School close

The origins and history of placenames, nicknames, local slang, etc.
polos
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue 02 Dec, 2014 5:37 am

School close

Post by polos »

Near the train station area before the arches were built on old maps the area was referred to as school close. I cant for the life of me figure out why this is. Can anyone shed any light on this please?
As a side note put school close into Google maps and it was actually still there according to Google but this seems to have disappeared from maps now. Ps I am aware of the school close in Farnley and this is nothing to do with that.
As you can imagine typing school close into Google just brings up a lot of school closures but nothing related to what I'm trying to find

polos
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue 02 Dec, 2014 5:37 am

Re: School close

Post by polos »

I just want to stress that I am sure it was on google maps a few months back as a small street somewhere near the train station. It's really bugging me that I can't even find where Google even thought it was now

jim
Posts: 1895
Joined: Sun 17 May, 2009 10:09 am

Re: School close

Post by jim »

During the late 1950s as a BR apprentice fitter I worked on occasion on equipment owned by the railway at School Close Mills which was in the area now taken up by the Hilton Hotel immediately South of Leeds railway station between Neville Street and the River Aire. I presume that the site was owned by BR and rented out to small firms. I have no idea where the name originates, but can clearly identify the site. The 1844 large scale OS map shows many small businesses in the area, but those shown pre-date the buildings I refer to, and there is no mention whatever of "School Close".
Last edited by jim on Fri 10 Jul, 2020 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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buffaloskinner
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Location: Nova Scotia

Re: School close

Post by buffaloskinner »

1891 map
:arrow:
Attachments
School Close 1891.PNG
School Close 1891.PNG (645.79 KiB) Viewed 5516 times
Is this the end of the story ...or the beginning of a legend?

jim
Posts: 1895
Joined: Sun 17 May, 2009 10:09 am

Re: School close

Post by jim »

Nice one Buffalo Skinner! Shows a larger area as bearing the name. As a really wild guess, I wonder if the area was at one time owned by Leeds Grammar School or similar, as a source of revenue to fund such a school?

iansmithofotley
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Joined: Fri 28 Dec, 2007 4:10 pm

Re: School close

Post by iansmithofotley »

I also checked the 1891 map and found that School Close Mills (Woollen) were on the west side of Neville Street, as shown on Buffaloskinner’s map from Old Maps.

I then checked the 1850 map on Old Maps and I found that School Close Mills (Flax) were situated between Sovereign Street and the River Aire. On the 1891 map, this is shown as Drug Mills.

Where School Close Mills (Woollen) is shown on the 1891 map, on the 1850 map the premises are shown as Cloth Manufacturer. ‘School Close’ is written in bold letters across the whole area on the 1891 map but not at all on the 1850 map.

I couldn’t see a school in either area (which are only a short distance from each other – on either side of what is now Neville Street).

I checked a list of streets in 1822 on Genuki and it states that School Close was at Mill Hill. I checked a list of streets in 1853 on Genuki and it states that School Close was Neville Street.

All this is very confusing, to say the least.

String o' beads
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Joined: Wed 06 Feb, 2008 6:09 pm

Re: School close

Post by String o' beads »

iansmithofotley in particular may find this book extract interesting:

https://tinyurl.com/y6vu5m2w

It's a page showing the 'School Close' beats of Leeds police from the book 'The Beats of the Police of the Borough of Leeds'

Seems to cover all the areas referred to above.

iansmithofotley
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Joined: Fri 28 Dec, 2007 4:10 pm

Re: School close

Post by iansmithofotley »

Hi Geordie-exile,

Thank you, I am aware of the book. In those days, officers were designated a 'Fixed Beat' so that supervisory officers could find them and knew approximately where their officers were at any particular time. Sometimes the beats would be 'reversed' so the officers patrolled the other way.

The problem with 'Fixed Beats' was that everybody, including the villains, usually knew what time officers would pass a particular point so, once they had passed, the villains knew that they were safe for a while so that they could commit crime. In those days, officers were punished by fine, reprimand or caution for being on the wrong side of the road, being off their beat or for not patrolling their beat properly. The officers also tended to work a three shift system starting at 6am, 2pm or 10pm so it was not too difficult to work out where they would be at any particular time.

Supervisory officers would visit 'points' on the beats to meet up with officers or to pass messages. Also, it was a safety measure - if an officer didn't turn up at a 'point' then the supervision had a good idea where to look in case the officer had been assaulted or whatever (including drunkenness).

Points existed in Leeds until Unit Beat Policing came about around 1968, when panda cars were introduced. Even when I joined in 1965, I had to make a 'point' every half hour so that supervision could meet me, if necessary. This was whether I patrolled on foot or on a 'noddy bike' (which had radios). These points were at telephone boxes and each beat had its own set times for its points e.g. ten past the hour/twenty to the hour, and were named on beat cards. Nearly every telephone box was a beat point in those days. In addition, because foot patrol officers did not carry radios, officers would occasionally be contacted by telephone. Unless we were engaged with a job, we had to remain at a point five minutes before the allocated time until five minutes afterwards.

Leeds also used to have some 'Police Boxes' which were Tardis type small buildings, located at various places throughout the City. There were also some Dalek type 'Police Posts', which were also located around the City. These boxes and posts were also used for 'points' (points of contact).

Ian

iansmithofotley
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Re: School close

Post by iansmithofotley »

I have checked a few Trade Directories for School Close and it is mentioned several times. For example the 1888 Kelly's Directory refers to 'Victoria Bridge over the River Aire at the foot of Neville Street and School Close'.

The General Directory of Leeds 1839 shows John Stott (sawyer) at 14 Sandford Street, School Close. I checked Sandford Street in the 1853 Streets Directory and found it to be located at 30 Neville Street.

The General and Commercial Directory for Leeds 1834 shows Martin Akeroyd (tailor) at 1 Strickland's Court, School Close.

So School Close appears to be an 'area' around where Neville Street is located but I still can't find a 'school' to give it the name School Close.

A check on Leodis shows several references also:

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

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Leodian
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Re: School close

Post by Leodian »

On trying to find information as to why the area is called ‘School Close’ I came across some information that may or may not be relevant. I found it in an EBook ‘The Civil, Ecclesiastical, Literary, Commercial, and Miscellaneous ..., Volume 2 by Edward Parsons dated MDCCCXXXIV (which I found is 1834). In information on pages 82/83 in a section titled ‘The Grammar School At Leeds’ it states (omitting pieces of text that I’ve denoted by ...) :-

In a report before the Court of Chancery...it is stated “that by an inquisition on the twenty-eighth of April, in the eighteenth year of the reign of King James the First, it was found that Lawrence Rawson (sic) surrendered copyhold premises to the sustentation, reparation, and free use of the Grammar School of Leeds, and other premises as well...of the said school...”.
The surrender of Lawrence Lawson (sic) was of three cottages in Marsh-Lane, made in the forty-fourth of Elizabeth...Christopher Hopton and others also rendered a close, denominated the Calls, containing three acres...

It is the mention of Marsh Lane and the Calls, which are very close to the School Close area, that made me wonder if the information could be relevant as also did the “also rendered a close”. I seemed unable to copy the text so I’ve done a manual typing which seems to be accurate. Note that Lawrence’s surname is given as Rawson and Lawson, which is why I’ve added the (sic).
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

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