Tower Works

leedslily · Post by **leedslily** » Wed 10 Jun, 2009 2:10 pm

Thanks Ravey, I saw the article too and it reassured me that I hadn't been going completely mad! Sounds really interesting.

munki · Post by **munki** » Wed 17 Jun, 2009 10:55 am

Thanks to everyone who turned up for the Guided Walk on Monday. We all had a really good time & had some great conversations about the past, present & even future of Holbeck.There's another guided walk on Saturday 27th.

sundowner · Post by **sundowner** » Thu 18 Jun, 2009 9:24 pm

munki wrote: Thanks to everyone who turned up for the Guided Walk on Monday. We all had a really good time & had some great conversations about the past, present & even future of Holbeck.There's another guided walk on Saturday 27th. I did the walk on Monday and i had a great time.If anybody was thinking of going take my advice and go you will not be disapointed. You might learn a thing or two i did, munki and his friends have done a great job and i will say again keep up the good work.Come on SL show them your support.

Brunel · Post by **Brunel** » Mon 22 Jun, 2009 12:15 am

The Carriageworks Theatre, the bar on the second level, has a photo exhibition, featuring Tower Works and other buildings in Holbeck.Also pick up a detailed leaflet and map of a self guided walk.

Post by **chameleon** » Sat 12 Sep, 2009 12:51 pm

Redevelopment wow, this is, erm, new(s)!Industrial Leeds landmarks to get £19m transformationONE of Leeds' most distinctive industrial landmarks is to undergo a multi-million-pound transformation.Tower Works in Holbeck in south Leeds has won more than £19m in Government funding.The works, including three unique Italianate Towers, will be redeveloped and refurbished for modern office use.The area around the buildings will be turned into public space with pedestrian links to the city centre.The project is being spearheaded by the Government's regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and is part of the development of Holbeck Urban Village.Work has already begun and will initially involve clearance and demolition followed by the refurbishment of listed buildings on the site, including the three towers.The transormation will end more than 25 years of dereliction at the site.Tower Works in Globe Road next to the Leeds-Liverpool canal opened as a pin factory in 1864.Its builder, Colonel Thomas Harding, included three Italianate Towers which are now one of the city's most remarkable historic, industrial and architectural landmarks.Colonel Harding was a great admirer of Italian architecture and art and had the factory chimneys designed as copies of actual buildings in Italy.One chimney is based on the Torre Del Communa in Verona and a second on Giotto's campanile in Florence.The third tower/chimney is plain and is believed to replicate a Tuscan tower house.The factory was damaged during a bombing raid in the Second World War. It closed in 1981 and fell into dereliction.The new development will complement the award winning Round Foundry Media Centre run by Yorkshire Forward.Terry Hodgkinson, chairman of Yorkshire Forward, said: "We welcome this funding decision from Government and see this as an opportunity to put regeneration back into the skyline of Leeds City Centre."We have maintained that, wherever possible, we will work to ensure that our region's key regeneration schemes continue to progress."By undertaking this first phase of development, Yorkshire Forward is creating a first class opportunity for private investment to support the delivery of future phases of the scheme."Coun Andrew Carter, joint leader and executive board member with responsibility for development for Leeds City Council, said: "The vision for Holbeck Urban Village is starting to become a reality, with several developments due for completion before Christmas, including the 'Light' Neville Street project, Granary Wharf and the newly opened City Inn Hotel. "Tower Works is the next piece in the jigsaw and will open up further opportunities for investors, businesses and residents alike, connecting through to the Round Foundry and Marshall's Mill."This is a key milestone for the project and we are delighted to see it come to fruition."

Post by **cnosni** » Fri 30 Apr, 2010 5:37 pm

Seems that the Holbeck Towers development is starting next month,along with some other developments in the Holbeck Urban Villagehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leeds/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8583000/8583255.stm

tilly · Post by **tilly** » Fri 30 Apr, 2010 6:16 pm

I do hope they keep the old engine room when i worked there in the sixtys it was in good condition but i dont know what the years have done to it since.It was tiled from floor to roof and had plaques on both main walls they were portraits of people in the textile industry ie Fairburn.Lawson.are two of the names i remember. It must have looked a real treat when the big steam engine was in place all copper and brass shining like a new penny.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Fri 30 Apr, 2010 8:50 pm

The old tiled engine room is still intact, and not bad condition. I have a recent pic of it herehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/2772848606/Sadly 2 or 3 of those grand plaques are badly eroded (beyond renovation in my opinion)The others are still in very good condition. Two of there pics are herehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/277196 ... 796441709/

tilly · Post by **tilly** » Fri 30 Apr, 2010 9:31 pm

Phill_dvsn wrote: The old tiled engine room is still intact, and not bad condition. I have a recent pic of it herehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/2772848606/Sadly 2 or 3 of those grand plaques are badly eroded (beyond renovation in my opinion)The others are still in very good condition. Two of there pics are herehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/277196 ... 796441709/ Many thanks for that phill what a shame about the damage when i worked there they were in just about mint condition.There used to be a foundation stone set in the outside wall just below the shutters in your photograph did you notice if it was still there?I cant remember the wording on it, in my mind i can still picture Hardings as it was and not the ghost it is now but then they will most likely be saying the same about me in a few years time. Ps another case of letting buildings rot.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Fri 30 Apr, 2010 9:39 pm

Oh Tilly. You'd be hard pushed to see anything on that outside wall. Trees of decent size had grown around it (Infact you couldn't see the door to get into the engine room. It was behind a big bush) I didn't even know it was there until my second visit.