SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

There are a number of cobbled streets in the centre of Leeds (and no doubt elsewhere in Leeds). As they are not really a tourist attraction it intrigues me why they are not tarmacked over, though that would spoil their 'nostalgic' look particularly of the old ones.

I took these photos on August 9 2016. The first shows cobbles at the junction of The Calls and Crown Street. The second shows cobbles at the junction of Cloth Hall Street and Crown Street. The third is a close-up of the various cobbles in the area of the second photo.

Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh this has me frustrated. I remember a street that was cobbled when I lived in leeds....I can't for the life of me remember where it is.

Is there one near the corn exchange? Or possibly it used to be there before the work they did around the site

Peterdavidshaw wrote:Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh this has me frustrated. I remember a street that was cobbled when I lived in leeds....I can't for the life of me remember where it is.

Is there one near the corn exchange? Or possibly it used to be there before the work they did around the site

Hi Peter .

The Corn Exchange is just off view on the left in the second of the photos. Cloth Hall Street and Crown Street are both cobbled.

I may be wrong , but do not remember the street by the cloth hall being cobbled 20 years ago.If my memory is not playing me false, that means they must have been put in for effect.

It was cobbled in 1950 according to Leodis below, I always seem to recall that all the streets where the Corn Exchange is were cobbled.

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

I must say they look better than tarmac in that place gives it an old world feeling.

[quote="buffaloskinner"]It was cobbled in 1950 according to Leodis below, I always seem to recall that all the streets where the Corn Exchange is were cobbled.

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


I can vouch for the fact that around the Corn Excange area and the Kirkgate up to Vicar Lane were still cobbled.
When i was demobbed from the Forces in Jan 1957. i had 2 months paid leave and my pal who was a Porter in the Leeds Wholesale Fruit and Veg. Market persuaded me to take a job down there. Start at 6 a.m. finish at 1pm. staight into the 6d. Mecca bopping and the in the Three Legs /Vine afterwards.
My job was to take out orders on a large handcart which had large wooden and iron wheels which when loaded was quite a job to drag out p George St.up to the car park above Union St. baths. but when we had an order from Littlewoods fruit shop at the far end of Kirkgate i had to pull this load up Kirkgate and across Vicar Lane and could not have done so with a cobbled surface to grip. likewise i had to drag this loaded cart up on to Boar Lane to a store opposite what became C. and A.
As in those days all the Fruit was packed in wooden boxes rather than cardboard as it is today this was slave labour and after a few weeks I packed it in.

Leodian wrote:There are a number of cobbled streets in the centre of Leeds (and no doubt elsewhere in Leeds). As they are not really a tourist attraction it intrigues me why they are not tarmacked over, though that would spoil their 'nostalgic' look particularly of the old ones.

Going slightly off topic because it refers to pavers rather than cobbles but it really annoys me when utilities contractors just tarmac over the hole rather than replace the pavers. The latest example I have come across is the eastern entrance/exit to the small car park at the rear of the civic hall and Rose Bowl just above Portland Gate. The road had been dug up for approximately a week but even last Friday the pavers remained in a neat pile adjacent to the workings giving hope they were to be relaid. However on passing on Friday afternoon the pavers had gone and the surface was restored to a level with tarmac

tyke bhoy wrote:

Leodian wrote:There are a number of cobbled streets in the centre of Leeds (and no doubt elsewhere in Leeds). As they are not really a tourist attraction it intrigues me why they are not tarmacked over, though that would spoil their 'nostalgic' look particularly of the old ones.

Going slightly off topic because it refers to pavers rather than cobbles but it really annoys me when utilities contractors just tarmac over the hole rather than replace the pavers. The latest example I have come across is the eastern entrance/exit to the small car park at the rear of the civic hall and Rose Bowl just above Portland Gate. The road had been dug up for approximately a week but even last Friday the pavers remained in a neat pile adjacent to the workings giving hope they were to be relaid. However on passing on Friday afternoon the pavers had gone and the surface was restored to a level with tarmac

Hi tyke bhoy .

Like you I find it sad that tarmac is often used to fill in or replace where slabs were (or pavers as you call them, which is not a term I recall hearing before). It will likely be cheaper to tarmac than to fix well but the appearance result looks bad.

I recall about 5 years ago when the end of Cloth Hall Street had been dug up that they DID REPLACE all the cobbles, may have been part of the contract with it been in a popular area