SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

The photo (taken Nov 15 2010) shows a door in the Falcon Electrical building on Sheepscar Street South. The door looks like it is no longer in use (certainly not regularly, if at all). In view of the 'Data Collection' over the door I would be grateful if anyone could say who used the data and what for (I'm assuming it pre-dates Falcon Electrical). I have done a search under 'Sheepscar Street South' in the Leodis website which brought up 12 pages with about 60 images in total, but I did not see anything that was obviously connected to my query.

Looking at the base wall of the building, it looks like it could either be part of the old Sheepscar library. Or the old post office building.If so, it could have been for the receipt of documents pertaining to the archives, which are housed in the old library. Or those intended for the GPO.?Just a thought.

farbank wrote: Looking at the base wall of the building, it looks like it could either be part of the old Sheepscar library. Or the old post office building.If so, it could have been for the receipt of documents pertaining to the archives, which are housed in the old library. Or those intended for the GPO.?Just a thought. Thanks farbank for your help and suggestions. I don't really know the area so I did not know there used to be a library and a GPO around there.

Didn't Royal Mail used to operatea service called Datapost ?

dogduke wrote: Didn't Royal Mail used to operatea service called Datapost ? Yes but, I don't remeber exactly what it was, maybe an early track and trace system?The old library on Sheepscar Street (red brick building) is now home to West Yorkshire Archives in Leeds but I don't think your door is on there.    The Royal Mail sorting office is in Sackville Street, rather new I think and I have a memory of that once being in a similar design of building nearby so, your door could well have been part of that as farbank suggests.    EDIT:from leodis:'The Post Office (next to the archives) closed in 1985 and is now used as premises for the Ramgarhia Board'.This is now in a new building, the old one probably having adopted the name Falcon House but I don't see the door on there either!    

Thanks all for your help, which is appreciated. Being on the same side and not far from Harewood Barracks the building with the door is not at the West Yorkshire Archives and will not have been part of the Post Office that was next to the Archives. It is intriquing!

The term 'data collection' puts this some time after the 70's I think .. before the days of online data transfer and the internet, many stores and businesses would use something called Kimball Tags to collect data about what they had sold etc. These would be placed outside the store after close of business, collected by van and transported to a data centre. I wonder if this was something similar?

If this is where Falcon is then its not near the Library or the old post office as these are on Chapeltown Road and not Sheepscar Street South. This is more towards Skinner Lane near where the Renault garage used to be and is more or less opposite the new Roscoe but a nit further up towards the north.If you find wht the building used to be then you'll no doubt find this out.....Trade directories maybe?    

LS1 wrote: If this is where Falcon is then its not near the Library or the old post office as these are on Chapeltown Road and not Sheepscar Street South. This is more towards Skinner Lane near where the Renault garage used to be and is more or less opposite the new Roscoe but a nit further up towards the north.If you find wht the building used to be then you'll no doubt find this out.....Trade directories maybe?     Yed you are right of course. This is the bit between Sheepscar Streets North and South isn't it which, together with the name Sheepscar on the front of the building contributes to the misslocation(Unrelated - has anyone ever noticed that Bramley has relocated to the Seacroft Outer Ring Road according to Google, maps, etc?).

The post office entrance was the last buidling on Chapeltown Road. The library entrance was on the actual corner. Just to rekindle old memories, coming out of the library and looking accross the Roundhay Road, were a couple fo shops one, of which was Barratts, a fruit and vegetable shop. Further towards town on what I believe may now be Sheepscar Road South (but not sure) was Appleyards the big Austin/Morris dealership. Does anyone remember Tates of Leeds in New York Road or Brown & White the Ford dealership on Roundhay Road. There were also several dealerships on Regent Street eg. Cox's Hilliman, Arnold G Wilson Triumph and Galway Smith Renault. Ah well, happy days lol.