SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Hi Biscuit TinI think that Ingram Rd Tailoring factory was called Campbell-WalkerI used to do maintenance work there when I was an Apprentice!Old man Campbell would fuss around us all day telling us tohurry up as he couldn't afford to have any machine not working!A real old skinflint from what the lasses told us!That was in '46/'47. Don't suppose you had started work then?Arry Awk

No, not even a twinkle in my fathers eye :-;I worked there for only a short while during 1972, not sure if it was run by the same folk, but they used to watch you like hawks - didn't like time wasters!!!!!!!!

You Gorrit!Bit confused ere! DUH! Thought, after I posted the name of the firm,it could have been MITCHELL Walkers? The boss' name was Campbell! Och Aye,he looked after the Bawbees! 'Monny a micklemaks a muckle' as they say in Sauchihall Street and,'get that stitched,Jimmy!'He used to tell us to 'put that ladder up properly' and, 'ye'v had 10 meenits tae drink yerr tea,now back to wurrrk!Actually it wasn't a bad place to be as the girls on the machineswere Very friendly!Happy teenage days! CheersArrry

SPARTACUS wrote: I lived in Dragon Drive in the early fifties and we used to go to Holbeck Lemmi regularly. As I remember though it was a football pitch in the middle, not cricket, with a public footpath running diagonally across it !! I seem to remember Holbeck Working Mens club played on it. This would be in the late fifites, very early sixties. My mate lived in streets called the Colensos which must have been nearby.The pitch or field around Royds Lane area could have been the Walkers Field playing field. Again a football pitch was on the site. Go up to the top of Royds Lane and across Whitehall Rd onto Walkers Lane. The pitch was directly on your left and is now an industrial unit. The local Scouts and Guides held galas there on a regular basis.We used to bike it along to the "Beeston Bumps" as we called 'em. Great for bikes with the "Wall of Death" etc. There was also a football pitch behind it, which belonged to some local engineering firm I think. Another favourite haunt was Farnley train sheds which we got to via some tunnel near Macros present day site. Spartacus - your memory is quite correct about the Royds Lane region - see my earlier posts on the same subject. The Toch H used to hold galas there as well on the Walkers Lane site. I have spoken on the 'Beeston Bumps' (or 'Ups and Downs') also on this thread. The football (and cricket pitch) behins them was owned by Fairburn and Lawson who had an engineering place in town at the bottom of Kirkstall Rd I think and latterly Whitehall Printers owned it. I scored for the cricket team many times and we delivered the milk for the teas and their annual sports day from our farm on Royds Lane. The sheds at Farnley (25G btw) was another great favourite right next door to our farm which was next to the long dark tunnel under the banking.

Jailhouse John finally got that aerial photo to me...so here's the ups and downs etc, as mentioned in this thread:Cheers J.J.!

it nearly raises as many questions as answers.Is that Hol Beck meandering behind the training grounds and football stadium approximately where the M621 is todayWhat is the building on the opposite side of Elland Rd to the Greyhound Stadium.Where exactly are the ups and downs in the photo.The railway embankment Leeds - London line, if not the rails, are clearly visible 2/3rds of the way up as is Gelderd Road topleft to where therialway line cuts the right edge.What is now the ring road (was it then?) can be seen crossing Gelderd Road and then dissappearing under Leeds - Huddersfield (Manchester) line 2/3rds of the way across the top

tyke bhoy wrote: it nearly raises as many questions as answers.Is that Hol Beck meandering behind the training grounds and football stadium approximately where the M621 is todayWhat is the building on the opposite side of Elland Rd to the Greyhound Stadium.Where exactly are the ups and downs in the photo.The railway embankment Leeds - London line, if not the rails, are clearly visible 2/3rds of the way up as is Gelderd Road topleft to where therialway line cuts the right edge.What is now the ring road (was it then?) can be seen crossing Gelderd Road and then dissappearing under Leeds - Huddersfield (Manchester) line 2/3rds of the way across the top TB - I think the Beck is called Wortley BeckThe building opposite the Greyhound Satdium was the factory of Jackson Boilers.The Ups and Downs (or Beeston Bumps) are in the top left hand corner adjacent to the Ring Rd.The Ring Road was built in the early 30's when my late dad was a small boy living on Highfield Farm - I bought my Dad some photos from Leodis of the construction work - the farm and the lime fields can clearly be seen behind The 'Sheaf on Royds Lane.The photo was taken in the early 60's because you can see the preliminary site investigation work going on in our hay field opposite the Sheaf below the ring road. This work was the precursor of them building the YEB offices which have now in turn been pulled down (dont last long these days do they).I like this photo because it shows the walk with my Mum and Dad I had every other Saturday to ER from about 1948 onwards. It also shows the football and cricket pitch of Fairburn, Lawson, Combe Boundary (?) who were the engineering firm on Wellington Rd near the junction of Kirkstall Rd that I mentioned earlier.Anybody wanting information on this area then I am more than willing to provide it as our family lived there at Highfield Farm from the late 1920's until the the 1990's and my brother still has business premises just off Royds Lane to this day.

Hi JJ and Scandy!Many thanks for the aerial shot. Can't see any puddles tho'on the U/D'sthat I fell in with me bike!We have a full house again this weekend so must attend to theirneeds etc. Time on PC limited. sorry!Cheers Arry

Hi,I remeber the "Lemmy"As a pupil at Ingram School we used to play football there.It could be approached through Ingram Road, The Danubes, or Domestic Street. I also remember the Gainsborough picture house, Galway Smiths garage, Bradburys butchers on Domestic Street, Holbeck Baths, Mitchell Walkers on Ingram Road, and I am sure i recall a small mine which stood on what was the playing fields of Matthew Murray School on Brown Lane.

Biscuit Tin wrote: New to this! Does anyone remember the Lemi? You could get to it from Domestic Street, Ingram Road and Geldard Road if you went through the back to back terrace's. There was a railway embankment and a couple of tunnels that went underneath, I believe 1 was called 'Dino'? i remember going through tunnels there as a very small boy,long before the area had the guts ripped form its still warm body,back in 1970/71.