentation and how much she was loved and respected. Barbara

will be sadly missed by everyone who knew her and there were

many.

Our thoughts are with Ken and his family at this time.

Sue Brear

Chair of Governors, St Stephen's School.

Elsie Skene Kirkstall and its Abbey have been part of the Skene family life since 1947 when Jim and Elsie moved into their house in Vesper Walk.

So it seemed only right that their enjoyment and concern for the area lead to them being founder members of the KVCA when it was

formed in 1978. Elsie was the membership secretary for 10 years and Jim was treasurer.

Elsie’s love of crafts led to the running of the craft stall at the Festival with the help of members of the local craft group - which still

meets at St Stephen’s church hall each Wednesday morning - and which Elsie still attended until very shortly before her death.

Elsie’s family have many memories of her running the stall at the Kirkstall Festival and each year trying to battle the extremes of

weather by trying to erect a ‘home made’ gazebo with green plastic and wooden stakes. We are not sure but Elsie did say that in over

twenty five years of having the stall it was never rained off! Jim could be found in his counting house (small caravan) on festival days

as he was the treasurer. When the family were going through Elsie’s things they found prize tickets which she won at the festival for

marmalade and first prizes for her jam and plants.

According to one of the past KVCA

magazines Elsie was also involved with the

KVCA badminton group and when her

arthritis became too bad to play she

enjoyed bowling on the Abbey bowling

green.

Both Elsie and Jim enjoyed their time on

the committee of the KVCA and all the

activities which they took part in. Elsie

looked forward each year to having the

stall at the Festival and only gave up

running the stall because of ill health.

The family would like to thank all who

helped and befriended them. They will be

sadly missed.


Kirkstall Abbey Festival Service

Charity comes to Kirkstall Abbey

F or the first time at Kirkstall, we have a young women giving the

address at the Festival Church Service. Revd Charity Hamilton

M.A. is the minister for Highfield, Lower Wortley, and Whingate

churches. She has degrees from Lancaster in English Literature and

Creative Writing. Charity has worked in University chaplaincy, as a

community worker and community centre manager. Charity enjoys

listening to music, hanging out with friends, installation art and writing.

‘Bring me my bow of burning gold’

The Festival Service will begin a little later than last year, at 4.30pm, in

the cool of the Nave of the Abbey Church. We start, as usual, by singing

‘Jerusalem’. The readings, read by Rachel Reeves MP and The Rt Hon.

John Battle, will reflect the festival theme of ‘Going for Gold’. All faiths

are very welcome to join us for this short service. The Leeds Central

Salvation Army Band provide the music with the excellent ‘String of

Beads Choir’ singing. This service, led by Abbeylands Team Vicar, Revd

Lesley Ashton, will be signed (for the hard of hearing) by Mavis Rhodes.

By popular request, we will finish by singing ‘Abide with me’.

Do come at the end of a busy day at the festival to sing along and share

with KVCA members in this special open air service in the historic

setting of Kirkstall Abbey. ■ Val Crompton

Revd Charity Hamilton (with Kirkstall Matters)

Photos: Val Crompton 20 May 2012

■ COMMUNITY NEWS


A Summer Serenade to help repair

Kirkstall St Stephen’s Church

O n Saturday 7th July at 7.30pm there will be a Concert in St Stephen’s Church

with Joanna Gamble—mezzo soprano, Ben Kerslake—tenor and Michael

Cleaver on the piano. Tickets: £7.50, including refreshments. Proceeds in aid of

the Restoration Fund.

St Stephen’s was built in 1828 and has been extended twice to serve the growing

population of Kirkstall. It is now the only church building in Kirkstall but the fabric is

deteriorating. Rain has come through the roof—damaging roof timbers, masonry,

plasterwork and internal decoration. Also work is needed to restore many of the stained

glass windows. English Heritage have made an offer of £117,000 towards an estimated

total now of £190,000 for the total work to be completed over two years. Help is

needed from the wider community. The congregation of 100 have raised almost £15,000

in two years.

A very moving Service of Thanksgiving was led by Revd Lesley Ashton, for the Life of

Barbara Walker (1937-2012) on 29th May. A collection was taken and the proceeds

given to the Restoration Fund in memory of Barbara (the Lollipop Lady) who cheerfully

helped in many ways over the years in the community, church, school and at the Kirkstall

Festival. The church was full of family, friends and all the pupils and staff from Kirkstall

St Stephen’s Primary School. The pupils all sang ‘This little light of mine’ and lit a

candle to remember Barbara, her care for them and her contribution to the life of the

school.

If you have ideas or can help support fund-raising events at St Stephen’s or send a

donation—please contact the Treasurer, John Rex, 52 Moor Grange View, Leeds LS16

5BJ, tel. 0113 275 9589. Cheques should be made payable to: St Stephen’s

Development Fund. (If you are a tax payer, please ask for a Gift Aid form so that the

church receives an additional 20%.)

■ Val Crompton

COMMUNITY NEWS ■


S outh Square Gallery presents a new

offsite project by artist Shaeron

Caton-Rose at Kirkstall Abbey, one

of the best preserved 12th century

Cistercian monasteries in the country.

Kirkstall Abbey is part of Leeds Museums

and Galleries.

Within the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey,

contemporary artist Shaeron Caton-Rose

places a series of enigmatic and reflective

artworks which have been inspired by the

spiritual and geographical history of the

site. Over the summer, visitors will

experience Kirkstall Abbey in a new light as

their journey through the site is

punctuated by surprising encounters with

four very different artworks.

Running the full length of the abbey

church, Procession is a dramatic white line

of pebbles echoing a historical route into

Leeds which passed directly through the

building. Throughout the summer months

the continual footsteps of visitors will

slowly disperse the pebbles until the route

disappears once again. Sensitively set in

the chapels of the abbey church, Advice to

Laity is a display of six devore textile veils

of image and text. Created in collaboration

with a local contemporary faith community

based in Hyde Park (Leeds), this piece

explores the relevance of a monastic

lifestyle in Leeds today. In the

Chapterhouse the words Work Prayer or

Prayer Work circle endlessly on the stone-

flag floor, the ambiguous order and

emphasis of these words suggests an

ever-shifting balance of the role they play

in our lives. Reflective in material, the large

words on the ground mirror the

architectural space above and emphasise a

tension between earth and heaven, or the

tangible and the spiritual.

Finally, on the Ginkgo tree in the infirmary,

Votive invites visitors of all faiths and

beliefs to tie a strip of cloth to a branch as

an act of offering a prayer or wish. Over

time, the trees will become embellished

with white and silver cloth, moving and

glistening in the wind.

About the artist

Shaeron Caton-Rose was born in

Guildford, Surrey and studied BA in

Printmaking at Sheffield Hallam

University followed by an MA in Fine Art at

Humberside University. She moved to

Bradford in 1996 and has continued to

develop her practice as an installation

artist, showing successfully across

Yorkshire and latterly in London. She works

in a wide variety of media, with an

emphasis on textile processes, video and

sound. In her work she seeks to confront

preconceptions and belief systems we

have inherited from folk and religious

sources, but also to celebrate the spiritual

and encourage query. She now lives in

Knaresborough, where she is currently

artist in residence at Henshaws Art & Craft

Centre for the visually impaired and

people of difference.

Special events

22 August 8-9pm – Labyrinth (walking of a

temporary candle lit labyrinth in the

cloisters, free)

School information packs are available

from the reception

You can visit the artworks now at Kirkstall

Abbey until 3rd September 2012

Procession at Kirkstall Abbey by Shaeron Caton-Rose

■ COMMUNITY NEWS


It shouldn’t be the case, but leaving behind the land you built

your life upon, making all those carefree childhood memories and

dreaming of becoming that something – is an epiphany we just

don’t realise until it’s gone.

Growing up in Kirkstall really was special. The significance of the

Leeds’ suburb can be somewhat undermined –majority, I believe

being by the ‘locals’.

As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a pilot – a dream that

became a reality, and as I write this from my home here in

Orlando, Florida, I feel slightly overwhelmed at the concept of

nostalgia; reminiscing of those cold snowy days sledging down

the steep gradient hills connecting Burley and Kirkstall Road – to

the “hot” summer days playing frisbee in the grounds of the

Abbey.

I am a proud Loiner, more specifically a ‘Kirkstall Kid’ and always

love coming home to see my family, friends and community. It

was sad to leave it all behind, but life takes us in many directions –

in the end I believe it all comes full circle.

I moved to Orlando in December 2008 where I pursued flight

training under Delta Air Lines. Three and a half years later I am

now a commercially licensed pilot and a Certificated Flight

Instructor.

If I had a pound, actually… make that a dollar, for every time I

have been asked which I prefer –Leeds or Florida, then I’d be a

rich kid.

How do you answer that? Both places are individually unique for

many different reasons. I do have an answer however, it’s simply…

“there’s no place like home!” –there truly isn’t; I have realized this

even more so living out here in the states.

So, how did I come to write an article here in Kirkstall Matters, I

hear you ask…?

In case you’ve been living in the dark ages for the past 5 years,

then you’ll know about social networking. Yes, I get my fix even

with a 4200 mile separation. @KirkstallOnline is the official Twitter

account for Kirkstall Matters. I am a tweeter; they’re tweeters, are

you?

Social Networking has revolutionized (or should that be

revolutionized?) the world, even to the point of me writing this

article. The recent craze is ‘Twitter’. I followed the Kirkstall Matters

team (@KirkstallOnline) early last year and expressed my gratitude

for their dedication to the community and informative tweets

about Kirkstall. The editor, who is also the administrator of their

Twitter account, asked if I’d like to be featured in this issue, and,

well… here I am.

So, now you know about me, what’s the point of this article, huh?

Well, being of the younger generation, I wanted to reach out to

community members of my age and encourage you all to have a

dream, follow it, go where life takes you, but never forget where

life put you.

Keep Kirkstall alive, your community needs you; we’re going to be

the ones that will take Kirkstall into the future and mold it for

future generations.

It can be as simple as following @KirkstallOnline on Twitter.

Anything. Something.

It really is important to have a strong community relationship – I

have vowed to become involved in the Kirkstall community even

from a far.

Being thankful to older generations that have worked so hard in

the community to prolong Kirkstall is something we, the young,

should respect. It’s not uncool to be involved in the community…

it’s an honour.

All those memories you made in the suburb should be treasured

and for our future generations, we should help them make just as

many (and more) special ones in the place we call home!

Thank you to the editor for giving me space in this issue and

thanks to all the residents for contributing to Kirkstall.

Be involved.

RYAN

www.ryanlock.com

Twitter.com/RyanLock

...Kirkstall Kid Kirkstall ex-pat Ryan Lock writes about his time away, and how it

makes him think of home

COMMUNITY NEWS ■


Looking for a friendly and happy primary school which will provide for

the needs of your child?

A caring, Christian environment welcoming children from all sectors of

our community

Good Ofsted Report July 2010

Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools July 2010 judged us as an

‘Outstanding school at meeting the needs of our learners’.

Holders of the Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark for high standards of

provision in Literacy and Numeracy

Activemark for PE and sport

Significant investment in ICT throughout the school including laptops

for the children

Excellent links with the community

Before and after school childcare available

Many extra curricular opportunities including football, netball, basket-

ball, dance, athletics, cookery, drama, recorders

Highly supportive Parent Teacher Association

Investors in People award July 2010

Contact the school if you would like to look for yourself

Morris Lane, Kirkstall, Leeds LS5 3JD Tel: 0113 2144630

www.kirkstall-st-stephens.leeds.sch.uk

Leeds City Council Department of Education

Kirkstall St Stephen’s Church of England Aided Primary School

Headteacher : Mr Steven Viles


Monday- Friday 9am to 12 noon A warm, safe and stimulating

environment

From 2½ to school age FREE from 3 years old.

Kirkstall St Stephen’s Pre-School Kirkstall St Stephen’s

C of E Primary School, Morris Lane

Leeds LS5 3JD

Tel: 0113 214 4630


This page is the opportunity for you to

voice your concerns, fears, comments,

thoughts and deepest darkest secrets.

Drop us a line in writing to 19 Norman

Street, Leeds, LS5 3JN or email us at

[email protected]

The Festive Lights

Whilst i am all in favour of people using Kirkstall Matters to voice their opinions i must take S Smith to task over his comments in the current issue.

Under his paragraph headed "Bribery" he his totally misinformed. The Festive Lights @ Kirkstall have for the past 3years been in place because of the hard work carried out by the Gilbert @ Sandford Resident Association obtaining funding from the inner north west area comm. when in 2011 the council cut the grants to pay for festive lights, we as an group had to decide whether to not bother or to go out and get commercial sponsorship.

This we did and approached numerous businesses in Kirkstall including Morrisons and Tescos. We were delighted when Tescos offered to fund the cost of the

lights. and this is the pertinent bit it was OUR IDEA to ask them if they would like to place "sponsored by" signs on some of the motifs.

There was no attempt at "BRIBERY" on behalf of Tesco before their planning application was submitted far from it. Rather LOCAL RESIDENTS using our inititive to continue something we had achieved through hard work

Keith Collridge

Chair, Gilbert & Sandford Residents Association

The Woodman Inn

Having received the latest edition of Kirkstall Matters I was very interested to read the correspondence between Mrs Rawnsley, and Mike Harwood. This raised two questions for me.

First - Mrs Rawnsley’s query about the Childs/Child family. I am researching Hargraves who lived in Kirkstall, descendants of a John Hargraves who was born about 1821 in Settle. John’s second wife was Martha Beanland who was born in Holbeck …… the daughter of William Beanland and possibly Sarah Childs/Child. I still have to confirm that these two

are Martha’s parents, and any further information would be appreciated.

Second – Mike Harwood’s map and comments on the streets and, particularly, the old pub. The Cockills are another branch of my family and for some time now I have been trying to find out about the Woodman Inn in Kirkstall, where John Cockill died in 1863.

At the 1851 census he was a Beer Seller, living at Providence Place. 1861 he was an

Innkeeper, no address for him but further down the page the address is Padgett’s Row, which I have not managed to find on Mike’s map. At the 1871 census the Innkeeper at the Woodman Inn, Commercial Street (next to Rawson’s Building) is Benjamin Rawson and his family. John’s Cockills daughter is living at Watson’s buildings with her second husband John Lodge, her sons William and John from her first marriage to Joseph Fox, and daughter Ellen Lodge.

So have I at last found where the Woodman Inn was?

Yorky

A Kirstall Stray

Dear Editor

Bramley Carnival Queens Diamond

Jubilee & Mini Olympics Extravaganza

Sunday 15th July 2012 - 12pm until 5pm

Bramley Park Town Street Leeds 13

Queens Diamond Jubilee and Mini Olympics, Large Funfair, Carnival

Parade , Extreme Mountain Bikes Stunt Team, Youth Bands, Mr Bumbles

Clown Show, Professor Robanti Punch and Judy, Charity Stalls, Trade

Stalls, Space Hopping, Egg & Spoon Races, Toddlers Race, Sack Races, 5 a

side football, DLK Audio, Hareer Belly Dancers, Black Lace and The Conga,

Up and coming Rapper on Tour Smokey Roomz, Absolute Dance

Academy, Bramley Sapphires Majorettes Troupe, MC Charlie Keith, DJ

Skills on the Youth Bus, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 2nd

Bramley Scouts, Jardine on Fire, mix and Mingle,

Roadside Light, Martial Arts, Go Kart Party, Donkey


Kirkstall in Bloom Would you like to get involved?

W e’re a new local group looking for volunteers to help us

beautify areas of Kirkstall. You don’t have to have green

fingers to join, just bags of enthusiasm and an interest in

improving Kirkstall. If you are able to give as little as one hour a

month, then we would love to hear from you! We have successfully

received funding for two local projects and welcome your help.

To join Kirkstall in Bloom or to find out more, email

[email protected] or visit “Kirkstall In Bloom” on

Facebook

COMMUNITY NEWS ■


Kirkstall Leisure Centre Looking for somewhere to hold a meeting or event?

We now have a Meeting Room Available every day

one off or long term bookings.

Seats up to 25 people. Children’s Parties, local

groups and businesses welcome.

Contact Reception for further details: Kirkstall Leisure

Centre, Kirkstall Lane, Leeds LS5 3BE

Tel 0113 214 4555/6

Kirkstall – your local leisure centre

At Alison James Opticians, we take eye care seriously. Just like you, we believe your eyes deserve the very best care and attention you can give them. We’ll help you keep them in tip-top condition with relaxed stress-free examinations, accurate prescribing, precise lens manufacture and of course, a wide range of frames.

Alison James Opticians 372 Kirkstall Road Leeds LS4 2HQ Tel: 0113 2752201

The Bookshop Kirkstall 10 Commercial Road Leeds LS5 3AQ UK

Tel 0113 2780937

www.amazon.co.uk/shops/bookshopkirkstall

www.abebooks.com/bookseller/kirkstall

[email protected]

We buy and sell good secondhand and antiquarian books

Monday to Saturday 10.00am - 4.00pm

or by appointment

Birthday Parties at Abbey House Museum

If you are looking for a birthday celebration with a difference, why not book a birthday party at the museum?

Our parties give children a chance to be creative and explore the museum and its objects in a fun way.

Party Planning

Birthday Parties take place on Sunday mornings from 10am -11.30am

The party is suitable for children aged between 7 - 14 years. We can take up to 10 children per party. We provide a party leader and the materials.

The Birthday Party costs £30.

Pre-booking is essential tel. 0113 230 5492


Rachel Reeves M.P.

Surgeries

Rachel holds regular surgeries

throughout the constituency.

For details, and to book an

appointment, please call

0113 263 0411 or email [email protected]

www.rachelreeves.net

Kirkstall Ward Councillor

Surgeries Help & advice from your local Councillors is

available on the first Saturday of the month at

Kirkstall Leisure Centre from 10.30am (except

August). Local street surgeries are also regularly

run in the local area.

Cllr John Illingworth

tel. 0113 267 3735 [email protected]

Cllr Lucinda Yeadon


Cllr Bernard Atha


12 Kirkstall Hill, Kirkstall,

Leeds, LS5 3BD

Telephone: 0113 278 3661/2

Fax: 0113 275 4599

Nanaimo Bars are back at Kirkstall Abbey Deli Market! Pick up your favourite flavours & sample new ones

at the Fayre by Alley stall.

Bespoke orders taken & delivery available

Unique Canadian sweet treats made in Yorkshire

Alleyne Oman

Phone: 07749 130 628 Email: [email protected] Web: www.fayrebyalley.co.uk

Have you tried Canada’s Favourite Confection?


Carole Anne BA (Hons)

Oasis Adv Dip Therapeutic Counselling

Counsellor

Low self-esteem Relationship Issues

Anxiety/Stress Loss/Bereavement

Family Matters Meditation Group

Spiritual Counselling

Please visit my website at:

www.lovingcounsel.co.uk

Come and join the biggest craze … ZUMBA fitness is here

@ St Stephens Church Hall (top of Norman Street)

Every Tuesday @ 7.30pm

Class is great for all ages and abilities Dance, laugh and have fun

Just £4 per class

For more info call, text or email Nicola on 07782198534

[email protected]

Explore Yorkshire's past with the

Yorkshire Archaeological Society

Library, archives, lectures, excursions & publications on all aspects of

Yorkshire's history and archaeology

Special interest sections include: Family History, Roman Antiquities, Pre-History,

Industrial History, Medieval History

Find us at Claremont, 23 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9NZ

For more information see

www.yas.org.uk


T he Nanaimo Bar has been called ‘Canada’s Favourite

Confection’. Fayre by Alley is a new and growing business

which has introduced this Canadian dessert to cafés and

markets in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

A Nanaimo Bar (pronounced ‘nuh-nay-moh’) is a three layer

dessert square named after the city on the west coast of Canada

where it originated. The Bar has a crunchy biscuit, cocoa and

coconut base, a soft sweet middle and a solid chocolate top. It is

different from a brownie, cupcake or a millionaire’s square in its

rich and multi-textured taste. The Nanaimo Bar has earned its

spot beside the cup of coffee, pot of tea, glass of red wine or pint

of real ale.

Fayre by Alley has brought the traditional Canadian recipe to the

UK and has created a growing range of interesting flavours. They

have fun and quirky names such as Canadian Winter (a minty

version), Ginger Snap! (ginger nut biscuit in the base) and Wee

Beastie (shortbread biscuit base and a whisky-enhanced middle).

These sweet treats are regularly selling out in cafés and markets

across Leeds.

Alley is Alleyne

Oman, a Canadian

who has been living

in the UK for over

ten years. She

moved from London

to Leeds last year

and rather than

pursuing a job in

the financial services

industry where she

previously worked,

she decided to start

a home-based

business by making

and selling Nanaimo

Bars. After a sell-

out debut at the first Kirkstall Abbey Deli Market in May 2011 with

a little camping table, her company Fayre by Alley has been

expanding due to a growing fan base of customers and ‘foodies’

who are in search of new taste experiences.

Alley enjoys the Kirkstall

area so much that she’s

moving into the area A popular comment heard when people are having a Nanaimo

Bar for the first time is ‘I’ve never tasted anything like it’. A recent

customer commented ‘the Canadian Sunrise flavour reminds me

of a jaffa cake but better!’ And ‘never would have believed that a

chocolate dessert would go so well with a porter’ was heard by a

real ale enthusiast at the Headingley Ale Festival in December

2011.

Alley enjoys the Kirkstall area so much that she’s moving into the

area! The Fayre by Alley Takeaway Deli Fayre is located at 137

Kirkstall Lane

(formerly Red’s) and

will offer great

takeaway coffee,

breakfasts, ‘elevenses’

and lunches, mini

hampers for cricket

and rugby matches

and catering for

offices, schools and

events. As well, Alley’s

met many Yorkshire-

based food producers

through farmers’

markets and aims to

feature their fayre,

too. And the

Nanaimo Bar will have

a permanent home, with several flavours always on offer.

A big step from that little camping table at the first Kirkstall Abbey

Deli Market a year ago! For more details visit

www.fayrebyalley.co.uk and www.kirkstalldelimarket.org.uk

Canadian Fayre Going Down a Treat at

Kirkstall Abbey Deli Market

COMMUNITY NEWS ■


Stanley Allen

Stanley Allen Unisex Hair Salon

119 Kirkstall Hill, Leeds, LS4 2TH

Telephone: 01132 786343

Stanley Allen 10% off with this

voucher


Come and dine in beautiful

surroundings, choose from a

wide range of delicious

traditional mediterranean dishes

Hors d’oeuvres

Pasta & Risotto

Pizzas

Salads

Cheese Platters

Desserts

Bottled wine & beer selection

Brand new and exciting

mediterranean bistro

Bookings welcome:

0113 274 0041

41-43 Commercial Road

Kirkstall, Leeds LS5 3AW

E: [email protected]

W: www.gallery-fortyone.com

Bring this voucher

for a free bottle of

house wine

(with the purchase of 2

two course meals)


A t first, the Hutchinson family lived

in a flat at Ellers Nurseries on the

Leeds Bradford Road. But not for

long. “The old man, who owned the place,

used to wake us up on a night, shooting

rats on the canal. Then John bit his dog. I

think that might have been why we moved.

Mind, John used to bite me too and I bit

him.”

They moved to 50 Commercial Road, just

down the road from Kirkstall Abbey. Derek

thinks the house may have been built in

the eighteenth century, in any case it was

grand and spacious. It belonged to Henry

Jenkinson who owned the printing works

on Bridge Lane, where Betty first found

work. It had once been a house of

substance, with walls a couple of feet thick,

stone steps leading up to a double front

door and large windows each with a pair of

panelled, wooden shutters that folded out

like concertinas. It stood on an artificial

terrace with a six foot drop to a long,

overgrown garden that sloped steeply

down to the River Aire. By 1950, though, it

was largely derelict. A year after they

arrived, Betty became pregnant again with

her last child, a third son, Maurice.

The family of five lived in two barely

habitable rooms. A stone flagged cellar

served as both kitchen and living room. A

window allowed glimpses of the main

road, but the one at the back was set close

to the ceiling. Derek remembers the room

as dark and damp, and freezing in the

winter, when there was no fire in the range.

Their furniture was basic: a sink, a food

cupboard, a sofa, an armchair and a table

with only four chairs (though this wasn't a

problem, as they rarely sat down for a

meal together). Betty cooked on a

Yorkshire range. “We always had plenty of

free coke. Kirkstall Congregational Church

was right next door, which was very handy,

not that we ever went to church, though

Mum was forever telling people she was

High Church of Scotland. They had these

regular deliveries and, after the coal lorry

had turned the corner, Mum would send

us through a hole in the wall with our

buckets.”

Water was heated in a copper boiler. “We

had baths in front of the fire until someone

stole the copper in broad daylight, when I

was about seven. Mum were in the pub so

he must have thought it were a sure thing

she wouldn't be back for a while.”

The sole bedroom was a few steps up on

the ground floor. It was warmer and lighter

there, with bare wooden floorboards.

“There were two beds. When Maurice were

little, Mum slept in one with him and Dad

shared the other with John and me. Our

clothes just went wherever except, when it

was cold, when we piled everything on top

of the beds.”

Along the back, a flagged yard gave access

to a chemical toilet at the far end. “Going

to the loo was like walking to the end of

our street.” Once a month, Jack would dig

a hole at the bottom of the garden for

sewage disposal. The toilet bucket had

hoops for poles to be inserted. “Me and

our John carried one side and Dad had the

other. I don't know if you can imagine

going down a steep flight of stairs with

that. Dad went first and his arms would be

above his head trying to keep it level - but

it's just not possible. One day we dropped

it and we were all covered in shite. But it

didn't half make the raspberries grow.”

Betty told the boys that monsters lived in

the rest of the house. “This was supposed

to deter us from ever going there but of

course it had the opposite effect on me -

I'd go monster hunting. There were one of

those sweeping staircases that splits at the

top and carries on up in two directions, like

you see in the Hollywood films. You had to

be careful where you walked because there

were no floorboards, only joists. There

were cellars running right underneath so I

went down there as well with candles.

Maurice came with me a couple of times

but he were only little and it frightened

him. I found plenty of hiding places, for

when I needed to lay low for a while.”

Jack did his best with the part of the house

they inhabited. “It were always freshly

painted - either khaki green or battleship

grey. Down Kirkstall Road there was the

Army and Navy Salvage Yard. Keelings,

they called man who ran it. Dad would give

us half a crown for some tins of paint.

Instead of spending it, our John would

stand with his hands linked by the back

wall and I'd take a running jump and push

up over. Then I'd pass the tins down to

him. It were a twelve foot drop. We didn't

just get one, we had to make a profit! Half

of Commercial Road were painted in the

same colours.”

Derek's childhood was tough by modern

standards but, in the post war period,

plenty of people were living in similar

conditions. However, Derek can't

remember anyone in the area who didn't

have a job, including most of the women.

As a master welder, Jack was never out of

work. In the immediate neighbourhood, St

Ann's Mill employed around 700 people,

Thomas Wade Printers about 450,

Jenkinson's about 600 and then there was

the Brewery and Abbey Mills. As in all mill

towns, there were well-established nursery

■ LIFESTYLE & PEOPLE

The Cracker Factory In the last issue, we published the first of four

articles about Derek Hutchinson's childhood

in Kirkstall during in the 1950s. These are

extracts from 'The Cracker Factory' a book he

is writing about his life with Hilary Dyter. Here

are two more extracts evoking that lost

community on Commercial Road and the boy

whose wild living continually disrupted the

neighbourhood. The last episode ended with

Derek moving from Sunderland to Kirkstall at

the age of three with his brother John, Jack his

father, a master welder and a bare fist fighter,

and his increasingly alcoholic mother, Betty.


schools accepting children as young as

two and a half, so that mothers could be

available for work. “Mum mostly worked in

printing jobs or at the Brewery. She took

me to a nursery in Armley but she had to

take us away because I kept escaping. One

day, they found me in the back of a truck

and I think it was the last straw.”

For all the sparseness of the family's living

conditions, improvement seemed possible

– until Betty developed a drinking

problem. “Mum worked in the Brewery for

four of five years. You could have as many

drinks as you wanted during the day. They

said the idea were to put people off but it

didn't work with her.” In Sunderland, Jack

had gone to the pub every Friday and

Saturday night, but he never drank in the

house and never deviated from this

pattern. Betty was different though and her

drinking grew into a daily habit. “She said

she worked hard and deserved a drink but

by the time Maurice were six, she were

juiced up every night of the week. Before

Dad came home from work, she'd go over

to the back of The George with a jug and

they'd fill it up for her. She'd drink some

there and then and finish it off in secret,

after he'd gone to bed. Most evenings

she'd carry on at the old man. Every night

she'd be shouting at him, then she'd get

out of bed and barge across the room,

then back again and so it would go on. I

never once heard him shout back, never

once saw him hit her. Some nights, she'd

drag us out of bed and go round knocking

on people's doors, saying he was hitting

her. One Christmas Eve, they came back

from the pub and she fell over in front of

us and cut her eye on the fender. She

called the police round and accused Dad

of hurting her. Before they came, she said

to us, “Don't forget to tell the police that

you saw your Dad hitting me.” I refused, so

she gave me a good hiding.”

When Jack wasn't around, Betty directed

her anger at Derek. “If there were any carry

on, it were always me that got the blame.

She used to give me a good hiding with

the belt, or anything she could get her

hands on, then lock me in the coal house

for a couple of hours. It was about nine

foot square with a broken window. I could

have got out but where else would I go?

The coal sacks kept me warm. Under the

sink there were two pillars and I used to

get under there and go to sleep. This

happened so often, I got so used to sitting

there on me own in the dark that it didn't

bother me. She didn't do it to the others

and I don't think me Dad would have

stood for it, if he'd known. Once I asked

her for a fried egg and she went on that

much, I said it didn't matter but she'd

already cooked it so she held me down

and forced it down my throat. Afterwards, I

hid under the table and drank a whole

bottle of cough mixture as a treat. You

were never sure what mood she were in. It

were safer to stay out of house.” Worse

than the punishment was the hunger.

Derek was the smallest of the three

brothers. He remembers being the only

child at Kirkstall County Primary to be

given a daily ration of malt. He blames the

shortage of food on Betty who drank all

her own wages and as much as she could

of Jack's. Her nickname for him was 'Skinny

Get', John was 'Black Haired Get' and

Maurice was 'Baby.'

With regards to food, Sunderland was

Derek's paradise lost. There was so much

food, they fed the surplus to the cats.

“Ganny [Grandma] did all the cooking for

everyone. There were cow heel, pig's

trotters, neck of mutton and my favourite -

pot pie. You make it with steak and kidney,

steamed in a pot lined with suet pastry and

cooked in a pan with the lid on. Our street

led down to the ferry, where it was a

ha'penny to get across. We used to go

over and sit on the dock fishing just for fun

and we'd feed the fish to the cats because,

even though there was rationing, food

wasn't short. We'd go night fishing on the

pier with Dad and Uncle Billy, Uncle Lance

and the others. Or we'd go down the beck

with the pram for sea coal and whillicks.

These were tiny snails that Gramma would

boil in a great big tub, then we'd take

them with us to a match at Roker Park and

dig them out with pins'.

Though Betty could also provide

memorable meals, when the ingredients

were available. Derek remembers that Jack

was always well fed. As the main wage

earner, and with a job that demanded

strength and concentration, it was

important that he stayed fit and well.

Derek has fond memories of the

occasional home-made pies and bread

with raspberry jam. “Most weeks, Mum

would make bread. Everyone did then. The

only time I did as I were told was when she

told me to go get some raspberries. This

meant she was going to make jam to go

with the bread and it was lovely. If any of

the other kids got wind of this, they'd be

hanging round the kitchen too, the four

Mosers were always there. Somehow they

just knew. They were good mates of mine.”

But bread with raspberry jam was the

exception. “Mum would make a meal

before Dad came home. He'd get mutton

and we got the fat with mashed tatties. It

were that horrible to chew, we just

swallowed it.” Things improved years later,

when the family moved to a house in

Burley Road. Derek remembers roast

dinners there every Sunday and Jack using

the left-overs to make what he called

'p'nack'. “He'd mash it all together in a

frying pan and add a big dollop of

piccalilli. If you have some of that after

nine pints of beer, you'll eat it like a wolf.”

In the meantime, the brothers staked out a

territory extending for roughly a mile in

every direction and foraged like hunter

gatherers. “We never begged, we had our

pride and when you had parents like mine,

it wasn't stealing. If you took anything

home that was ripped off, it was the only

time Mum was nice. If it was food she'd

cook it. If not, she'd sell it for beer.”

Derek became an expert scavenger. “Every

day of the holidays, we were free to do as

we pleased. We were outside whatever the

weather. We had the run of the garden at

the back of the house. It were all

overgrown but there were fruit trees,

currant bushes and a strawberries. It just

grew itself and that's what we ate all day

and every day.” In the spring, there was

rhubarb (Derek calls it 'tusker') rustled

from fields above the Abbey. “Sometimes

we ate it raw with sugar but it were better

in a pie. On Sunday, a bloke used to come

with milk churns from Skipton and he'd

stop and play darts and dominoes with

Dad. In among the milk churns, he'd

rabbits that he'd get from the farmers

along the way and we'd always take a

couple for lunch.”

The main course for Christmas dinner was

always one of Hettie Hunter's free range

chickens. “She were the steward for

Kirkstall Recreational Club next door and

she kept hens half way down her garden.

You'd hear her shouting to her husband,

“Jackie! Jackie! One of the hens is missing!”

And we'd be sitting in our kitchen plucking

it. It were always me that had to go into

the hen hut because I were the only one

small enough to get in.”

In those days, there were many more

shops along Commercial Road, than there

are today. Derek and his friends would

steal bottles of Tizer and PLJ, drink the

contents and take the bottles back to

collect the return money on them. “We

used to play with the Dixon brothers. Their

parents had the café at number three. It

were called the 'Taxi Man's Cafe', because

their Dad was the Kirkstall taxi. They didn't

exactly give us food, we weren't charity

cases, but we used to come away with

cakes and all sorts. If you were fast

LIFESTYLE & PEOPLE■


enough, you could get fruit from Garner's

Fish and Fruit or from Dobby's further up

the street.”

Jack's favourite food was duck or goose

eggs. Where the River Aire branches,

originally to drive the waterwheels at

Jenkins Mill and St Anne's, is a fast flowing

weir, thirty foot wide with a drop of over

fifteen feet. A two inch, red line was

originally painted on the ledge to show

where it was safe to cross but, over the

years, this had mostly vanished under

moss and water weed. “But, we knew the

secret. You'd to walk sideways so you

could see both sides of the red line.” The

first time they successfully got across, they

discovered what they thought was a secret

island inhabited only by ducks. “This were

where we collected our duck eggs. Being

the smallest, it were my job to crawl into

the bushes to find them.” On days when

nothing much else was happening, Duck

Island (as they called it) would catch fire,

and firemen, running along the bank,

inevitably found three willing lads waiting

by the weir, to show them how to get

across safely. Goose eggs were supplied by

the allotments near Dobby Row. “It's

difficult getting goose eggs, we had to use

sticks. It's never something to do on your

own. You had to have a distraction party

because the plots were overlooked and the

only way out were the path up to the main

road.”

It occurred to me that Derek hadn't

mentioned any toys. He had to stop and

think. “No, there weren't any but it didn't

matter because we made our own. But we

had a radio. It were our prize possession.

We listened to Radio Luxembourg, all the

early jive and rock and roll. And we had

our pile of Beano and Dandy. Dad would

buy them when he got his wages every

week.” It's not difficult to imagine Derek

finding inspiration in Dennis the Menace

and the Bash Street Kids. “We were proper

river lads like in 'Tom Sawyer'. We'd go rat

catching with big sticks and stones,

anything we could get our hands on. We

hung ropes from trees to swing across the

river. We built rafts. A while back, I took my

grandchildren down there to show them

what we got up to and they were amazed

that our Mum and Dad let us go down

there on our own.”

After one of my visit to the archives, I

asked Derek about flooding. I've read that

the River Aire was notorious for extensive

flooding in this part of the valley. In the

year he was born, the whole of Bridge

Road, the playing fields and the railway

station were all under water. I thought of

the three boys immersed in their

adventures and wondered at the dangers

they faced. But of course, Derek was well

aware of the flooding. “As far as where

Morrisons is now could be two foot under

water. We were up to our waists

sometimes. The river regularly flooded,

right over the railway lines and all over our

gardens would be flooded right up to the

steps.

“It wasn't clean water like it is now. It were

black and muddy. There were always lots

of rats but we never saw any fish. The

water used to come down from the hill in

big blobs of foam. We used to throw bricks

at them. It ran right through the middle of

Kirkstall Forge where they made axles.

There were a big Lasko Stamp, a thirty two

tonner that stamped big axles. On the

other side of the river, they had seven

hammers and a main machine house, with

lathes and capstans. Everything, all the

coolant for cutting steel got washed into

the river.”

Derek gave me a detailed description of

how they made bows and arrows from

sticks and ferns. “You get a decent stick

that's reasonably even, usually elderberry,

and you shape it down leaving some of the

bark on for the handle. Then you tie string

to one end, bend it tight, and tie it to the

other and you've got your bow. We mostly

used ferns for the arrows but we'd tie a

piece of brick to the end to make them go

further and hurt more.”

Jack taught them how to make something

called a 'French arrow' using a half split

cane. “These were two foot long and you

had to get proper cane from the penny

shop. You split it both ends, two inches

away from a knuckle in the wood so it

won't split all the way down. The flight

would be cardboard or anything you could

find. You find a big sharp rock to stick in

the cleft in the other end and tie it up right

strong. Then you wrap some decent string

once, round the knuckle at the rock end,

stretch it down the length of the arrow and

wrap it round your finger. You pull it as far

back as you can over your shoulder and

launch it, letting go of the string. They go

for hundreds of yards when you get it

right.” Frustrated by my inability to grasp

the finer points of construction, he drew

me a diagram. It was all about making the

best of what they could find. They made

pea shooters out of reeds using green

elderberries for the pea. “They don't half

hurt if you get one on the back of the

neck!” They used with one of Betty's best

knives to whittle catapults. “Down by the

mill, there was a pile of broken bearings,

those big ones that carry all the spindles.

We'd take the small bearings out for

ammunition. I got a rat with one once -

instant death!”

Under the Recreational Club, there was a

raised platform on pillars. “It were like a

cave. That's where we learned to stone

throw by putting bottles up against the

back wall and throwing bricks at them.”

Another of Derek's favourite games was to

climb onto the flange part of the metal

bridge, over the railway line at the bottom

of Bridge Road, and wait for a coal train to

come along. Then he'd jump fifteen feet

into one of the wagons and get a free ride

all the way to the power station. “You had

to keep your head down because all the

trains were steam and they could blind

you, so you couldn't see where to jump. It

were always a safe landing. It were soft

coal but a bit mucky. The trick were to get

the timing right. I always did this on my

own. Maurice were too small and John

were scared he'd miss. Mum caught us at it

once. Bye! She didn't half leather us. She

walloped us all the way up the street. A

man was passing in a car and he leaned

out the window and shouted at her to

stop. Not that she took any notice.”

They kept pigeons and rabbits but there

was an unwritten rule that these were not

for eating. Pigeon fancying was first

started, in the North East, by miners. There

is an obvious therapeutic contrast between

a working life spent deep underground

and the process of cosseting birds into

peak condition for racing. The Hutchinson

family developed their own version of the

art. One of the first things Jack did, when

they moved to Kirkstall, was to build some

pigeon ducketts in the middle of the

garden. “He'd five or six birds he'd tamed

as racers but that weren't what they were

for. When there were a race on overhead,

he'd let them out and they'd bring back at

least one more bird every time. The trick is

to keep the new birds in the ducketts for a

couple of weeks, otherwise they'll fly

straight back home. If anyone tries to sell

you a homing pigeon in the pub, you need

to remember this. There's a few bob been

made that way - if you get my drift.”

Derek learned how to use Jack's carpentry

tools and made his own ducketts and a

rabbit hutch with wood mostly raided from

the bonfires that were being built in the

neighbourhood for bonfire night. Wire

clothes hangers were twisted into the

special hooks that allowed the pigeons in

but stopped them from getting out. And

he also kept newts and tadpoles in an old

dustbin filled with water.



Derek caught his fledgling pigeons on the

roof of St Anne's Mill. 'We were all very

good climbers. Any roof in Kirkstall were

fair territory and St Anne's were so old,

nobody dared to follow. The roof were all

zigzags with glass to one side. We'd find

the nests with the young birds and I'd train

them to be homing pigeons. You have to

hold it carefully with one hand and lift its

beak and feed it with corn. Once, we took

Dad over to the mill to show him how we

did it. He was seriously impressed. But he

didn't tell us not to do it because he knew

it wouldn't make any difference if he did”

Maurice went everywhere with them. He

would have been about three and a half,

when he was up on the roof of St Anne's,

watching as Derek and John jumped across

the coping stones. “Before we could stop

him, he tried to do it and missed. He fell

straight through the glass and landed on a

skip of shoddy. I don't like to think what

would have happened if he'd have hit the

side of the basket. Our John had to lower

me onto one of the roof supports and I

jumped the last twenty feet. Maurice were

fine, though we were both covered from

head to toe in shoddy but the biggest

problem were getting out of there without

Old Jim seeing us. His job were to guard

the place and he were always on the look

out for us. Not that he ever caught us but

he had this bulldog. I didn't know then

that bulldogs can't run. I found a window

at the back and we climbed through and

ran like the wind. I got the blame as usual.

Maurice would have been about five or six

when I got sent to approved school and I

worried about him because I were the one

that looked after him.”

The wall of the ruined tower of Kirkstall

Abbey is 200 feet high. This was Derek's

most ambitious climb. “We hardly ever

played there as there weren't much to do

and it were more in the public eye than

our patch. One day though, I were there

with a couple of mates, Barry and Tony,

and we saw all these pigeons up there, so I

thought I'd have a go at finding a nest. I

climbed up holding onto the lightning

conductor. When I got to the top, I could

see all the river and over as far as the

tusker fields, where Leeds Rhino grounds

are now. Then I heard all these sirens

coming closer. Someone must have rung

for the police and fire brigade. I got down

faster than anyone has ever moved and

ran for it. I look at it now and I can't

believe it but I were only a skinny little rat.

I could climb owt.” He was six years old.

When Derek had mastered basic carpentry

skills, his father taught him how to weld.

Jack earned extra money by making

wrought iron gates for private customers.

For this he borrowed space in the

workshop at Horsfield's Engineering, 116

Commercial Road. Sometimes, he would

take Derek with him. “He knew all the

blokes there and, in those days, there

weren't anything like Health and Safety

and they'd let me have a go. I knew how to

weld before I left primary school.”

In the Hutchinson tradition, Jack also

taught all three boys how to box properly.

“All of us were brought up to look after

ourselves, to defend ourselves at all times.

When it came to fighting none of the other

kids were a match for us because we'd

been taught how to do it properly and

they hadn't. Dad had us in the garden with

gloves on, from being five years old. Both

my parents stood up for themselves only

he stood up for other people, like I do.

John were a lot heavier than me because

he used to get more toast than me so he

got big and I didn't. Later he did some

professional boxing, as a heavy weight. I

were a light middle weight. I've never

boxed professionally but I've always been

'The Man', the one people come to if a

problem needs sorting.”

On rare occasions, Derek had the chance

to see Jack in action. “I once saw him

knock a bloke over a bridge. We were

sitting outside the Star and Garter with our

Guy Fawkes getting our pennies and this

bloke came out and gave us a lot of aggro,

telling us to get off home. Well, the Guy

weren't very good and I suppose he

thought we were begging. We'd just

stuffed a jacket with some newspaper,

stuffed more in a paper bag for his head

and scribbled a face on. It weren't worth

the effort to make a better one because

everyone were popped up anyway. Mum

came out and gave him some lip, so he

started on her. Then Dad came out. He

didn't say a word just punched him once

and he went straight over the side of the

bridge and landed head first in the mud.

We all fell about laughing but Dad had to

jump down and get him out or he'd have

drowned. Another time, Maurice and me

were leaning out of the bedroom window

and we saw Harry Leeming coming down

through the churchyard thinking to steal

some of our pigeons. He hadn't seen Dad

were fast asleep on the wall of the terrace.

We yelled and Dad woke up so suddenly,

that he fell straight over the wall. But he

chased Harry right round the church and

gave him a good licking.”

Inevitably, living in a small, close knit

community, the Hutchinson boys began to

get a reputation. “I were always in trouble

with the police, with people telling lies

about what we'd done and not done and it

were always me that got the blame. Well

alright, some of it weren't lies. Bobby

Thompson thought he knew all that went

on in the Kirkstall village area but he were

right fat so he couldn't catch me if he saw

me doing owt and, if he did, he'd just give

me a crack round the head and take me

home to tell me Mum. Mind you, it were

different then, we only did the sort of

things that kids have always done, not like

the violence we have today. We weren't

knocking old ladies over the head and

pinching their money to buy drugs. We

didn't have many friends because most of

them couldn't stand the pace and anyway

most people wouldn't allow their children

to play with us. It were just the lads who

were the same as us - those that had nowt.

“There were air raid shelters at the back of

Tommy Wades. To get into them there

were an air vent at the top with a cowling

and you had to get under the cowling and

drop down. We found a load of gas masks

in one and there were a big stone table.

That's where we had our gang meet, where

we'd share out the apples after we'd been

out kipping. We'd take candles from the

mantelpiece in the kitchen. Our gang were

me and our John, the two Barrys, Tony, the

four Moser brothers and two other

brothers, Dennis and John. We'd have the

occasional guests, but they had to bring

their own candles and, from time to time,

we'd have young lady members.”

Derek's career as a 'twocker' began at an

early age and with one of the most

desirable cars of all time. While motor

vehicles were becoming more common,

few people could afford to buy one,

relying on the tram or their legs to get

around. It was still not unusual to see

horses and carts. In the summer, Betty

worked at Wades the printers. “She were

always as good as gold without the beer. If

we wanted anything, like a few pence, we'd

go round and knock on the door. One of

the women would pop their head out, “Oh,

do you want yer Mam?” Thomas Wade

kept his Mark VII Jaguar out in the yard.

One day, I saw some fruit pastels on one of

the front seats. That's what attracted us at

first. We were sitting inside eating them,

when I noticed a round starter button so I

started it up and ran it straight into a wall.

There weren't a right lot of damage and he

never said anything.”

When Derek was seven, he had his first

serious accident. “Barry and me used to

get up Kirkstall Hill the quick way, by

LIFESTYLE & PEOPLE■


hanging onto the backs of wagons. This

day, there were a low loader with a trailer

on the back. We were sitting on the tow

bar and as it turned the corner half way up,

the turning nuts tore off one of my finger

nails and I fell under the wheels and

smashed me legs. You could see through

to the bone in places. I were in pots up to

me waist with a metal bar across me shins.

I've still got the scars today. I couldn't do

anything for meself so Mum had to give

up work and look after me. She'd push me

round in a spinal carriage. Maurice would

have been about two so he came with us.

It must have been the year of the

Coronation because someone came round

from school with my commemoration

mug. One day, she said she was taking us

to Kirkstall Abbey but we only got as far as

the Vespers. As a rule we never got past

the George. Then every day was the same,

the Vespers or the Star and Garter or the

Far George or the West End or the Abbey

or the Sovereign. She really started to hit

the booze. That were the time when

someone pinched our copper.” To this day,

he not only remember the names of all

eight pubs in the area but can list the

different beers sold by each one.

Derek had his first contact with the law

courts when he was eight years old. It

involved guns. On the other side of the

Recreational Club was a large patch of

land. In the winter, this was taken over by a

fairground. “They had an air rifle stand.

One night, I were there with John and a

few mates with the idea of getting some

rifles to play around with. John pushed me

through a back window and I passed him

seven rifles through a little hole in the back

door. John gave me one and kept six for

himself. He told me to hide them in the

derelict part of the house because he were

afraid of going there himself. We took

them out in the cornfield on the hill a few

times, taking pot shots at the garage over

the road. One day, the police caught us at

it. One of them said to me, 'What are you

doing with that gun?' I threw it at him and

ran but he knew who we were, everyone

knew us. I got twelve months at the

Attendance Centre because John lied,

saying I had six guns and he only had one.

Mum knew the real score but she never

said anything and I didn't put them right

because you don't grass on your brother.

Every Saturday, I had to go to 'The Scrubs',

a police run place up York Road, where

you had to scrub the floor as a

punishment.”

School was the only place where Derek

was never in trouble. “From the very first

day, I loved every minute. The teachers

were always pleased with me and I were

expected to go to the grammar school.

When I went back after the accident, I

began to write stories. I'd fill a whole

exercise book in a lesson mostly about

how I'd rob Lady Docker of all her jewels.

I'd been making up stories to pass the

time, when I were in the spinal carriage

outside the pub with our Maurice.” But

grammar school didn't appeal to Derek.

None of his family or friends had ever

passed the eleven plus. “John had already

gone to Kirkstall Road Secondary and I

wanted to go there too. I remember

looking at the exam paper and thinking it

were just so easy. I wrote a load of

nonsense on it so I wouldn't pass. The

teachers were upset and gave me a load of

grief. They said I hadn't tried at all which

were true enough.”

When Derek was in his first year of

secondary school, he was convicted at

Leeds Magistrates Court of breaking and

entering. That's the official version. In

reality, he was caught red-handed doing

what less adventurous boys only dream of.

“We'd been on a school trip to the Abbey

Museum and there were all these swords

and stuff like that. That night, my mate

Kenny said to me, “Let's go and have

another look at that place.” One of the

roof rests were open so that's how we got

in. Inside, it were pitch black at first but

then we could see all these knights in

armour. Well, we were fencing up with a

couple of the swords when suddenly the

alarm went off and the caretaker came

down. I didn't see him at first because he

were behind me. I just saw Kenny turn

round and jump straight through the

window and I were stood there thinking,

“What's wrong with him?” Police came and

took me and that, basically, were the start

of my life of crime. It wasn't really a crime

because we'd no intention to steal owt. It

were just a bit of excitement you know.

“Kenny were two or three years older than

me but they remanded me in custody not

him. I were put in Wortley Remand Home

until the trial came up. I thought it were

great. We played sport - a bit of rugby and

football. There were school work and they

had a woodwork shop. There were a

mixture of lads up to fifteen years old. The

older lads used to diss the lads who

couldn't hack it but they were alright with

me because I were as wise as them. We

had three meals a day. We were warm at

night and they gave us proper clothes -

short trousers, corduroy gear and proper

shoes. I were used to Wellington boots

with the toes cut out. There were no carry

on at night, no drunkenness. I didn't miss

my family. When I went to court, I thought

I'd be going back home and I weren't right

happy. In court, they said to Kenny's Mum,

''Are you prepared to make sure that he

won't do this again?' And she's going, “Oh

yes, your Honour. I will your Honour.” Then

they asked my Mum the same thing but

she'd called in the Jubilee Bar on the way

and she says, 'I'm afraid I can't look after

him. He won't do as he's told'. So the

judge gave me three years but I didn't

mind. I just wanted to get back to Wortley

for some tea. If I'd been born into a

different family it might all have been

different but as it were, when I look back at

my childhood, it were about making the

best of a bad job.”

Sentenced to three years, Derek rebelled

against every harsh word, disregarded

every punishment meted out to him and

was always the first to come forward in

defence of a friend. As a result, he ended

up doing four.

Derek continued to live on the edge of

danger until the age of 12 when,

following a particularly daring

escapade, his mother declared that he

was beyond parental control and he

was sent to approved school. Here,

and later in the borstal system, he

gained a reputation for being a

formidable fighter. In 1974, he was

selected for experimental psycho-

surgery which resulted in permanent

brain damage.

Unable to win legal redress as a result

of the Statute of Limitations, he has

spent the last twenty years as a local,

national and international campaigner

against abuses in the mental health

system.

Recently, he has worked tirelessly to

restore the cemetery at High Royds

Hospital where over 2,000 past

inmates ('the lads and lassies' as Derek

calls them) were buried in unmarked

graves.

Today, he and his wife Carol live just

up the hill from his childhood home

and spends most weekends ferrying

his grandsons to rugby matches.

Our thanks go out to Derek and to

Hilary for letting us tell his story.



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email [email protected] Kirkstall Abbey by Jo Jones


T he Abbey Picture House, Kirkstall, in

Leeds, opened, according to Preedy

in Leeds Cinemas (and also

according to the note accompanying the

photo on the Leodis Web site; but see

below) on 22 September 1913; and closed,

to be turned into a Bingo Hall, on 8

October 1960. It was advertised as having

520 seats, five exits, and fifteen ventilators.

There was, as originally advertised, an

orchestral balcony with music provided by

a piano and violin under the direction of

Mr Will Nettleton. (See Leodis web site;

and see Illustration (1). It was one of the

smaller cinemas; at the other extreme, the

Majestic which opened in City Square in

1922, had 2,500 seats.

The original investors and owners were

John Briggs, Miriam Ransley and Martha

Dealey. In the first two decades of the

twentieth century Leeds, and that included

Kirkstall, witnessed two major changes.

First, it was the dawning of the age of the

cinema (‘the pictures’ as they were more

commonly known then; or ‘the movies’ as

the Americans would have us call them);

though perhaps, as the cinema has been

reinvigorated and the Leeds International

Film Festival approaches its twenty-sixth

anniversary, one should now refer it as the

first age of the cinema. In Leeds, the first

purpose built cinema, also known as the

Picture House (later becoming the Rialto)

opened in Briggate in April 1911 (Leeds

Cinemas: p 10) Some 56 cinemas opened

in Leeds between 1910 and the end of

1919; excluding those listed by Preedy as

‘out of town’. Kelly’s Directory for 1923 lists

52 ‘Cinematograph Houses’ in Leeds. In

1931 the annual licence was renewed by

the Watch Committee for 68 cinemas in

Leeds. Besides the Abbey Picture House,

there were at least 8 in Headingley-cum-

Burley: 4 in Kirkstall Road, 2 in Burley and 2

in Headingley.

This was the passive entertainment in the

pre-telly age. Maybe not always entirely

passive on the back row:

‘I spent many happy evenings in this

cinema, I had my first “date” with my late

wife Eunice there in 1950, in later years

before it closed we used to call it our

cinema because on some occasions there

would be no other customers but us. I feel

very sad when I pass it now. I still live in

the area.’ (Comment by Eric Lee,

downloaded from Leodis, 6/2/2012)

And no doubt the ritual of the national and

universally popular Saturday morning

matinee was sometimes a noisy and not

entirely passive affair:

‘I spent many an enjoyable Saturday

morning watching the matinees with

brothers, sisters and cousins, then riding

my horse back to my grandparents’ house

on Victoria Terrace. Colin Darby.’

(Downloaded from Leodis, as above.)

And the following from Kirkstall Oral

History Group (From Spanish Wine, Page

54):

‘The Abbey Picture House was owned by

Mr Sutcliff. William Pullan tried to keep the

children quiet at the old 2d rush on

Saturdays. He also sold sweets in the

interval. Jam jars were accepted as

entrance fees to the cinema.

After work you could go home, have your

tea, and then go out to the pictures. There

were a lot more picture houses in those

days, one on nearly every corner, and the

films changed twice a week.

The local cinemas were the Abbey Picture

House, the Haddon Hall, the Burley Picture

House (the “Bug Hutch”), the Lyceum and

the Atlas.

Serials always ended each week with a cliff

-hanger and you had to go next week to

see what happened.

A favourite actress was Pearl White who

was often tied to a railway line with a train

approaching, or hanging over a cliff edge

waiting to be rescued by the hero who

usually arrived on a white horse in the nick

of time.

There were lots of Westerns with Cowboys

and Indians. Cartoons which we watched

were Felix the Cat; Mickey Mouse; Popeye.’

The Saturday experience was undoubtedly

repeated throughout the city and the

whole country. The following, from Kirkstall

Matters, so captures the flavour, as I too

remember it, that I must quote it in full. It

relates to the Atlas (which, in 1935,

became the Embassy) and had over 800

seats, in Kirkstall Road:

SATURDAY AT THE PENNY RUSH by

RON SMITH

'Whatever we had ever done on special

days like election day as described in my

last article, whatever games we had played

during weekdays, or whatever innocent,

harmless mischief we had indulged in,

there is no doubt whatsoever that the

highlight of every week was the Saturday

afternoon at the cinema, or as we called it

“the pictures”. Otherwise known as the

'Penny Rush’ because a penny, was the

From Picture House to Bingo Hall

■ LOCAL HISTORY


cost of entrance. The pictures themselves

were silent, all conversations between

actors and actresses being printed on the

screen. The only concession to sound was

a piano, complete with a pianist sitting

towards the side of the screen, who had to

have a most diverse and prolific selection

of tunes because he had to try to play

something which would convey in music

whatever was being enacted on the screen.

As can well be imagined, such scenes

would often be changing and sometimes

during the course of a few minutes.

Perhaps a cowboy would be lovingly

gazing into the eyes of some attractive

young lady and then the next moment he

would be mounting a horse which would

then gallop off at break neck speed. It is

easy to imagine the vastly different tempo

of music needed and how quickly the

pianist had to act to effect such changes.

The particular pianist at the cinema I

attended seemed to be there all through

the year and had brought the job to a fine

art. Such artistry was completely lost on

the young audience and he could just as

well have stayed at home. The cinema

which I frequented was the 'ATLAS' and

was situated down Kirkstall Road, less than

5 minutes walk from my home.

There must have been many hundreds of

youngsters living in close proximity to the

ATLAS, consequently it was always packed

to bursting point, with a uniformed usher

dashing hither and thither up and down

the aisles trying to keep some semblance

of order. It was just as well that the films

were silent because there is no way that

even our young and sensitive ears would

have been able to pick up most of the

dialogue had there been sound. That is

why the pianist might well have stayed at

home. We kids provided all the necessary

accompaniment to the films. When a film

had a scene of the cowboy and his woman

embracing and kissing it would be given

short shrift. In those days, and at our age,

we boys had no time for girls, let alone

watching the older ones being fondled and

kissed. It was all just too “sloppy” and the

cry would have gone up, rising to a

crescendo “Tek um off”. This would never

happen today with our sophisticated

youngsters, or if it did the words would

have an entirely different connotation All

this would be immediately forgotten when

the cowboy mounted his horse and

galloped away for then all the lads would

be shouting themselves hoarse, standing

up and waving both arms urging their hero

to push his steaming horse to run faster

and faster in order to catch up with the

baddies who always seemed to be just

ahead. These westerns which usually dealt

with Cowboys and Indians were part of the

staple film diet and arguably the first

favourite amongst those youngsters. Next

in popularity came the comedies, mostly of

the custard pie type and which would have

us rolling in the aisles. Such films were

responsible for developing a small army of

comedians to such an extent that some of

their names are known to quite a few of us

some 60 to 70 years on. If ever their old

films appear on T.V., these names draw

really big audiences. Some who come to

mind are Charles Chaplin, Chester Conklin,

Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Ben Turpin

and, he of the unsmiling face, Buster

Keaton. The third type of silent film which

had a big following was known as a serial.

These were full of drama and held their

young audiences absolutely spellbound

even though the story dragged on

Saturday after Saturday. Such serials

cunningly managed to finish every episode

with either the hero or heroine in terrifying

danger such as being trapped in a cave as

water came rushing in. When the surging

water nearly reached their chins the picture

would end abruptly and on the screen

would be flashed rhetorical questions such

as “Will our heroes survive?” “Is any hope

left?” “Do not miss next week's thrilling

instalment”, As it turned out it was more

difficult for the average lad of 10 to survive

the following week as he pondered the

fate of his heroes than it was for the

heroes themselves as they had the writer,

producer and director firmly on their side!!

It was different for us for the simple reason

that it was often difficult to separate fiction

from reality. The characters in at least

some of these serials came to life for us so

that we really thought that the water,was

endangering their lives and we hoped that

on the following Saturday, by some

miracle, they would come out of their

immediate danger safe and sound.

Somehow they always did, only to become

entrapped in some new threat and danger

by the time that week's episode ended.

What wonderful, enthralling Saturday

afternoons those were, life without them

was unimaginable to us - but time would

prove how wrong we were.... How much

money did it cost for those wonderful

Saturday afternoons? The Penny Rush says

it all. Just think, two hours of rapturous

entertainment which engulfed every fibre

of our being for only a third of a new

penny!’ (Kirkstall Matters 1994)

By 1960 the telly was arriving and cinemas,

like the Abbey, being turned commonly

into Bingo Halls; until Bingo too gave way

to the television age: ‘As a projectionist of

37 years experience I think the closing of

cinemas is due, not to bad projection, but

to the fact that so many people are paying

out so much on instalments for television

sets, cars and household devices. (Quoted

in Yorkshire Evening Post. Saturday, 8

October 1960.)

The second major change, at the same

time, was that Kirkstall was changing; from

being part of the largely agricultural

fiefdoms of the Brudenells (the Earls of

Cardigan – the seventh Earl, being he of

the ‘Valley of Death’, and the Balaclava

folly) and the Grahams; and becoming a

residential suburb of Leeds; with its rows of

through and back-to-back, red brick

terraces; a suburb of owner-occupiers (or

at least, tenant-occupiers). The ambience

of the Normans (and the Abbey Picture

House is in Abbey Road, immediately next

to the block of streets known as the

Normans - which also includes De Lacy

Mount) before these changes occurred is

caught by the following reminiscence:

‘It was one of my duties as a small boy to

“Take my father’s dinner”. I left school ten

minutes early, ran home, collected the

small wicker basket with the dinner inside,

was given a ha’penny to pay the tram fare

from the Abbey to the Forge and set off. I

walked down Station Parade, on “t’top

road” and across a field now occupied by

the Normans to the Abbey gate where I

caught a tram. It took me to the Forge

gate, where an obelisk marked – it still

does - the midway point between London

and Edinburgh. It was an unimaginable

and undreamed of two hundred miles each

way.’ (From: Kirkstall As I knewIt: 1896-

1914, H Sydney Pickering, published

1982, Kirkstall Valley Community

Association.-copy in Leeds Central Local

Studies Library.)

By a series of conveyances culminating in

one of 27 June 1901(the memorial to be

seen at WRRD) the land between Morris

Lane and Abbey Road (NE-SW) and

between Abbey Field and Tordoff Terrace

(NW-SE) was bought by a consortium of

builders and investors: Arthur Eddison of

Leeds (Builder), William Exley of Halifax

(Dyer), George Darley (who was too dead

by 1907 to enjoy his entrepreneurial fruits)

and William Bower of Leeds (Builder).

Subsequently the land was shared between

them and actual development begun. It is

here that the history of the Abbey Picture

House really begins; and the Misses

Ransley and Dealey (both milliners by

trade) enter upon the Kirkstall stage.

In a conveyance of 2nd September 1913

William Bower and William Exley (vol 38, p

LOCAL HISTORY ■


404, no 164 at WRRD) conveyed to Miriam

Ransley, Martha Dealey and John Briggs,

greengrocer, a plot of land situate in

Abbey Road, Kirkstall, containing 518 ½ sq

yards, bounded on the north-east by a

new street 12 yards wide called Vesper

Grove, on the north-west by other

property of the said William Bower and

William Exley, on the south-east now or

late of George Reason and on the south-

west by Abbey Road (see Illustrations 4 &

5). No doubt this was part of land

allocated to Bower and Exley out of the

purchase of 1901. It is the plot on which

the Abbey Picture House stands. On 1

January 1914 (WRRD vol 1; p 282, deed no

94) Miriam, Martha and John mortgaged

the property to a John Cecil Atkinson, of 6

Butt’s Court, Leeds, a solicitor. No doubt

this was to make long term provision

towards the cost of buying the land and

having the cinema built – presumably

financed initially by short term loans. Until

well after the Second World War solicitors

played an important role in arranging

private mortgages (as opposed to the

saving with and borrowing from banks or

building societies which has become the

ubiquitous and almost universal practice

today) between clients with capital to

invest and clients in need of loans; the

solicitor, as here, not infrequently investing

his own money in this way. Much of the

nineteenth century development of Leeds

must have been financed in this way.

There is a curiosity here. Preedy gives the

opening date of the Picture House as the

22 September 1913 (see above). The

conveyance transferring the land to

Ransley, Dealey and Briggs is dated 2nd

September 1913; and yet speaks of a

picture house yet to be built; for example

in requiring the purchasers ‘so soon as

they erect the buildings intended to be

placed by them on the said plot of land to

build a wall along the line marked ABC ….’

It must be that, a not uncommon practice

then and now, the parties had entered into

a preliminary contract so that the building

work could proceed before the actual

conveyance; without the wording of the

conveyance being redrafted to reflect this.

A rather nice note is a covenant

(undertaking) in the conveyance by the

three buyers against the use of any

building on the land ‘for any noisy,

noisome, or offensive trade but this shall

not prevent the user of any building

thereon as a Picture House’.

That the cinema did open for the first time

on 22 September 1913 is pretty well

confirmed by the minutes and resolutions

of the Leeds Watch Committee The Watch

Committee was a committee of and

delegated by the City Council (the

Corporation), concerned primarily with the

management of the police force; but also,

amongst other functions, with the

consideration of applications for licences

for cinematograph and musical

performances,

‘During the 1890s and 1900s, most film

exhibition took place in temporary venues

such as fairgrounds, music halls and hastily

converted shops (so-called ‘penny gaffs’).

The film then in use was made from the

highly flammable cellulose nitrate base.

Combined with limelight illumination, this

created a significant safety hazard,

resulting in a number of fatal fires.

The 1909 Act specified a strict building

code which required, amongst other

things, that the projector be enclosed

within a fire resisting enclosure. All

commercial cinemas (defined as any

business which admitted members of the

public to see films in exchange for

payment) had to comply with these

regulations. In order to enforce this each

cinema had to be inspected and licensed

by the local authority. The Act was

amended in the wake of the 1929 Glen

Cinema Disaster in order to give local

authorities more powers to regulate the

number of emergency exits and insist on

other safety measures.’

Wikipedia –‘Cinematograph Act 1909’,

downloaded 14-02-21-2012 – links omitted.

Typically, the following Resolution of the

Watch Committee of 22 October 1912:

‘Resolved: That the application of the

Leeds Arcade Company Ltd for music and

cinematograph licences for the Savoy Café,

Queen’s Arcade, Briggate, be acceded to

subject to the plans being amended to the

satisfaction of the Chairman and Deputy

Chairman and to the following conditions;-

That performances be continuous and

no queues formed

That the staircase leading from the

entrance be widened as now directed,

that the door in the operating room

leading onto the landing be blocked up

and the fire escape staircase continued

to such room.

That the yard leading from the fire

escape be kept clear and the photo

frames and gates be removed

That fire appliances be provided.’

And on 22 November 1912 there was a

resolution of general application that:

‘All exit doors of premises licensed for

cinematograph entertainments be

indicated by means of illuminated signs

so arranged as to be easily visible to the

audience’.

That the first two decades of the twentieth

century witnessed the blossoming of the

cinema in Leeds (and elsewhere) is testified

to by the passing of the Cinematograph

Act 1909, the introduction of a regime of

general regulations made by the

government acting under the Act and the

additional local regulations such as those

for Leeds formally approved by the Council

on 3 December 1913; by the founding of

the Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association

of Great Britain and Ireland; and by the

large number of applications to the Watch

Committee for licences in this period.

To return to the Abbey Picture House: On

22 April 1913 the Watch Committee

resolved: ‘That the plan of Mr John Briggs

for a proposed Picture Hall in Abbey Road

and Vesper Grove, Kirkstall, be approved

so far as this committee are concerned

[approval under the City’s building

regulations would also be required and the

formal confirmation of the Watch

Committee’s decision by the full Council]

provided the exits be improved on the

lines now suggested and that upon the

building being completed to the

satisfaction of the Committee, the Council

be recommended to grant licences for

cinematograph and instrumental music for

the same.’

On 27 June 1913 an amended seating plan

put forward by Briggs was not approved.

And on 19 September 1913 it was reported

to the Committee that the Abbey Picture

House, Kirkstall, referred to in the Minutes

of 22 April last, had been satisfactorily

completed. And so, as stated by Preedy, it

would seem that the cinema did open on

the 22 September 1913. All these

applications were made by Briggs, making

him the licensee, and supporting the

thought that Miriam and Martha were

simply sleeping partners (see below).

One of the local, general regulations

provided that there were to be no Sunday

performances, none before twelve noon

and none after eleven o’clock at night

without the special permission of the

Watch Committee. On the 21 November

1913 Mr Briggs was refused permission for

a Sunday performance ‘to employ vocalists

to give selections at a benefit performance

in aid of Kirkstall District Nursing Fund.’ He

was more fortunate the following year

when he applied for permission to hold a

Sunday performance of ‘a sacred concert’

at the Picture House and on 23 December

■ LOCAL HISTORY


a statement of receipts and expenditure

for the concert was submitted to the

Committee. There must later have been a

general relaxation of the rule in order to

allow the Saturday morning performances

for kids which became almost universal.

Fred, the architect.

The Abbey Picture House was designed by

Fred Mitchell. Fred was born in 1863 and

trained in Leeds. He began independent

practice in 1887, in Leeds, in partnership

with C D Swale. (See Directory of British

Architects 1834-1914 published by the

Royal Institute of British Architects; and see

Who’s Who in Architecture- 1914, also

published by the RIBA ). He practised at 9

Upper Fountaine Street, Leeds (See the

above and Kelly’s Directory of Leeds,

1914).

‘He devoted himself to commercial and

domestic architecture but his other works

included extensions to Leeds Infirmary, St

Chad’s Home at Far Headingley and the

Canon Jackson Memorial Wing at

Cookridge Hospital in 1894. He was also

responsible for the design of many

housing schemes in Leeds…………(RIBA

Journal vol 91 I January 1984, p 87)

Of a little more interest in the present

context, he designed both the Abbey

Picture House and two other cinemas in

Leeds: The Regent Picture House in Torre

Road, Burmantofts, with seating for 1,076,

which opened on 1s May 1916; and closed

in 1971 when, like The Abbey, it became a

Bingo Hall; later a tile and wallpaper

emporium. (See Illustration (2)). The other

one was the Palace Picture Theatre in

Westfield Road, Burley with 308 seats, the

licence to open being granted on 10

March 1913, and which closed in 1916.

(See Illustration (3) from Leeds Cinemas

Remembered, p 30).

The last two illustrations copied here are of

the cinemas after, perhaps long after, they

had closed and been put to other uses.

They are not seen at their best. But it is

perhaps fair to say that many of the

cinemas of this period in Leeds – at least

those away from the city centre – were

little more than large brick boxes (at least

the conveyances to John, Miriam and

Martha did insist on the use of ‘best

pressed bricks’) with some sort of façade

of indeterminate style ‘stuck’ on the front.

Of course, there were exceptions:

Wikipedia (Architecture of Leeds;

downloaded, 7/02-2012) suggests: ‘For

the first decade of the 20th century many

areas of Leeds saw a continuation of

Victorian style architecture, particularly in

areas like Beeston

The Hyde Park Picture House, Hyde Park

was originally built in 1908 as a hotel and

in 1914 it was converted into a picture

house. The cinema has gas lighting, the

original organ and piano. It is a grade II

listed building and one of the few

surviving picture palaces in the UK. The

picture house is regarded by many to be

one of the finest examples of Edwardian

architecture in Leeds.’

But, as noted here, the Hyde Park was

originally designed as a hotel, not a

cinema. And no doubt hotel visitors in

Edwardian England were more demanding

of the aesthetics of their surroundings than

we kids crowding in on a Saturday to see

Lassie Come Home or the latest episode in

the annihilation of American Indians by the

white cowboys and the cavalry. In fairness,

I should say that today the Abbey Picture

House still looks from the outside much as

it must have looked as a working cinema;

and I must say that to me it has now

acquired a certain mellow charm.

Miss Ransley (Miriam)

At the time of the 1881 census Miriam is

18, at home with her parents, John and

Sarah; at 1 Carr Place, in North-West

Leeds; Parish of St Matthew. He is a

machinist, she is a milliner. They have with

them four children including Miriam. They

are not destitute, having with them a

domestic servant, Sarah Malham from

Selby, aged 23. Miriam is shown, like her

sister Mary, as a milliner’s assistant. Brother

John, aged, 24, is shown as a draper; and

there is another brother, A W [?] Ransley,

aged 8. Miriam’s father, like the rest of his

family, was born in Rothwell, Leeds., his

own father being a farmer.

An entry at the West Riding Register of

Deeds shows that Miriam’s mother, Sarah,

made a will on the 23 March 1893 and

died on 2 March 1906. Her property

included numbers 1 Carr Place, Claypit

Lane where the family lived and number 2;

also her share in the estate of her late

father (Miriam’s grandfather), John Lacy;

and also the shares in this estate of her

brothers, Hampshire and William which

she had purchased from them; obviously

she was not a pauper.

It seems that Miriam acquired the Carr

Street properties whether directly under

her mother’s will (the note at WRRD does

not give details) or indirectly from the

immediate beneficiaries. A conveyance of

1908 recorded at WRRD (vol 38: p 538: no.

232) shows Miriam (of the Bon Marche,

Cleckheaton) conveying the two houses in

Carr Place to an Ernest Osborn of Leeds,

engraver. It is likely that this provided (in

whole or part) the funds for her and

Martha to invest in the Abbey Picture

House. It also illustrates how a good deal

of the nineteenth century, flourishing

development of Leeds was the small-scale

work (small plot by small plot, each

enough for a few houses perhaps) of

independent tradesmen, craftsmen and

skilled workers– greengrocers like John

Briggs; milliners, drapers and machinists

like Miriam’s family, who had joined the

unavoidable migration from rural to city

life; some of them prospering generally in

a minor way; others forming the

underbelly of the city’s poverty..

And Miss Dealey (Martha)

Martha first appears (to me) in the census

of 1871 in Headingley. And here is a

connection with Kirkstall. The census return

for 1871 shows her, aged six, with her

parents, John and Mary, two brothers and

a sister. They are in Burley (part of the

township of Headingley-cum-Burley which

included Kirkstall). Her father is a plate

shearer in an ironworks. The whole family,

apart from the father, were born in Leeds.

By the time of the 1881 census, they are

still living in Burley. Our Martha (Martha

Ann), now aged 16, has become a

dressmaker. Her brother John, aged 18, is a

millwright’s apprentice. She has three

sisters and three other brothers.

LOCAL HISTORY ■


And in 1891 the family is still at Metcalfe

Terrace in Burley. Martha, now aged 26, is

still with them and unmarried and still

employed as a dressmaker. But things will

soon change.

A lifelong partnership begins

By the 1901 census much has changed.

Martha (now aged 34) and Miriam (aged

35) are now living together at Cheapside in

Cleckheaton, in a modest three main-

roomed property. They now both describe

themselves as milliners; and (at least by the

census of 1911) they are in partnership

working for themselves. [Note: Cheapside

is shown on today’s A to Z, leading off

Northgate].

In 1911 they are still together, still both

single, still living in Cleckheaton, at 41

Whitcliffe Road. Miriam is described as the

head of the household, Martha as her

partner; and they are both in trade in

partnership as milliners. They seem to have

done reasonably well; and without children

to be a drain on their income.

The conveyance of the Picture House Land

in 1913 (above) gives the address of

Miriam, Martha and John Briggs as 320

Burley Hill. So does the conveyance when

they all three bought the adjoining plot of

land in 1919 (below). But they had in fact

by then arrived in Kirkstall. The 1917 Kelly’s

Directory for Leeds shows them both living

at 26 Vesper Road, less than a mile from

the Abbey Picture House.

The Burley Hill address, John Briggs’ own

address, was no doubt used in the

conveyances as, in effect, the business

address of the partnership; and suggests

that perhaps John Briggs was the driving

force in the venture, having perhaps

persuaded Miriam and Martha to invest

their money in the venture; and that they

were in effect, at least until 1923, sleeping

partners. I have not found anything to

suggest that Miriam and Martha were ever

actively involved in the practical, day to

day, management of the picture house.

Neither have I seen any evidence that they

owned 26 Vesper Road (or number 54 to

which they later moved) or any other

landed property; though they must have

been able to raise the capital, either from

savings or perhaps by a mortgage loan, to

buy out John Briggs’ share in the Picture

House (see below). Maybe the Picture

House was for the two of them an

investment, an investment rather than an

active business venture, which was to

maintain them in their old age – what

today would be called their pension pot.

Kelly’s Directory of Leeds for 1936 again

shows Miriam and Martha both living at 26

Vesper Road. Kelly’s Directory for 1938

shows them now at 54 Vesper Road; and

this is where they were living when Miriam

died, aged, 77, on 26 August 1941; still a

spinster. Martha died in 1954, aged 89,

also still a spinster. Number 54, today,

appears as a very solid, stone-built, semi-

detached house. The two spinsters must

have been fairly comfortable.

But before Miriam died, they had sold the

Picture House. This is what happened.

The Second Plot And Afterwards.

In 1919 (by a conveyance of 15 December

1919 recorded at the WRRD – vol 98; p

367; deed no 121) the three of them had

acquired, again from Bower & Exley, the

patch of vacant land next to the Picture

House. The ‘second plot’ I will call it. This

was the piece of land between Vesper

Grove, Norman Street and Abbey Road,

containing 947 square yards. The two plots

together are shown in Illustrations (4) and

(5) copied from the Ordnance survey map

for 1906 (originally at a scale of 1/2500). It

will be seen that in 1906 the two plots

together formed a remaining, triangle of

land between the houses on the Vesper

Grove, Norman Street and Tordoff’s

Terrace; and adjoining Abbey Road..

I found no evidence that they borrowed

money on mortgage to purchase this

second plot; and as it was not at the time

built on, would have been relatively cheap.

The mortgage-loan from Atkinson was

repaid on 1 October 1919 (WRRD vol 69: p

578: deed no 221); that is before the

purchase of this second plot. All this

suggests that the cinema had been

proving reasonably successful. There is no

real evidence as to what if anything in

particular they wanted it for. No doubt it

was sensible in any case to control this

remaining bit of space next to the Picture

House. The conveyance contained, like the

earlier conveyance of the Picture House

land itself, a covenant against any noisy,

noisome or offensive trade but not so as to

prevent use of the land as a Picture House.

Presumably they did not want it as a car

park (and there must have been even

fewer arriving, like Colin Darby, by horse

and needing a place for it to graze during

the performance.)

It is speculation, but quite likely that they

had thoughts of enlarging the cinema at

some time in the future. And certainly this

is what Arthur Sutcliffe had thoughts of

doing after he acquired the Picture House

in 1936 (see below).

In 1923, by a conveyance of 4 October

(WRRD: vol 80; p 983; deed no. 348) John

Briggs transferred his third-share in the

Picture House and the additional, second

plot to Miriam and Martha. By this time he

was living just down the road at 18 De Lacy

Mount, which had been built about 1907. I

have not discovered exactly when he

moved to 18 De Lacy Mount.

It seems likely that at this point a split

occurred between ownership of the land

and buildings on the one hand and

ownership of the cinema business on the

other. Miriam and Martha were now sole

owners of the land and buildings. It is likely

that at this point John Briggs became the

sole owner of the cinema business. He

certainly continued as manager at that

stage. It is of course possible and very

common for one person to own the land

and a different person to own the business

being pursued on that land; the latter

paying what might be called a ground rent

to the landowner for the use of the land.

At present, I have little information on

John Briggs. He was, it seems a

greengrocer by trade; and was, in 1913

and until he moved to De Lacy Mount,

living at 350 Burley Hill. He was initially the

manager of the Picture House; as well as

part owner.

Although he had transferred his interest to

Miriam and Martha John Briggs continued

as manager of the Abbey Picture House,

presumably under some financial

arrangement with Martha and Miriam. The

Watch Committee Minutes show that on 6

January 1932 he was the applicant for the

annual renewal of the licence for music

and cinematograph. He is described there

as ‘proprietor’ It could be that he was

being employed and paid by Miriam and

Martha to run the cinema business (but

then he would hardly have been the

proper person to apply for the licence). It is

more likely, as I have suggested, that John

now had ownership of the cinema

business; but was paying rent to Miriam

and Martha for use of the land and

building of which now (since 1923) they

were the sole owners.

It seems that, in 1932, Arthur Sutcliffe took

over the cinema business from Briggs. On

2 September of that year the Watch

Committee Minutes record a resolution

that the licence of the Abbey Picture

House (Music and Cinematograph) be

transferred from Mr John Briggs to Mr

Arthur Sutcliffe of 9 Haddon Road. Sutcliffe

had been from 1913, when it opened, the

manager of the Picture House, Burley,

■ LOCAL HISTORY


owned by the Burley Picture House

Company Ltd. It is likely that Sutcliffe

controlled this company and was, in effect,

the real owner of the Burley Picture House.

Kelly’s Directory for Leeds for 1929 does

describe him as cinema proprietor.

And in 1936 (by which time Miriam was

about 72 and Martha about 71) (see WRRD

1939; vol 59; p 869; deed no 324) they sold

the Picture House (together with the

adjoining, the second, plot) to Arthur

Sutcliffe. He thus acquired ownership of

the land and building as well as the cinema

business.

The planning agreement – 1939

We do know that Arthur in 1939 had

intentions (fruitless in the end) to enlarge

the cinema extending it into the second

plot.

An agreement between Arthur Sutcliffe

and the Leeds Corporation is preserved at

the West Yorkshire Archives at Leeds

(LLD1/1/A11212); and see Minutes of

Watch Committee for 21 April 1939). This

was made within the framework of the

‘Leeds (Bramley, Farnley and Wortley)

Planning Scheme, and related to proposed

‘Alterations and Additions to the Abbey

Cinema, Abbey Road, Kirkstall.’ This

scheme had in turn been prepared under s

10 of the Town and Country Planning Act

of 1932.

At last, town planning was coming to

Kirkstall!!

This Act was one of the earliest attempts,

going back really to the Housing, Town

Planning, etc Act of 1909, prior to the

Second World War, to control planning in

the social interest, to curb the centuries-

old, largely unfettered right of landowners

to use their land as they wished, subject

only to the health and sanitary laws

developed in the nineteenth century and

the common law against trespass and

nuisance.

Section 54 of the 1909 gave local

authorities the power, turned into an

obligation under the later legislation, to

prepare schemes: ‘as respects any land

which is in course of development or

appears likely to be used for building

purposes, with the general object of

securing proper sanitary conditions,

amenity, and convenience in connection

with the laying out and use of land, and of

any neighbouring lands.’

The agreement with Arthur Sutcliffe was

concluded on 10 June 1939. In the

Agreement his plan to make ‘alterations

LOCAL HISTORY ■


and additions’ to the Abbey Cinema (as it

was now being called) was approved by

the City Corporation, subject to certain

conditions. These were that no signs or

advertisements would be affixed to any

part of the cinema or in its vicinity except

the name of the cinema in a position and

lettering approved by the City Engineer;

and that any posters to be displayed in

connection with films to be shown would

be placed on the panel provided for the

purpose as shown in the plans submitted

with Sutcliffe’s application.

There is a plan attached to the Agreement

showing the area covered by the

agreement. As far as I can tell, it shows

that the proposal was to extend the

cinema into the second plot. And as far as

I can tell the result would have been that

the extended cinema would have occupied

some two-thirds of the original and

second plot together. But it never

happened.

The bit of the second plot adjoining the

cinema which can be seen in the picture

(Illustration (1) copied here from Leodis -

and taken, it says there, in August 1937 -

suggests that this plot was then still

wasteland. Sutcliffe got his consent to

expand on 10 June 1939; the Second

World War started (according to the

conventional dating) with the invasion of

Poland by the German Government on 1

September 1939. This second plot next to

the original cinema is still without any

building.

In 1944 (a conveyance dated 12 July 1944:

vol 59; p 358; deed no 163 at WRRD)

Arthur Sutcliffe sold the Picture House with

the two plots of land (and also other land

on the corner of Abbey Road and Kirkstall

Lane) to Abbey Entertainments Ltd, whose

registered office was at the Abbey Picture

House. On 7 July 1944 the licence had

been transferred by the Watch Committee

from Arthur Sutcliffe to Leslie Preston, one

of the directors of Abbey Entertainments

(see below)

On 1st May 1964, Abbey Entertainments

sold the land on the corner of Abbey Road

and Kirkstall Lane to the City Corporation,

presumably to enable the creation of

Kirkstall Leisure Centre as is still there, of

course. And in 1967 (5 October) the WRRD

shows that Abbey Entertainments sold the

Picture House with the two plots of land to

Kenneth Gummersall, Chartered

Accountant, of 20 Moor Grange View and

Leslie Preston, Company Director, of 402

Street Lane, Leeds. From the above it

seems likely that Preston (and perhaps

Gummersall) were the real owners of

Abbey Entertainments; and that the sale in

1967 was just a rearrangement of their

business affairs.

The Abbey Picture House (as noted in the

Watch Committee Minutes for 20

October) closed as a cinema on 8 October

1960; and after it had closed, probably

soon after, the building was converted into

a Bingo Hall.

‘By the late 1950s it was clear that, no

matter how many laws were passed,

gambling had continued to expand, largely

as part of commercial leisure provision.

The continued commercial growth of

bingo, whether in the black economy, the

quasi-commercial regular charitable

games, or as part of the organised

entertainments at holiday camps, is

indicative of the need being met by those

providing the opportunity for the masses

to indulge in a gamble on bingo….

Under the Betting and Gaming Bill

[becoming the Act of 1960] as first

published it was possible to 'play housey-

housey as an activity of a club if all the

money staked is returned to the players.'

As the Betting and Gaming Bill also

allowed there to be a charge for the right

to take part in the game there was an

obvious loophole soon noticed by the anti

-gambling movement, seaside

corporations and leisure entrepreneurs….

January 1961 and the first commercial

bingo club opened on 3 January. The

floodgates were opened, and by 1963,

there were 14,324,081 individual members

of commercial bingo clubs….’

From Playing Bingo.com http://

playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-history-

folklore/01-pb-bingo-history-

3.shtml#axzz1m0ZiGxfF Downloaded, 10

February 2012

As noted at the start of this piece, the

Abbey Picture House closed in October

1960. So far I have not found any reliable

information on the dates of its existence as

a Bingo Hall. The Leeds Telephone

Directories for 1961through 1966 at least

list it as ‘Abbey Cinema, Abbey Road; with

the telephone number 54232.

In the alphabetical listing in the Leeds

Telephone Directory for 1969 it is listed as

‘Abbey Bingo and Social Club, Abbey Road;

59863.’ This is the first mention I have

found of its life as a Bingo Hall. Its

disappearance from the Directories after

1983 suggests, more convincingly, that it

ceased life as a Bingo Hall in 1983-84.

There is a note in Kirkstall Matters (1984-5,

No 24) that the Abbey Picture House had

been bought by Mr & Mrs Lyons who

‘intend to modernise and landscape it and

then use it for their industrial machinery

business.

It seems likely that Bingo was introduced

to the Abbey Picture House early in the

1960s and was abandoned around 1983-

84.

When I cam to live in Kirkstall in 1991 the

Abbey Picture House was empty and

neglected. Within the last few years the

building has been acquired by the charity,

Mind. Hopefully it will now be renovated

and brought into beneficial use as part of

their activities.

The Watch Committee

A note on the Watch Committee. The remit

of the Watch Committee, as a delegate of

the local authority, was to deal with not

just the management of the local police

force, but also a range of other matters, for

example: hackney carriage licensing; music

licensing; the location of petrol pumps; the

fire brigade and its ladders; permissions for

flower and flag days; pawnbrokers’

licences; and so on; and of course the

granting of cinematograph and music

licences. The serious risk of fire and its

prevention must have been a serious and

constant concern of the Watch Committee.

Between 1929 and 1945 at least 9

outbreaks of fire at cinemas were reported

to the Watch Committee in Leeds;

including one at the Abbey Picture House

on 2 February 1945.

A further, brief, excursion into their Minute

Books in this period will give an idea of the

sort of increasingly regulated regime to

which Cinemas were subject in this period,

early in the twentieth century – and I refer

to regulation without any pejorative intent;

far from it - and a flavour of some of the

matters which would concern the daily

management of such a cinema.

Thus, on 4 May 1923, the Committee

resolved ‘that no objection be raised by

the Committee to the application of the

licensee of the Coliseum, Cookridge Street,

for permission for an elocutionist to recite

a prologue to the film entitled “Where is

my Wandering Boy Tonight” during the

week commencing the 7th inst, on the

understanding that the elocutionist does

not appear in character costume.’ At this

time the cinema had still not become a

creature, entirely distinct from the theatre

and the music hall. And Watch Committees

were perhaps never terribly happy about

music halls.

I cannot resist here a note on ‘Where is my

■ LOCAL HISTORY


Wandering Boy Tonight; leaving any reader

to imagine the Prologue: ‘This mawkish

tale of mother love was loaded with -- as

film critics of the 1920s liked to say --

"hokum." It was supposedly inspired by the

old song of the same title. Cullen Landis

plays Garry Beecher, your classic small

town boy who is seduced by the promises

of New York. So he heads for the big city,

leaving his mother (Virginia True

Boardman) and sweetheart, Lorna Owens

(Patsy Ruth Miller), at home to pine for

him. Of course, he forgets all about them

and becomes involved with Veronica Tyler,

a cynical chorus girl (Kathleen Key). But he

can't keep up with her extravagant tastes

and when he begins stealing, she turns

him in. He goes to prison as a result, but

redeems himself during an uprising among

the prisoners by snatching the warden

from a train which is about to have a head-

on collision. The grateful warden gives

Garry a pardon, and he returns to his small

town home, his mother and his girl.’

Downloaded from Answers.com on 20

February 2012. <http://www.answers.com/

main/entertainment.jsp>

‘And on the same date, 4 May 1923: ‘A

report was submitted with respect to the

operating box at the Grand Assembly

Rooms, New Briggate, on the 26th ultimo.

Resolved that the Building surveyor report

with respect to the method of construction

of operating boxes in premises licensed for

cinematograph entertainment’.

On 21 September `1923 a variation in the

standard conditions to be attached to

licences granted under the 1909 Act was

agreed (subject to the approval of the

Council):

‘Subject as hereinafter provided no music

be permitted other than instrumental

music. Provided that the singing by one or

more persons of songs descriptive of or

appropriate to accompany the exhibition

of any film exhibited and occasional

singing of appropriate music by members

of the orchestra may be permitted on

condition that no comic song shall be sung

and that no vocalist shall sing elsewhere

than from the stage or orchestra and that

no vocalist shall appear in comic or

character costume.’

On 22 October 1923 our cinema, the

Abbey Picture House, gets a brief mention:

‘Application acceded to for Abbey Picture

House for 11 November for religious

meeting under the auspices of the Kirkstall

United Free Churches.’ No danger of music

hall antics here!

On 8 August 1924: ‘Resolved that electric

lighting be installed at the Headingley

Police Station and resident officer’s

quarters at an estimated cost of £36.10s

[that is £36 10 shillings – or £36. 50p in

today’s coinage]. Modernism, lit and

powered by electricity, it might be said, is

coming to Kirkstall

And also on 8 August: ‘Resolved that

permission be granted for the installation

of wireless receiving apparatus at Malvern

Picture House, Beeston Road.’

On 28 November 1924: ‘Resolved re

application by the Lyric Picture House,

Tong Road, for two Indians to appear in

native costume with an interpreter in

conjunction with exhibition of the film “The

Covered Wagon” be refused.’

On 19 February 1926 – the only specific

mention in the January 1925 to December

1929 Minutes, – the Abbey Picture House

was granted permission to hold a meeting

of the Independent Labour Party on 28

February.

On 5 April 1929 an Inspector was

appointed under the Explosives Acts with

authority at all reasonable times to enter

any premises being used for any purpose

to which the 1922 Celluloid and

Cinematograph Act applies and to take for

analysis samples of any materials which he

suspects to contain celluloid.

And a final illustration, on 22 July 1927 a

communication from the Home Office was

reported, requiring the Town Clerk to

submit draft regulations to be inserted into

all cinematograph licenses prohibiting

films – other than photographs of current

events – which have not been passed for

‘Universal Exhibition’ from being exhibited

at entertainments provided primarily for

children.

---------------------------------------------

References

‘Leodis’. This is a photographic archive of

Leeds organised by Leeds Library and

Information Service < http://

www.leodis.org/>

‘WRRD’. West Riding Registry of Deeds

‘The West Riding Registry of Deeds was

established by Act of Parliament in 1704

and operated until September 1970. One of

only five Deeds Registries in the country it

was created to allow land holders to register

the title to their property. The Registry

operated across the whole of the West

Riding of Yorkshire and contains summaries

or memorials of the registered title deeds.

These memorials do not contain all the

details of the original but will give the date,

the names and addresses of the parties and

a brief description of the property. They do

not tend to give details of the covenants

and frequently do not include a plan.

It was not compulsory to register your title

deeds but the majority of people did register

them when a transaction lead to a change

in ownership. Between 1704 and 1970 some

7 million deeds were registered and

indexed. Freehold and Leasehold deeds were

registered but it was not possible to register

Copyhold land or leases for less than 21

years. As well as title deeds probate

documents were also registered to indicate

the transfer of title.

‘Leeds Cinemas.’ Leeds Cinemas Robert E

Preedy (2005, Temple Publishing Ltd,

Stroud)

‘Leeds Cinemas Remembered.’ Leeds

Cinemas Remembered, Robert E Preedy,

(1980).

‘Leeds’ Watch Committee’. The Minutes of

Leeds Watch Committee 1912 to 1967, held

at West Yorkshire Archives in Leeds:

LLC5/1/20 to LLC5/1/30.

‘Spanish Wine’: Spanish Wine Kirkstall

Vintage: Memories of Kirkstall; published by

the Kirkstall Oral History Group; being a

book of ‘reminiscences and photographs

about growing up, living and working in

Kirkstall from the 1920s to the 1950s.’

‘Kirkstall Matters’ Kirkstall Matters – the

magazine of KVCA – The Kirkstall Village

(later ‘Valley’) Community association. The

first issue appeared in the autumn of 1978.

Note: I have so far found little information

relating to the Abbey Picture House after it

ceased to be used as a cinema. If anyone

reading this has any information or

reminiscences relating to the Picture House

at any stage of its life, I should be very

happy to hear from them.

Mike Harwood

19 May 2012. (24delacymount

@tiscali.co.uk)

LOCAL HISTORY ■


KIRKSTALL ABBEY TENNIS CLUB Playing at Kirkstall Abbey

Free coaching for juniors and adults

Tournaments & social events

Membership: Adults £25

Family £50

Juniors £5

Concessions for Priority Leeds Card Holders

New members welcome

For more information contact Jason Sears on

07814 549170 or [email protected]


A fter being promoted last season

into Yorkshire 3, Burley Rugby Club

are looking to cement their

position in the league.

Strong performances before Christmas

have but Burley in a good position to stay

up. Since then the luck just hasn’t gone

their way with oppositions managing to

scrape narrow victories in last minutes of

play; otherwise the club could be a lot

higher in the league.The team are still

focused on playing their style of running

rugby. With 6 matches to go Burley are

aiming for a finish in the top 8.

the club is always welcoming to new

players. So if you fancy playing rugby

please come down at participate. Training

is Tuesday and Thursday nights 6:30pm to

9pm.

If you are interested in joining Burley RUFC

or would like to attend a training session,

please contact either Henry Bisson on

07812 174762, or James Griffin on 07983

418003.

Burley Rugby Club Promoted!

SPORT ■


ST ANNS DIY 402, Burley Rd, Burley, LS4 2SN Tel: 0113 278 7227

YOUR LOCAL SHOP WITH MUCH MORE TO OFFER. COME AND CHECK OUT OUR WIDE RANGE OF STOCK

AND SERVICES

OPEN MON,TUES,THURS,FRI – 8.30am - 4.45pm

WED 8.30am - 1.15pm SAT 8.30am - 3pm.

TOOLS SERVICED AND SHARPENED; MOWER SPARES

VACUUM BAGS, BELTS AND FILTERS; COOKER AND FRYER FILTERS

VISIT US FOR WATCH BATTERIES & STRAPS

WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF DIY SUPPLIES

WE STOCK A WIDE RANGE OF HARDWARE, PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL ITEMS

FOR GARDENING EQUIPMENT, PLANTS SHRUBS, BEDDING PLANTS, COMPOST, CHECK US OUT

PET PRODUCTS, A WIDE RANGE OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS AND PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS

COMPREHENSIVE KEY CUTTING CENTRE, OUR SERVICE COVERS:

KEYS AND LOCKS FOR HOME - WINDOW - PADLOCK - PATIO - GARAGE - CAR - TRANSPONDERS - MOTOR CYCLE - PETROLCAP - OFFICE – FACTORY - FILING CABINETS - CASH BOXES AND MANY MORE

KEYS CUT WHILE YOU WAIT - PLEASE ASK


MARK JOHNSON QUALITY RE-UPHOLSTERY

& REPAIRS

* SUITES RECOVERED *

* FIRESIDE CHAIRS *

* ANTIQUE RESTORATION *

* REPLACEMENT FOAM CUSHIONS *

* COMPLETE REPAIR SERVICE *

* WORK FOR NURSING HOMES A

SPECIALITY *

OVER 18 YEARS EXPERIENCE

PHONE FOR FREE ESTIMATE

0113 275 3126

24 EDEN CRESCENT, LEEDS, LS4 2TW

ABBEY

GUESTHOUSE

At Abbey Guesthouse in Kirkstall we offer luxury four star bed and breakfast guesthouse accommodation at value prices.

Our generous guesthouse accommodation in Leeds is completely no smoking throughout and includes a private car park for our visitors.

The six spacious rooms are individually designed and all have a luxury ensuite bathroom, Freeview television, wireless internet connection, radio alarm, hair dryer and complimentary beverage tray with tea and coffee making facilities.

44 Vesper Road, Kirkstall, Leeds, LS5 3NX

www.abbeyguesthouseleeds.co.uk Tel:+44(0)113 278 5580

Email: [email protected]

If you are looking for a

job, make sure your CV

doesn’t let you down!

Call us on 07894 881763

for a free consultation.


ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM

Opening times: Monday closed all

day. Tues to Friday 10am - 5pm,

Saturday 12noon—5pm, Sunday

10am - 5pm

Admission charges: Adults £3.80,

Children £1.70 (16 and under).

Concessions £2.80 (senior citizens

and students). Family ticket £6.50 (2

adults and up to 3 children)

The Gate House: Licensed

restaurant / café (accessible without

museum entry).

Every Weekend

Saturday Shoppers

Each Saturday afternoon from 2-

4pm, we have different fun activities

for families, from trails to craft

activities.

Arty Smarties

Craft Activities for children every

Sunday afternoon 2-4p

highlights at Abbey House and

Kirkstall Abbey

Rock and Roll Eggs Easter craft

activities

Tuesday 3 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Wednesday Wardrobe- Make an

Easter outfit

Wednesday 4 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Easter Murder Mystery

Thursday 5 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Bunny Fun with Mr Bunny

Friday 6 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Titanic Craft Day

Tuesday 10 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Sink the Titanic science experiments

Wednesday 11 April, 10-12 & 2-

4pm

Nautical Murder Mystery

Thursday 12 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

Titanic Craft Day

Friday 13 April, 10-12 & 2-4pm

ABBEY - VISITORS’ CENTRE

Admission free. Open 11am - 3pm

Tues-Sun Closed Mondays except

Bank Holiday Mondays Tel. 0113

2305492

Mini dragons– messy fun for under

5’s

Tuesday 3 & 10 April 10-11.30am

How to heal your dragon – time to

practice your potions

Wednesday 4 & 11 April, 2-4pm

Gory Tour – spooky stories and

ghostly goings on!

Thursday 5 & 12 April 2-3pm

Follow the feet & meet the dragon

– don’t forget your camera

Friday 6 & 13 April 10-11.30am

Hunt the dragons counting trail

Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 April 10am –

1pm

Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 April

10am – 3.30pm

KIRKSTALL LEISURE CENTRE

Kirkstall Lane. Open 8:30am to

10:30pm. Bookings Tel. 214 4555

Special activities for children during

school holidays

ABBEY LIGHT RAILWAY

Trains from Bridge Road run at

frequent intervals along to Kirkstall

Abbey (and vice-versa) on Sundays

from 1 pm to dusk (weather

permitting)

CARDIGAN CENTRE

145-149 Cardigan Road

Resource Centre 9am to 8pm Mon-

Fri. Tel. 275 9282 Youth Point;

‘Active for Life’ Healthy Living

Project; Older Active People

Scheme; Handy Person Scheme

HAWKSWORTH CENTRE

Broadway, Leeds LS5 3BQ T. 0113

258 4507 / 0845 0457275

[email protected]

www.parklane.ac.uk

HAWKSWORTH WOOD YMCA

Lea Farm Mount

Tel. 216 2970. Free ‘Connexions’

Access Point - Mon day-Thursday

3pm - 4pm and Fridays 6-8pm.

Lunch Club (age 50+) Fridays

11.30am - 1.30pm

Parent &Toddler group, Thursdays

9.30 - 11.30am.

Park Lane College Courses, Tues -

Thurs (Term time)

Activity groups in Sports, Drama,

Dance, Martial Arts etc.

STEP St Andrew's Church, Butcher

Hill, Leeds, LS16 5BG, Tel 2757988,

www.stepleeds.org.uk

STEP supports people over 60 and

runs the following groups:

Monday - 1.00 - 3.00, Come and

have afternoon tea & cakes with us

and a game of bingo

Tuesday - 10.00 - 11.30, Come and

join our gentle exercise class

followed by a cuppa and a chat

Thursday - 10.00 - 11.30, Come and

have a cuppa and a toasted teacake

with us

Thursday - 11.30 - 1.00, Come and

have a game of bingo followed by

brunch

OUR LADY OF KIRKSTALL PARISH

is made up of 3 churches:

The Holy Name of Jesus, 52 Otley

Old Road, LS16 6HW;

St Mary's, Broadgate Lane, LS18 4A;

The Assumption of Our Lady, Spen

Lane, LS16 5EL.

The contact number for all 3 is 267

8257.

Holy Name Saturday Vigil 6.30pm

Sunday Mass times are:

Holy Name 9.00am, 11.15am

Assumption 9.45am

St Mary's 8.15am, 11am

ST MARY’S CHURCH & HALL

Hawkswood Ave, LS5 3LU

Sunday Service 11am

Mon 5.30pm Karate

8pm Zumba Tues

7.30pm Bingo

Weds 6.30pm Beavers & Cubs

8pm Zumba

Thurs 5.30pm Karate

Fri 7.30pm Scouts

Hall Hire tel. 258 2923

ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH

Morris Lane, LS5 3HE

2nd/4th Sunday, 8am: Holy

Communion

There will be no 8.00 a.m. Service on

the 1st, 3rd or 5th Sunday in the

month.

1st/3rd/4th Sunday, 11am: Parish

Communion

2nd Sunday, 11am:: Parade Service

& Parish Communion

5th Sunday, 11am: Joint Team

Communion

(If there is a fifth Sunday in a

month, a Joint Team Communion

Service will be held in one of the

four Abbeylands’ Team Churches*.

Please note the time of this Joint

Service may vary )

1st Sunday, 1pm: Holy Baptism

1st Sunday, 4pm: Evensong

2nd/3rd/4th/5th Sunday, 4pm: Said

Evening Prayer

*The Abbeylands Team Churches

are St. Andrew’s, on Butcher Hill: St.

Mary’s, in Hawksworth Wood: St.

Margaret’s in Horsforth and St.

Stephen’s in Kirkstall.

Contact: Revd Rosemarie Hayes, Tel.

258 2481, email:

[email protected]

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH & HALL

Butcher Hill, LS16 5BG

Sunday Service 9.30am

Wednesdays 10am Holy

Communion

Hall Hire tel. 226 7441

WEST PARK UNITED REFORMED

CHURCH

Spen Lane, LS16 5BB

Sunday Services with crèche

10.30am

Monthly prayer meeting

House group fortnightly

Coffee morning with toasted tea

cakes 1st Saturday in the month

10.30am

Contact: Church Secretary 2785373

LEEDS HUMANISTS

Meet monthly at the Swarthmore

Centre. Contact Bob

Tee, 14 Foxholes Crescent, Calverley,

LS28 5NT - Tel 0113 257 7009

[email protected]

www.wyhumanists.org.uk

ACTIVE LIFE

Kirkstall Leisure Centre offers Active

Life sessions for the over 45s every

Tuesday and Thursday.

To book and for further information

contact Allyson Bertram on 0113

395 0196

or [email protected]

AVIATOR ALLSTAR CHEELEADERS

Contact Tim on 07800 859 916

[email protected]

SCOUTS

The 5th North Leeds (St Stephen's)

meets at the St Stephens Church

Hall, Norman Street, Leeds 5. Beaver

Scouts meet on Tuesdays at 5.30pm

& Cubs meet on Fridays at 5.45pm,

For details of the Scout Troop,

please contact Laurie on (0113)

2259234 Mob: 07798 730917: e-mail

[email protected]

The 43rd North Leeds (Phoenix St

Mary's) meets at the St Mary's

Church Hall, Hawkswood Crescent,

Leeds 5. Beaver Scouts and Cubs

meet on Wednesday evenings at

6.30pm, Scouts meet on Friday at

7.00pm. Details from Richard on

(0113) 2673325: email

[email protected]

LADIES ROUNDERS

Last summer, we set up a rounders

team in Cookridge. The games will

be on a Tuesday night at 7pm

on Cookridge sports fields (near the

fire station on Otley Old Road.)

If you're interested in playing this

year, drop me an email

[email protected] (Please

put ROUNDERS in subject line!)

Don't worry if you haven't played

since school... It's friendly and

informal and best of all it's free!!

Community Notices To post a notice on this page, please

email [email protected]


Local Services LCC Switchboard 0113 222 4444

LCC NW Area Management 0113 395 0964

WNW Homes Enquiries 0800 915 1113

LCC Planning and Development 0113 222 4409

LCC Social Services Enquiries 0113 398 4702

LCC Parks & Countryside 0113 395 7400

Parkswatch 0113 232 9973

Education Enquiries 0113 247 5590

Education - Admissions 0113 247 5729

Anti-Social Behaviour reporting 0113 398 4701

Neighbourhood Policing Team 0113 205 3025

Police (emergency) 999

Police (non-emergency) 101

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

CASAC Checkpoint 0845 838 8851

Community Mediation Service 0113 242 4110

Leeds Victim Support 0113 395 1260

CAB Advice Line 08701 202 450

Streetscene 0113 222 4406

Highways Abandoned vehicles 0113 222 4406

Graffiti removal 0113 222 4406

Pest Control 0113 222 4406

Dog Wardens 0113 222 4406

Refuse collection 0113 222 4406

Bulky waste collection 0113 222 4406

Needle & Drug waste 0113 222 4406

Noise Nuisance (8am-6pm) 0113 222 4406

Noise Nuisance (8pm-2am/3am) 0113 242 5841

Environmental Action Team 0113 222 4407

Libraries Burley Library, Cardigan Road, tel. 214 4528 Mon 2pm-7pm

Wed 10am-6pm

Fri 2pm-7pm

Sat 10am-1pm

facilities: Asian Language Books, CD Rom Multimedia, Meeting

Room, Disabled Access, Fax, Internet Access

Bramley Library, Hough Lane, tel. 214 6040 Mon 10am-7pm

Tues 10am-6pm

Wed 10am-7pm

Thurs 10am-6pm

Fri 10am-6pm

Sat 10am-3pm

Sun 12pm-3pm

facilities: CD ROM Multimedia, Council Papers, Theatre Bookings,

Disabled access, Photocopier, Study Area, Fax, Internet Access

Headingley Library, North Lane, tel. 214 4525 Mon-Fri 9am-7pm

Sat 10am-4pm

Sun 12pm-4pm

facilities: Asian Language Books, UK Yellow Pages, CD ROM

Multimedia, Computer Catalogue, Council Papers, Meeting Room,

Theatre Bookings, Videos, Disabled Access, Photocopier, Study Area,

CD’s, Fax, Planning Applications, Sale of Book Tokens, Internet

Access

West Yorkshire Archive Services

WYAS, Leeds, Sheepscar Leeds LS7 3AP

Tel: 0113 214 5814 Fax: 0113 214 5815

[email protected]

Some archives are held offsite and our search room can get very busy. Appointments recommended.

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays

9.30am to 5pm

Please note we do not produce archives between 12 noon and 2pm


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OUTSTANDING OFSTED REPORTS in 2007 and 2010

“All groups of pupils make OUTSTANDING PROGRESS because they receive consistently effective teaching and the exciting practical activities help them develop very positive attitudes to learning.” (2010) OFSTED

OUTSTANDING SCHOOL OFSTED 2007 and OFSTED 2010

ls and more information call the Headteacher, June Turner, on (0113) 214 4562

Or visit our website: http://www.beecroft.leeds.sch.uk

“I can mix my own

colours and paint

my picture all by

myself. Look red,

yellow, orange” -

Joe

“When I go to school

I can work with

Droovie, he’s my

friend, he helps me

count” - Laila

“At nursery I play

with my friends and

I read books. I like

stories they’re my

favourite” - Aleena

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Documents