SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Old walls fascinate me and there are very many to be seen in Leeds. One such wall is that on North Street near to Lovell Park. The picture (taken April 22 2012) shows a close-up view of some brickwork in that wall. The sandstone bricks show some nice depositional features from when the sand was originally deposited, being mainly horizontal layers but some show dipping layers. I wonder how old the wall is? I suspect that the mortar between the bricks may not be original but even that still looks old.

This photo (taken April 22 2012) shows most of the old wall on North Street.    

This photo (taken April 22 2012) shows the internal structure of the wall. It also shows that the area needs rubbish clearing!

You'll like this one on Thorn Lane LS 8 near Roundhay schoolhttp://g.co/maps/68y33Jogons old boyhood stomping ground Street view doesn't show it too good, but some of the stones have eroded into nothing while others resemble faces and all sorts of objects.

Phill_dvsn wrote: You'll like this one on Thorn Lane LS 8 near Roundhay schoolhttp://g.co/maps/68y33Jogons old boyhood stomping ground Street view doesn't show it too good, but some of the stones have eroded into nothing while others resemble faces and all sorts of objects. Nice wall Phill. I like the mix of old and newer bricks and the well eroded shapes of the oldest bricks.

Leodian wrote: Old walls fascinate me and there are very many to be seen in Leeds. One such wall is that on North Street near to Lovell Park. The picture (taken April 22 2012) shows a close-up view of some brickwork in that wall. The sandstone bricks show some nice depositional features from when the sand was originally deposited, being mainly horizontal layers but some show dipping layers. I wonder how old the wall is? I suspect that the mortar between the bricks may not be original but even that still looks old. The wall is of relatively modern construction. I remember the site well, as Scheerers musical instrument shop was on this site in 1964 - when I bought my fifth musical instrument from them. There were shop and pub frontages all along that side of North Street ( and a number of side streets heading towards Camp Road) from Lovell Park to the Meanwood Road junction at the Golden Cross. All were straight onto North Street, and did not need flights of steps to access them.    

jim wrote: Leodian wrote: Old walls fascinate me and there are very many to be seen in Leeds. One such wall is that on North Street near to Lovell Park. The picture (taken April 22 2012) shows a close-up view of some brickwork in that wall. The sandstone bricks show some nice depositional features from when the sand was originally deposited, being mainly horizontal layers but some show dipping layers. I wonder how old the wall is? I suspect that the mortar between the bricks may not be original but even that still looks old. The wall is of relatively modern construction. I remember the site well, as Scheerers musical instrument shop was on this site in 1964 - when I bought my fifth musical instrument from them. There were shop and pub frontages all along that side of North Street ( and a number of side streets heading towards Camp Road) from Lovell Park to the Meanwood Road junction at the Golden Cross. All were straight onto North Street, and did not need flights of steps to access them.     Thanks Jim. That is very interesting.

jim wrote: The wall is of relatively modern construction. I remember the site well, as Scheerers musical instrument shop was on this site in 1964 - when I bought my fifth musical instrument from them. I think Jim's right. Walls built with a "cavity" are usually relatively modern. That type of sandstone weathers very quickly, making it look much older than it is.However, you're right about Leeds and it's environs having a large number of interesting old walls. There's a nice example on Crow Lane in Otley. You can see that it was originally the lower part of a row of cottages, as the stone door surrounds (now filled in) remain to waist height. Even the recessed boot scrapers are still there. The cottages can be seen on this 1908 map.     

Phill_dvsn wrote: You'll like this one on Thorn Lane LS 8 near Roundhay schoolhttp://g.co/maps/68y33Jogons old boyhood stomping ground Street view doesn't show it too good, but some of the stones have eroded into nothing while others resemble faces and all sorts of objects. Know it well. I remember blue tits nesting in that very wall. Just down the road was the nice blokey at the garage, the sweet shop for Dentyne Cinnamon Gum (taste the tingle) and in later years, Milligans Offy.

I'm sure we used to walk up North Street to the old dispensary which was like the A and E for Leeds in the 60s. It was near the deaf school.