SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

i am looking for information about a factory in bramley...i have vague recollections of a big fire in the late 70`s,very early 80`s...the factory was opposite the Methodist church on stanningley road..on the site of what is now Rossefield Manor...i have tried leodis but to no avail and also looked on various history of Leeds/bramley sites...i hope someone else remembers the factory and proves im not loosing my marbles....

Looking at the site on http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html suggests that there was no mill at the junction of Rossefield Approach and Stanningley Road. However there was a worsted mill at the junction with Bath Lane. A bit further down, by Ashby Avenue, was Springfield Mill and Craven Mills, which Winerite Ltd applied to turn into a bonded warehouse in 1975: http://planningapplications.leeds.gov.u ... eturn=true. If you have a look at the street record for Ashby Avenue at http://planningapplications.leeds.gov.u ... 0072627608 and go to Related Info/Find Planning Applications you'll be able to find what happened when to the site, and who applied for planning permission. I wouldn't be surprised if the fire was caused by the booze in the bonded warehouse catching alight.

possibly thats the one im thinking of...it was a few years ago

Hi,I do recall a large mill fire in the area.The best description i can give is if you travelled up under the railway bridges at Bramley Station on Swinnow Road and then turned right onto Elder Road the mill was situated on the right hand side.It would be about a quarter of the way along and was set back off the road.The fire was around late evening.We lived in Rycroft Avenue and could see the fire quite clearly.

Terry M wrote: Hi,I do recall a large mill fire in the area.The best description i can give is if you travelled up under the railway bridges at Bramley Station on Swinnow Road and then turned right onto Elder Road the mill was situated on the right hand side.It would be about a quarter of the way along and was set back off the road.The fire was around late evening.We lived in Rycroft Avenue and could see the fire quite clearly. That would be right next door to Harold Newsome's steel fabricators then.I'm sure they would be able to confirm this.

Terry M wrote: Hi,I do recall a large mill fire in the area.The best description i can give is if you travelled up under the railway bridges at Bramley Station on Swinnow Road and then turned right onto Elder Road the mill was situated on the right hand side.It would be about a quarter of the way along and was set back off the road.The fire was around late evening.We lived in Rycroft Avenue and could see the fire quite clearly. Terry, My recollection of a large mill fire in Bramley ties in pretty well with yours. I was also one of a large crowd watching the blazing mill very close to where you describe. I remember the mill as being located just off Stanningley road, not far from Bramley Station. I recall standing on the opposite side of the road watching the fire brigade tackle the blaze , without much success, as the fire took hold very rapidly, and the roof and part of the structure collapsed. It was a very dark night and the largest conflagration I have ever seen close up. I can't remember what happened to the building afterwards, whether it was demolished , left standing as an empty shell, or even rebuilt?The only problem I have is with timescale in the thread title because we moved away from that part of Bramley in 1964 so the mill fire I remember must have been in the early 60's not the late 70's.

that seems to tie in with my vague recollections...same sort of area but i wasnt born till 73...and i lived on the rossefields at the time....my dad had a white cortina estate which we had in the late 70`s...i could be wrong...i just have this memory of a fire...was hoping someone could shed some light on it