SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

There are major roadworks currently going on at the Ring Road/Harrogate Road (A61)/Scott Hall road and Stonegate Road areas. Seeing them I thought it would be interesting to look at some old maps. On a 1954/1955 1:2,500 map in the Old-Maps UK website I was surprised to find that there used to be a Police Station at the junction of Stonegate Road and Scott Hall Road. There was no Police Station there on a 1933 1:2,500 map nor on a 1962-1973 1:1,250 map and by the latter the site had 'PC's' which will likely be the Public Conveniences that I recall were there in at least the early 1980's.

The location however does seem to have been a very small plot to have a Police Station but though it will have been demolished a long while back it may still be recalled by some SL members so I would be grateful for any information. I have attached a section that I've reproduced from the 1954/1955 map on the Old-Maps UK website that shows the Police Station's location. Sorry for the large amount of blank space in that!

Hi Leodian,

It was called 'Moortown Police Station' and was there, as a Police Station, from about 1951 until 1961. According to the Leeds City Police Book, it was previously a 'Warden's Post' and then an 'Air Raid Shelter'. Apparently, after it closed, it was converted to Public Toilets. Personally, I have no knowledge of the building. At one time, there were a number of small Police Stations, throughout the City and they were called 'Section Houses'. A long time ago, some of them even had accommodation for a number of officers and others just housed one family. There used to be one at Sheepscar (Sheepscar Street North/Buslingthorpe Lane). I knew an officer who lived there with his family in a flat in the 1960's. It was later taken over by Social Services Department (like several other Leeds Police Stations).

Ian

Hi Ian . Thanks for that extremely interesting response with information about which I knew very little of.

PS. The edit to my first post was only to correct a typing error where I had originally typed "large amount of bank space" and corrected that to "large amount of blank space".

Hi Brunel .
Thanks for posting the image and information. I occasionally pass the site (on a bus) and about a week or so back I noticed some yellow painted very impressive pipework there and had wondered what it was for. Passing by on the return barely 3 hours later the pipework had already been concealed as your photo shows.

I can't contribute anything on the Stonegate Road Section House, but here is a photo of the one at the bottom of Scott Hall Road, just below what was the Skinner's Arms. As Ian said it was taken over by Social Services but is now in the hands of the Leeds West Indian Carnival Association

I've been hoping someone will come up with a picture of the public conveniences on the site. After we moved to Bramley in 1961, I cycled fairly regularly past this location. I now have a picture in my mind of the lavatories and I wonder if I'm just creating a memory or if it's real.

Thanks johnnyg for that image and information . I occasionally pass by that building but did not know what it was used for.

Thanks also jma . I recall the public toilets there but I don't recall when they were demolished but they were certainly there at least into the 1980s though not necessarily in use by then. As they were not 'convenient' I never had a need to use them!