Bunker in Clayton Woods

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Fri 29 Aug, 2008 11:11 pm

HiI noticed this concrete structure when riding my mountain bike through Clayton Woods near West Park the other week. Its about 20 foot square in size and is partially submerged. There is an opening in the concrete roof that has an iron ladder leading down into the structure but the interior is flooded and filled with detritus - leaves / branches and other rubbish. I cant work out if the thing is actually a former air raid shelter or subterranean reservoir. There are a couple of pipe structures protruding from the top of the concrete roof and there appears to have once been another entrance which has since been capped off with concrete. Any ideas anyone?

Penz · Post by **Penz** » Sun 31 Aug, 2008 6:45 pm

I've never heard of any strategic installations in this area that would have required an air raid shelter, but Clayton woods used to be a quarrying site. Could this structure have been a secure storage bunker for the explosives?

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Sun 31 Aug, 2008 9:32 pm

Hi Penz!Welcome to the secret Leeds forum! You are right in that the area of Clayton Woods has been quarried but the area that the bunker in my pictures is located is a little far from the quarried areas for it to have been useful as an explosives store. There are however industrial units quite close by and I also believe there was a school close to the site called Moor Grange County Secondary School which was demolished in the late 80's to be replaced by the Lawnswood Business Park. The pictures need looking at by someone who knows more about underground stuff (Phil D / Rik J et al - hint hint!) as they are more likely to understand what the structures are. I am having doubts about it been a bunker because all bunkers I have explored have had proper entrances that do not involve climbing down dodgy ladders etc. For anyone interested in having a look at this bunker it can be found easily by following a footpath that runs between Pearson Jones and Datong Electronics off of Clayton Wood Close. Turn left at the end of the footpath and follow the footpath downhill until the track turns to the left and you will see the concrete structure poking out of the ground in front of you.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Sun 31 Aug, 2008 10:26 pm

Interesting stuff here. There is one very similar to this in the woods near Cookridge hospital. My mates photographed it, but when we went we searched high and low, but couldn't find the dam thing.Also air raid shelters had th eeasy access entrances, the larger structures had escape hatches very similar to the ladder pictured on these shots.

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Sun 31 Aug, 2008 10:30 pm

Alrite Phil_D what thinketh thee of this pile of concrete yonder? I'm currently of the storage tank / reservoir school but seems a bit over the top for storing a drop of water maybe.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Sun 31 Aug, 2008 10:41 pm

Well the one at cookridge is rumoured to be an air raid shelter. I tend to think like you it's oil or water storage maybe. I think having a good look inside, or getting a camera flash shot will help solve the puzzle mate.

LandyDefender · Post by **LandyDefender** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 6:40 pm

Hi Folks, if the one you're refrering to in cookridge is in the copse of trees you can see from Otley old road, going from Cookridge towards Bramhope, then that is definately a water tank. I am the ripe old age of 41 now and far too fat and unfit to shin up the pipe at the side of it, but did it many years ago when i lived in the moseley woods and was about ten i think.It was full of mud and junk and had you fallen in there was no way of climbing out.Sounds like Clayton Woods is the same type of thing, would lov eto get in there with my defender but can only see bike routes in.

jonleeds · Post by **jonleeds** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 10:14 pm

Yeah the quarry in Clayton Woods is inaccessible to 4x4 vehicles at the moment but before they installed gates on Clayton Wood Road there used to be people come from miles around with all kinds of off road vehicles - I even saw a 6 wheeled Pinzgauer there one weekend. A development company called The Burford Group has been attempting to get planning permission to create an urban village development of houses, flats, shops and potentially a new railway station in the quarry but with the current state of the economy its looking like the development will be delayed. The bunker is quite close to the site of the English Heritage schedulled ancient monument of a prehistoric stone hut circle which I have mentioned in another post.

FarnleyBloke · Post by **FarnleyBloke** » Wed 17 Sep, 2008 10:44 pm

Hi JonI used to play round that quite a bit when i was younger, if i remember rightly one of the buildings in front of it used to make golf shoes.Unfortunately all i can remember is going down it a couple of times but being young and very scared we didn't go far in. I think the last time it was probably under a lot of water.Of course being children we believed all kinds of deeds went on there!It was quite well known to all the kids in that area on both sides of the Ring Road.

electricaldave · Post by **electricaldave** » Tue 14 Oct, 2008 4:07 pm

The 'bunker' in Cookridge woods was probably some sort of liquid storage, I vaguely remeber there were a couple of long disused pipes in there - something like 6" or 8" diameter.Given that the access was on the top, I can't imagine that they were intended for human occupation. I suppose it's possible that at some point it was convenient for them to be emptied and used as shelters - but somehow I don't think so, as this area was not built up enough to have been a target for Luftwaffe bombs.Those woods at the side of Cookridge hospital once held a notable house, the woods were landscaped grounds, hence its still full of Rhodadendrons.I rember them demollshing the old house, a sort of minor mansion built in millstone grit blocks.There is still a gatehouse down hospital lane I think.The woods themselves were full of long abandoned pathways - if you knew to look for the path edgings, there was also an enclosed orchard and a large cold house - i.e an unheated greenhouse.The top part of the woods and the empty field (this was used as playing fields for many years) up to Otley Old road have been turned over to housing.