Thorpe Lane

[barnie]

Thanks Uncle Mick for the picture and link, and thanks UncleD for the confirmation and explanation. They look like a nice pair of houses and if you wiggle things around a bit on the google link you can see they still have the slope at the back of the houses that is visible on the Leodis image, especially the one on the right.

[UncleD]

Thanks for the interest in it , your right with the slope at the back the guy who had it before has kinda destroyed alot of things with his bodged up building work , he has taken away the long chimney and replaced it with a balcony and has washed the stone all over his side which is really annoying and ruins the stone. its the inside thats really interesting there is a huge vaulted cellar that he was using for not so legal purposes! and the original fireplace has been exposed with a huge stone above it, i believe the oldest part or original part of it is the front two bedrooms and the living room , all the rest has been added on by new owners over time.

[Tinny]

My Great Grandad, Fred Adams, used to live in the house on the right in the early 1900's. The house was known as Bleachground cottage. I have an old photo of him sat outside this house with his black labrador sat at his side. The chimnney was known locally as long chimnney.

[uncle mick]

I was interested in the word Bleachground. A quick Google came up with little, but as this article from 1818 shows it was for bleaching cloth

[UncleD]

Tinny would be great if u could upload that photo of ur grandad the man who now lives in that one was quite happy to hear about Fred Adams living there and that there maybe a photo of him and the house. Looks like the name of the house next door is going to be changed back to Bleachground Cottage as at the moment its Key Cottage which the new owners aren't happy with.Also does anyone know anything about Thorpe woods behind the houses at the side of Thorpe road?ive been trying to find information on that aswell but to no avail

[chemimike]

uncle mickyou are right that there is virtually nothing on google. however the old process of bleaching is shortly described below. This is from "chemistry as Applied to the arts 7 Manufacture, by Eminent Persons". It is published around 1880 ( though the editions for sale on Abebooks say 1860, but thius cannot be correct as it mentions happenings in 1870). [IMG]http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq38/jeemikejee/yorkshire/bleachingfromchemasappltoartsandmanufactureA_zpsac2c96df.jpeg[/IMG]

[chemimike]

Sorry. Forgot the new system to put pictures on . here is the relevant piece

[Tinny]

Uncle D, I will try to get a scan of it done at work, it is in a wooden frame at the moment and i'm not sure if I will be able to take it out without damaging the frame. If not i will try to scan it with the frame on.According to my Father, in his lifetime ( he is now 83) there were always the two cottages joined together and they were known collectively as Bleachground Cottages. He can also remember the long chimnney, so it was pulled down during his lifetime.Tinny

[Leodian]

The bleaching process given in chemimike's post is fascinating reading. Boy did it take time! It reminded me of the use of urine to fix dye colours (at least that was what I think it was used for!). I have a vague recollection of reading that urine was also used in the production of alum in the Ravenscar alum mines (between Scarborough and Whitby). Sorry for wandering off-topic and non-Leeds!

[UncleD]

Tinny cant wait to see that photo but obviously if its going to damage it dont do it , would be a real shame to ruin something like that.Leodian all information is good information even if it does meen wondering off topic slightly