SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I am after bit of local knowledge here. I have what is I assume 2 public houses on old maps dating roughly from 1851 to 1951. At some point The Albion house changes name to The Rookery, Jacobs Well seems to have kept the same name. Does anyone have any knowledge or any info of them?They were on Rodley Lane close to Ross Grove/Langley Avenue area.

Is this just a general interest or are you looking deeper?

A bit of both, im interested enough to go door knocking tomorrow. I think The Albion House/Rookery is part grass verge and a house now occupies part of where it used to be. The house has a name just cannot remember it but im thinking it is called The Rockery.If so ill ask the present owner if they can tell me anything.

The Rookery was a big mansion type house set in large grounds (with apple trees in grounds, not like i chumped them many moons ago lol). Looks like the old house no longer exsists.The jacobs well was a well in bygone years, not sure about the pub bit. The well was somewhere behind no 6 langley terrace at a guess, But my thinking is it may be under the houses. If the history of the area is where you want to go. I would try going back to the times of lord whitecote @ whitecote house he would rest his armies after battle on or around langley road. Maybe because of the well and owning all the land. The area had a lot of orchids in bygone days not sure if that was in lord whitecote days.Don't think you would get much luck with door knocking at the old rookery developement. I would try west royds house if its still there.     

There was a public relations business in the rookery for quite a few years called lynx or freshwater. Not sure if they are still there. I was last there about 3 years ago think, but don't quote me there was a old drawing/map on the reception wall. Remember looking at it, but not sure if it was of the rookery.    

Sure there is a house where the Rookery is now unless i have my wires crossed.Jacobs Well on later maps just appears as a W and there are a few in the area.As the wife will never read this i can lay the blame at her door for telling me they was pubs.The blame for not researching enough before posting is all mine.

Thanks for the Whitecote tip i will check this out

Hi, I've amended the title of this thread for clarity - it helps organise things and might prompt more folk to post responses.

Hi,

My wife and I are the current owners of The Rookery, we bought it in July 2012. The companies that occupied it for about 20 years had it arranged as offices, using strip lights and office carpets. They and at least one previous owner had made unsympathetic repairs and alterations in various unsuitable modern materials and methods for a house of its heritage. Fortunate for the house we're the ones that found it and we're slowly repairing and restoring it sympathetically.

The information we received from the previous owners was that it was built in 1805 but I think that's wrong. I've found the date 1692 cast into the iron chimney access hatches and 1692 carved into the roof trusses. I suspect that it was only in 1805 that the house was refurbished in the Georgian style. The house's stables (now a separate dwelling call 'The Cherry Trees') date from the early 1700s so it makes more sense that The Rookery was built in 1692 though it quite possible had a different name back then. I know the name of 'The Rookery' has been in place at least as early as 1881 and I have old maps that date back as far as 1892 which show it as that.

I've never heard the name of 'The Albion' associated with the house or if it was ever a public house but I know some of the history from the late 19th century and through most of the 20th century.

The house is listed on St Andrew's register of baptisms as the abode of WWI flying ace Charles Midgley Maud (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Maud) born 1st April 1898.

That register also shows in 1910 and 1912 that the house was the abode of Frederick Hardcastle Smith at the time of baptism of his children. Frederick H. Smith was born in 1874, the son of Thomas Smith and records show that they both lived in The Rookery in 1881 though I don't know when they moved in. Both father and son are renowned for their world famous cranes that were designed and built in Thomas Smith and Sons Steam and Electric Crane Works of Rodley. I suppose that the Smith family may have leased the house to the Maud family. I know that the field behind The Rookery used to be the Rolls Royce (who purchased the crane business) cricket field, prior to the housing development comprising of Fieldway Avenue / Close / Rise being built there.

I know that Charles and Dora Walls moved into The Rookery at the time of or soon after their marriage in 1912. Charles was a draughtsman and later a director at Thomas Smith and Sons and the house was only sold when he died in 1964.

There is then a gap where I have no idea what happened to the house, so it's possible it was a public house then. Then in 1987 the plot that the house sits on was split into three; part of the front garden was sectioned off for a separate dwelling to be developed (i.e, the ugly concrete stone effect house called 'Aireview House') and the stables were sectioned off and were converted into 'The Cherry Trees'. I believe it was at that time that 'The Rookery' was sold to builder David Brownbridge and his wife June, who ran a cattery from the grounds until 1991 when it was sold to Martin Howell, who ran his PR business there until it was finally sold to us in 2012.

Does anyone know any history of the house prior to 1881 or between 1964 and 1987? Also does anyone have any old photos of The Rookery / grounds?

Many thanks.

Hi Matthew. My Father and Uncle used to live in The Rookery within the time period you’ve described. Could you get in touch with me somehow please?