Primrose Valley - Halton

jasco · Post by **jasco** » Tue 12 Jun, 2007 6:32 pm

Does anyone know anything about the history of Primrose Valley Doorstep Green (as it is now known) at Halton? I have heard stories that part of it was once a coal mine. I have also seen maps with parts of it labelled Halton Deans. I think it's now a bit of a hidden green area as only those who live along it's borders seem to know it exists (though it can be seen from the A64 York Road easily), but there are signs it was once a busier place.

Biscuit Tin · Post by **Biscuit Tin** » Tue 12 Jun, 2007 8:55 pm

If its the one I think it is I spent many a happy hours as a child playing with my cousins who lived in Cross Gates. Know nothing of its history only that it was a beautiful place to play.Would be really interested to know the history myself!!

rangieowner · Post by **rangieowner** » Thu 02 Aug, 2007 10:13 am

jasco wrote: Does anyone know anything about the history of Primrose Valley Doorstep Green (as it is now known) at Halton? I have heard stories that part of it was once a coal mine. I have also seen maps with parts of it labelled Halton Deans. I think it's now a bit of a hidden green area as only those who live along it's borders seem to know it exists (though it can be seen from the A64 York Road easily), but there are signs it was once a busier place. Quite right about the coal mine, there was a colliery at the Selby Road end of Halton Deans in the 1890's. Primrose vally is the Crossgates end of the area. it also appears there was a public house called Primrose Valley near the railway lines according to the 1854 map.(but that could be me being wrong)

rangieowner · Post by **rangieowner** » Thu 02 Aug, 2007 10:25 am

The 1909 maps shows 3 "old" quarry workings, halton sewage works, and killingbeck colliery as "dissused". By 1938 there is a recreation ground and some allotments as well as all the above, so you were right, it was quite an active place!

rangieowner · Post by **rangieowner** » Thu 02 Aug, 2007 10:40 am

And finally (for now) by the mid 40's all of the above seem to have vanished, the Dunhill estate has arrived and you basically have what you've got today!! Hope this helps!

wiggy · Post by **wiggy** » Tue 21 Aug, 2007 12:09 pm

wasn't it used as a land fill site,or some kind of tip for a while?

rangieowner · Post by **rangieowner** » Tue 21 Aug, 2007 12:14 pm

Dunno! hvn't seen owt!

rikj · Post by **rikj** » Tue 21 Aug, 2007 3:21 pm

I think Primrose Valley has been all of those things in the past. Certainly a colliery and landfill site. It's all covered in great detail in the book Halton - The Story of an East Leeds Village" by John Gilleghan. There are at least 2 copies in the Central Library.It think it was in the book it mentions another pub called the Bird in Hand. Which, I'd never twigged before, refers to miners and their canaries.There were also reservoirs there and the whole history of the area is tied in to the Temple Newsam estate.

keyholekate · Post by **keyholekate** » Sun 25 Mar, 2012 4:17 pm

There is a lovely book that I read called" Life in a liberty bodice" by Christabel Burniston who lived on Morritt Avenue,Halton in 1904 .She tells her life story growing up in Halton http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/chr ... 98375#This morning I decided to walk over the valley from Valley Drive end ,over the bridge at the train track and over the grass that would bring me out at the back of Seacroft Hospital at the old mortuary,a route I took for years when I worked there. This was handy for walking over to Asda too walking to the main gates and over York Road. I was shocked to see the whole of Seacroft Hospital or the whole of Primrose Valley has been completely ring fenced off !! There was no way I could get in the grounds of Seacroft Hospital at all,well only if I attempted to climb the new shiny silver ten foot spiked fence. Does anyone know how long its been like this and for what reason?I had to go back ,there was no break in the fence (hopefully there will be soon).The only way I could get from Halton to say Asda now would be to walk right down to the other bridge that brings you out at Watson Road on the Sutton estate.That takes a lot longer though ,not same as nipping over the valley did.

Post by **chameleon** » Sun 25 Mar, 2012 9:06 pm

keyholekate wrote: There is a lovely book that I read called" Life in a liberty bodice" by Christabel Burniston who lived on Morritt Avenue,Halton in 1904 .She tells her life story growing up in Halton http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/chr ... 98375#This morning I decided to walk over the valley from Valley Drive end ,over the bridge at the train track and over the grass that would bring me out at the back of Seacroft Hospital at the old mortuary,a route I took for years when I worked there. This was handy for walking over to Asda too walking to the main gates and over York Road. I was shocked to see the whole of Seacroft Hospital or the whole of Primrose Valley has been completely ring fenced off !! There was no way I could get in the grounds of Seacroft Hospital at all,well only if I attempted to climb the new shiny silver ten foot spiked fence. Does anyone know how long its been like this and for what reason?I had to go back ,there was no break in the fence (hopefully there will be soon).The only way I could get from Halton to say Asda now would be to walk right down to the other bridge that brings you out at Watson Road on the Sutton estate.That takes a lot longer though ,not same as nipping over the valley did. The old 'cow field' behind the hospital was sold of some time ago by the Leeds trust for housing (affordable?? - what ever that means). Not been there for over a year but I suspect the fencing is fairly recent.Travelling from the York Road end, I found a sign patronisingly telling me I could pass through the field to the old bridge as a concession from the 'owners' providing I kept to their mown patrhway over the grass.It seems to have been forgotten that there is, a now unpassable public footpath which ran parallel to the boundary of the Sutton estate to the iron railway bridge and was seperated from the hospital grounds by the iron railing fence - the remains can still be seen at the railway end.Without doubt this will have been an access to the old Killingbeck pits which existed on what is now the countryway walk, and through to Halton. Similarly there is also a pathway across from the York Road seperating the Killingbeck site from the cemetry and leads to the top of Sommerville Avenue. A couple of years back, this one was cleared to allow its use. I wonder by what right people can be excluded from such ancient paths?http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/ ... 155.stmThe start of the public path is shown in the picture, progress along it limited to just as far as you can see, the 'permitted' way is round to the left of the post.