SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/your-council/c ... iyCFkRk7bI
Please take a moment to send your comments.

Thanks for that urban r. There are so many things i never knew were in Leeds.
I recall the statue that was up near Lewis's (possibly Woodhouse Lane) and also the one in the garage at the bottom of the Headrow that also was moved. I do not like the Arms and also the Feet as that is not my idea of art , though it is probably something to do with my age. I never thought that turning the area outside of the of the Civic Hall (Mandella Square ??) was a good idea that used to be a lovely place where folks on their lunch hour etc. could and sit and relax.
i wonder what the ill people feel like in the Infirmary when there are pop concerts and Christmas markets held there. Anyway that's just my opinion for what it's worth and i guess there will be quite some flack coming my way. but as someone who was born and bred in my beloved Leeds i will take it.

How many of Leeds population ( ca 750,000) would prioritise this project over local government spending on social care, I wonder?

I have to say I was underwhelmed by the council's descriptions of some of the figures memorialised by statues.
How could a pen picture of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, make no mention of Waterloo? I notice that in the photo some wag has painted his boots red to celebrate his status as inventor of the "Wellie" boot.
The bronze statue of Joseph Priestley is described as "using a magnifying glass to burn some material in a mortar." He was in fact using a magnifying glass to heat mercuric oxide and generate oxygen, the experiment for which he is famed. The fact that he was a radical who supported both the French and American Revolutions and had to flee England to live in the US might be enough to save his statue from being melted down by the modern day iconoclasts.

Black Prince

I'm sure you'll be 100% approved by any review, but I don't know about the eponymous statue.

I must say I've always wondered what connection the original Black Prince had with Leeds. Whatever that connection may be, in its own very small way that statue is now to Leeds what the Statue of Liberty is to New York.

As for local spending priorities, it's often said that these people are very good at spending other people's money

Hi Jma, Yes I'm a bit worried about the fate of my namesake's statue. He has been in city square surrounded by his nymphs for over 100 years so I think he has earned squatter's rights. Also he was a useful meeting place for generations of Leeds people when you had to actually arrange to meet someone at a fixed time and place ( ie pre-mobile phone).
I wasn't aware of any obvious link between the BP and Leeds but there may have been a tenuous connection described here
https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object. ... rd=gbyh098.
At least he and his father were popular English kings and encouraged the wool trade.
-BP

Well BP, more concerning is the fact that Edward (the Black Prince) is the son of my 18th Great Grandfather Edward III. So for that reason only I believe he should remain in Leeds Centre.

I wonder if the statues consulted on will include that on top of the old bank on the junction of Boar Lane and Bishopgate Street (The Black Prince bar) and the statue on top of the building at the junction of New Briggate and Merrion Street (Liv Bar). Both are on commercial premises but some of the objects in the consultation are on commercial premises.
PS. I assume they are of known people but I don't know who the 2 statues that I mentioned are of.

I wonder if a review of the objects in storage will be included. Such as the China gate gift from about 2007 intended for china town. Maybe it woukd spoil hammersons plans for the area.

Perhaps we should be grateful that the habit of commemorating people with statues largely died out long ago. Otherwise, we might easily have had memorials to a certain DJ/ hospital porter and a lord mayor.

The consultation asks about the future. How about completing a full set of the Leeds United team of the Revie to go with Billy Bremner?

urban rambler wrote: ↑

Thu 23 Jul, 2020 10:19 am

I wonder if a review of the objects in storage will be included. Such as the China gate gift from about 2007 intended for china town. Maybe it woukd spoil hammersons plans for the area.

Hi urban rambler

I did not know of that (or have forgotten if I did) so I wonder what the China gate gift is. I assume it was intended for the Templar Lane area where there are Chinese premises that have been shuttered and disused for ages now (long before Covid-19).