Harehills Colliery

[Leodian]

The Parksider wrote: Leodian wrote: As a child in the late 1940s to early 1950s I used to sometimes play on the slag heap (near the Shaftesbury and behind Sumrie's area on York Road) that would probably have been that from Harehills Colliery. Most play though was done on what if I recall correctly was the taller Osmondthorpe Pit spoil heap and the then open ground nearby off Osmondthorpe Lane (long built over). That heap was York Road Colliery and Iron works, Harehills colliery was further down in the Compton road area originally and included Gipton Colliery which took the name probably because the coals were transported by railway to Harehills to behind the Fforde Greene - the railway is traceable. Thanks for that interesting information The Parksider.

[LS1]

Leodian wrote: The Parksider wrote: Leodian wrote: As a child in the late 1940s to early 1950s I used to sometimes play on the slag heap (near the Shaftesbury and behind Sumrie's area on York Road) that would probably have been that from Harehills Colliery. Most play though was done on what if I recall correctly was the taller Osmondthorpe Pit spoil heap and the then open ground nearby off Osmondthorpe Lane (long built over). That heap was York Road Colliery and Iron works, Harehills colliery was further down in the Compton road area originally and included Gipton Colliery which took the name probably because the coals were transported by railway to Harehills to behind the Fforde Greene - the railway is traceable. Thanks for that interesting information The Parksider. Off topic I know, but I have some photos of the slag heaps, my grandma used to work for Sumrie's and took lunch on the slag heaps in the summer. They are of her and her friends, but in the background are some good shots of the slag heaps and the surrounding houses. This will have been pre-war. (2nd!)

[uncle mick]

[quotenick="The Parksider"] uncle mick wrote: The Parksider wrote: It appears that the cottages were built in 1870.From the 1893 Directory it seems there are no Brickworkers etc living in those cottagesIn the 1891 Census there no Brickworkers etc either.On the Tithe Maps there appears to be something there. The Tithe Maps are dated between 1838 & 1861 according to the website                     Mick - THANK YOU we have an idea of the date of operation and it may be the Brickmakers had to move on, but at that time Leeds was getting littered with modern Brickworks so their skills would have been in demand easily got them jobs elsewhere I would guess??Their origins from the south are also highly interesting - did Leeds have to import these skills one the city turned away from stone and moved to brick for development.PS The only really old brick building I have found so far in the area is the Mustard Pot!!     Could this have been the end of the brickworks on Street Lane ??? Taken from Leeds Mercury May 30th 1884http://flic.kr/p/dWCpSo    

[The Parksider]

[quotenick="uncle mick"] The Parksider wrote: uncle mick wrote: The Parksider wrote: It appears that the cottages were built in 1870.From the 1893 Directory it seems there are no Brickworkers etc living in those cottagesIn the 1891 Census there no Brickworkers etc either.On the Tithe Maps there appears to be something there. The Tithe Maps are dated between 1838 & 1861 according to the website                     Mick - THANK YOU we have an idea of the date of operation and it may be the Brickmakers had to move on, but at that time Leeds was getting littered with modern Brickworks so their skills would have been in demand easily got them jobs elsewhere I would guess??Their origins from the south are also highly interesting - did Leeds have to import these skills one the city turned away from stone and moved to brick for development.PS The only really old brick building I have found so far in the area is the Mustard Pot!!     Could this have been the end of the brickworks on Street Lane ??? Taken from Leeds Mercury May 30th 1884http://flic.kr/p/dWCpSo     Mick,How do you do it? Another brilliant piece of research.1884 is quite late, it will be easy to see what other Brickworks are up and running by then.Most will be situated in the middle of major developments closer to the city, and most probably more efficient/cost effective so my guess would be quality and competition issues caused the closure and sale.Did it sell? I don't see it - it's fascinating they had to put a bus on to entice buyers. The list of plant/equipment is also interesting.We have OS maps before it opened and OS maps after it closed. Whether any buildings were on the site to house the boilers and engines I assume there were. Again GT is best placed to comment.

[LS1]

Were the brickworks on Street Lane opposite where Marlow's is now?I'm pretty sure I saw a map or similar stating this...

[uncle mick]

LS1 wrote: Were the brickworks on Street Lane opposite where Marlow's is now?I'm pretty sure I saw a map or similar stating this... The Brickworks were approx where these flats ?? are.http://goo.gl/maps/FjuqkEDIT; Looking at the map again more like herehttp://goo.gl/maps/GOIfj

[johnnyg]

That's great work Uncle Mick. The census info is particularly interesting. The Thomas family that lived at no 8, had six children in 19 years and all were born in different towns - itinerant workers as suggested. Life must have been very difficult for such workers. The site of the clay pits puts them very close, if not below, the Yorkshire Bank playing fields. Maybe that's why they weren't built on earlier, although they have been the subject of a few building applications lately.

[The Parksider]

LS1 wrote: Were the brickworks on Street Lane opposite where Marlow's is now?I'm pretty sure I saw a map or similar stating this... http://goo.gl/maps/FynWIThe works were across the road to these cottages, and the works probably made the bricks to build them and house the workers.Is Marlows the take away?I parked there to look at the cottages!!

[The Parksider]

Another scout round and research........The Brickworks created brick for building probably because it was cheaper than stone.Up Chapeltown Road they are pulling down a house that is stone fronted but behind it internal and party walls are old brick. Such a design would have saved money and protected the bricks from the weathering.Dickinson notes on Gregory maps that in Chapel Allerton there were cheap developments of small terraces and cottages.These are (map wise) on and close to school lane and are now gone, I assume because the cheap brick did not last. I can find an old wall made of cheap disintegrating bricks nothing else. Those bricks could have been from Street LaneI feel that Stone was expensive and bricks were cheap and so the Street Lane works were an early entrepreneurial example of creating cheaper building materials. Breeze block is now the new "brick".The works probably failed when better technology came along and stronger bricks were produced at works on Roseville Road and Harehills Lane.Stone must have been even more expensive across at far east Leeds where quarries were fewer. Austhorpe Hall is old brick as are some of Temple Newsam's cottages.To preserve old brick buildings they re-point the bricks with loads of mortar, or just render them!!.

[grumpytramp]

Thanks Uncle Mick/Parkie for filling in some of the history of these workings. I am particular fascinated by the demographics and employment of the inhabitants of 47 - 55 Street lane that Uncle Mick has put up on his Flickr account [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/43471093@N ... 810972866/ ]Take the Thomas family in 8 Street Lane who originally hailed from Crookholme in Somerset and had sired children in Gosport (Herts), Woolwich (Kent), Kilburn (Devon), Haltree (Devon) Brighouse and Moor AllertonThis kind of story is why I love local history and Secret Leeds!