SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

tyke bhoy wrote: If its underground and under the Calls, then at the Mo its probably under water too So are we talking a new type of club where all the clientele wear scuba gear? Could be good i suppose

I understand there are some clubs where most of the clientelle wear pvc or rubber Never been to one meself though

According to Rail Centres: Leeds and Bradford by S. Batty, Wellington Station opened on 1 July 1846. Leodis has 30 June 1846.

the wicked twitch wrote: Hey all,Has anyone heard of the huge basement space that stretches out from cellars on call lane to beyond the Corn Exchange? I hear it's big enough for football matches between the Staff of the bars occupating the space above.Once a possibilty for a new night club apparantly but being underground there are no proper escape routes in case of fire. A shame really, we could do with a new exciting club venue in Leeds.Lots of love,The Wicked Twitch of the West i have been told there is a similar thing running from the corn exchange to the bottom of the market.

munki wrote: Half way into the darkness, the tunnels change from brick to masonry, marking the divide between the ‘new’ City Station, of 1869, & the older Wellington Street station in stone. Does anyone know when Wellington Street Station was completed??? wellington street station was built by the midland railway company in 1846,they obtained permission to run into the station and transferred passenger services from hunslet lane station,adding new platforms,which opened on the 1st of october 1850.

Hello,My grandparents used to own the Wellington Restaurant which was underneath Leeds Midland City Station.When they built the "New" Queens Hotel in the 1930s, during the demolition and excavation works, they found a wall decorated with murals in the restaurant.This was reported in the local newspaper with a photograph of my grandfather (Leslie Jeffrey). The restaurant was demolished at the same time.The restaurant was used by the taxi drivers ,and was a real "rabbit warren" with uneven cobbled floors.Julie

Phill_d wrote: Behind the bricked up arch is where the canal basin ran under the arches. You can still see the open arch from the other side of the river. If you look at the arches from the Dragonora (Hilton) side you can see there a lot smaller with girder sections in.. Noticably different. Correct Nick - there was actually a lock in there that allowed boats access up onto the river aire, which was navigable for a short section up as far as the Aire St bridge and allowed coal to be brought up by boat to both the power station and Soapy Joe's, also allowing goods to be removed from Soapys by boat as well.If you walk through the marina outside the dark arches you can still see where this access was, its the bigger of the two berths in that area and although you can walk across the end of it the original capping stones of the dock side still extend across the road and dissapear under the bricked up arch.By the way, the last time I was in the station car park you could still see remains of the staithes on the river where boats used to tie up, this was quite a while ago though so no idea if they are still there.

Thanks for posting these intriguing photos of what lies beneath Leeds City Station. I remember as a child daring myself to sneak a look at the curdled froth of the Aire as it passed through those hidden passages, always accompanied by the dizzying subterranean roar of water and a cloying and unnerving dampness. It seems that the Aire was a lot dirtier back in the seventies.    

Until I visited Granary Wharfe (some years ago) it never occurred to me that there were so many tunnels. I had always thought that the "dark arches" were the bridges supporting the station above, but the thought then came that perhaps the tunnels are the original dark arches and the name has been transposed to mean the railway bridge.

Sam Compton wrote: Thanks for posting these intriguing photos of what lies beneath Leeds City Station. I remember as a child daring myself to sneak a look at the curdled froth of the Aire as it passed through those hidden passages, always accompanied by the dizzying subterranean roar of water and a cloying and unnerving dampness. It seems that the Aire was a lot dirtier back in the seventies.     You should have seen it at Cas in the sixties!