SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Cardiarms wrote: Donkey Beck, Kirkstall. Got culverted and became Donkey Dyke. Roughly runs from Headingley Station, down the hill to the old Star and Garter (now a Kitchen shop) then into the river by Kirkstall Bridge. Good one!!I think I can pick it out on the OS 1850's map. I think it is probably culverted under headingley station and rises around becketts park dropping through Batcliff Wood. The lie of the land even today would indicate a large curved hillside where water would naturally collect in the dip between spen lane and kirkstall lane.On the 1847 OS there's a tree lined Dow Beck running from Pottery field across to Hunslet Road - tree lined in parts. That all quickly dissapeared under Fowlers.Two more tributaries to the Aire.

Cheers - Donkey Beck/Dyke pictures are on Leodis.

Cardiarms wrote: Cheers - Dyke pictures are on Leodis. Ohhhh Matron..... Oh the fun of selective editing...    

Filth!

simonm wrote: Cardiarms wrote: Cheers - Dyke pictures are on Leodis. Ohhhh Matron..... Oh the fun of selective thinking...     Yup

It's always good to have a glimpse of old/seceret leeds now and again. The Town Hall and Corn Exchange are there every day to glimpse.The Belle Isle beck once fed and drained Hunslet Lake long gone. The beck itself has long been buried, but a glimpse remains.Not long ago the mighty Phil DVS posed a photographic puzzle to identify the back wall of a row of blind back to backs which turned out to be Arthington Place.The reason the back wall was blind and not attached to the sister backs on Norwich avenue was that Belle Isle Beck which at that side of the lake became "Balm Beck" passes between the backs of the houses.On the "Lakeside" at the end of the old houses is a shop "Arthington News" and between that and Arthington place is the wall of a once bridge topped with railings and below is the deep channel of the beck running for about 20 yards until it is covered at ground level where Phils picture is.However as deep as the channel is there is no sound or sight of the water, just sadly piles of rubbish as this has become a waste tip of ugly proportions.Anyway there we go a few square meters of an old Hunslet Beck, and in the name "Balm Beck" another tributary to the mighty Aire!

One of the joys of the early 1950's was to view the water on both sides of Beck Rd, also the same on Sheperd's Ln.

Brunel wrote: One of the joys of the early 1950's was to view the water on both sides of Beck Rd, also the same on Sheperd's Ln. The becks of Leeds are always a delightful attraction, even today the kids in our area are attracted to visit Moseley Beck regularly.Another Leeds beck is Hell Hole Gill.Question time - where is it? Or was it?? and what was it's medieval connection?

Driving down spen lane I remembered a ditch/beck rising on on West Park playing fields and the valley down to wards the railway bridge, past the Hark to Rover and on towards the abbey. Wouldn't have been enourmous but now gone?

Cardiarms wrote: Driving down spen lane I remembered a ditch/beck rising on on West Park playing fields and the valley down to wards the railway bridge, past the Hark to Rover and on towards the abbey. Wouldn't have been enourmous but now gone? Nothing get's past you!Hell Hole Gill rose in west park and down past the roofing company and T line Taxis. You cannot see a gill any more, only traces of the channel in what's left of Hell Hole Wood above Queenswood Drive.Over queenswood drive the path of the gill seems to be obliterated by the houses east of (would you believe) "Ghyll" Road with a dry channel of several meters at the bottom of the end house on Spen lane.Over the railway there's another dry channel behind the houses that stops dead before the grasslands drop to the football pitch, Vesper lane and Rugby pitch.Years ago the Gill fed the Abbey Mill Pond, but all there is now is boggy grassland in a strip of land dropping down to the site of the pond that related to Chameleons idea that whatever you do with such Gills and Becks natural water will to a certain extent retain it's course.But that isn't the case north of the railway and it seems to me that rather than Hell Hole Gill being culverted, it's course is drained into land and road drains that collect much of the waters the Gill once collected, and foul drains that are low down in Hell Wood.