Pudsey Lowtown Station, St. Joseph's, and Stanningley

[Patexpat]

Well before the bypass Stanningley Road was THE main connecting route between Leeds and Bradford, and as such was a VERY busy road. One of the reasons that the house I lived in as a child was demolished was for road widening, but that never happened as the bypass was built instead. The land has never been built on, and the houses were demolished way back in the early 70's.

[Uno Hoo]

Let's start in Bradford at Thornbury roundabout, and work towards Leeds. What's now referred to as Thornbury roundabout isn't, and never was a true roundabout. It's a one-way traffic system now controlled by traffic-lights, but for all my life that open ground in the middle has always been there. In the days of lighter traffic it was criss-crossed by footpaths, and local kids played cricket and football on it. There were park type seats as well. The three roads which border it were all two-way traffic, and there was - wait for it - a roundabout at the junction of Leeds Road, Leeds Old Road, Woodhall Road and Gipsy Lane (I think that's the right name for the road that runs down to Dick Lane (or these days carries traffic up from Dick Lane towards Leeds Road. Bradford trolleybuses on the 89 from Hall Ings (Bradford centre) ran up Leeds Road, while those on the long 23/24/25 cross-city routes used Leeds Old Road, and all used the roundabout as a turning circle. The area was dominated by English Electric Co's works employing thousands of people on the site now occupied by B & Q and Morrisons. The older buildings which now comprise the Immigration Tribunal Service were the English Electric office block. The factory was demolished towards the end of the 1970s.Coming back towards Leeds, Dick Lane enters from the right, and this was the main road from Dudley Hill, Odsal and Halifax/Huddersfield. Prior to the one-way system this was a junction with the Leeds and Bradford Road as the major road. On the left just before this junction is a long stretch of terraced housing, and although it faces directly on to the Leeds & Bradford Road it is actually called Grangefield Avenue, and one of those houses was owned by Donald Neilson (Nappey), the infamous Black Panther covered elsewhere on this site and many others. That house stood empty for many years following his conviction, and I imagine wasn't bought until someone came along who hadn't lived through the furore he caused. Keeping on towards Leeds, Gain Lane enters from the left, now controlled by traffic lights. This marked the boundary between Bradford and Pudsey. On the left Thornbury Barracks is passed, this has always been a depot for the Parachute Regiment (T.A.). Just beyond there is the roundabout at the junction with Woodhall Lane from Calverley and Galloway Lane from Pudsey. When I began cycling to and from school (I lived in Calverley), this junction was an uncontrolled crossroads and a notorious accident blackspot. I arrived at it one day just after a car had run over and killed two pedestrians whose bodies were lying bloody and mangled in the road - not the best experience to have at 11 or 12 years of age. Soon afterwards traffic-lights were installed, and the road was later upgraded to dual-carriageway with the present roundabout. Whilst still a crossroads, there was a landmark garage and filling station called Demaine's, now long gone.The biggest change is about half a mile closer to Leeds. Until the 60s there was no Leeds Ring Road coming up from Rodley, nor Stanningley by-pass. The road bent fairly sharply to the right and was called Dawson's Corner at this point, and was another car accident blackspot. Seemingly a lot of drivers were unable to see the bend and tried to go straight on. It was also quite rural at this point. New Pudsey station hadn't been built, and there was simply a narrow bridge over the railway track carrying a footpath to Pudsey via Owlcotes Hill. That path is still there, but now starts on the Bradford side of the Stanningley by-pass close to the roundabout, but God help any walker trying to cross the dual-carriageway to reach it!Stanningley actually started at Dawson's Corner, so quite a lot of it was within the Borough of Pudsey. Keeping on towards Leeds, Old Road joins on the left, coming up from Farsley and Rodley, and was the main road before the ring road extension was built about 1960. This was a bustling area at that time, with a lot of shops. Next on the left is New Street leading up from Farsley, and the large brick building on the Leeds side was built as Jesse Stephenson's bakery. The firm had shops all over the Leeds/Bradford area prior to supermarkets. Then came the Savoy cinema on the left shortly before the Thornhill Arms pub on the right. The road then runs slightly downhill to Stanningley Bottom, dominated by the railway viaduct built by the Great Northern Railway to compete with the Midland Railway's earlier route from Leeds to Bradford via Shipley. The first road off to the right under the viaduct is Varley Street, used by Bradford and Leeds Corporation buses to turn round, Bradford's 90 service back to Bradford, and Leeds' 44 cross-suburban route away in the opposite direction to distant Halton Moor. Blakey tells me that one of his former colleagues in Leeds City Transport got a double-decker stuck under the Varley Street bridge. I believe him when he says it was a colleague Pudsey is reached via Richardshaw Lane on the right uphill, and Stanningley station was just off to the left after one passed under the viaduct. Opposite the bottom of Richardshaw Lane there are houses and mills reached by a no-through road. My mother used to work in a mill along there that she always referred to as "Bimmy's", and I always thought that was its real name. It wasn't until after her death in 1993 that I discovered its real name is A W Hainsworth & Sons Ltd., the A W being its founder Abimelech Hainsworth way back when. It continues very successfully to this day. Many of Stanningley's pubs are now closed, but in its day there was a range of pubs, shops and cafes serving local businesses and residents. The Leeds city boundary was just after this road junction, and the road towards Leeds went on through industrial buildings, and about a quarter mile towards Leeds was an ungated industrial railway crossing linking premises belonging to George Cohen "600" Group which carried out heavy engineering work. Then came the Case Tractor factory on the right, up the side of which ran the track leading up to St Joseph's church that I described earlier in this thread.The road widened at that point, with St Paul's church on the right, and an old-established and old-fashioned gents' oufitters called Claughtons on the left. There was then a major fork in the road with the Leeds & Bradford road going slightly left, Half-Mile Lane of tram and bus destination blind fame at 90 degrees left, and Stanningley Road bearing slightly right. In the triangle of this junction stood the Pavilion Picture House where I went to see The Dambusters in 1957 or 1958. This building survives, but is now offices or somesuch.Stanningley becomes Bramley at about this point.

[iansmithofotley]

Hi Uno Hoo,In 1965, I spent my very first day in the Leeds City Police patrolling Stanningley on foot. In relation to Town Street, Stanningley, (there are lots of 'Town Streets' in Leeds) the West Riding boundary was just after Half Mile Lane on the north side and more or less opposite there on the south side. Grangefield Road, Arthur Street and Vickersdale were all in the West Riding. I always regarded the bit on the north side of Town Street and Bradford Road, between the Leeds boundary and what is now the Ring Road Roundabout, as the top end of Farsley. I have no idea where the boundary was between the West Riding and the Bradford City area near to Thornbury 'Roundabout'.'Stanningley', by name, was partly in Leeds and partly in the West Riding, according to old map books.On that first day, I had to perform 'school crossing duties' outside of the Pavillion cinema at 8.15am, 11.55am and 12.55pm.Your last post is really interesting, for me, as you are talking about an area that I did not know every well outside of the Leeds boundary.Ian    

[socistep]

Uno Hoo wrote: Let's start in Bradford at Thornbury roundabout, and work towards Leeds. What's now referred to as Thornbury roundabout isn't, and never was a true roundabout. It's a one-way traffic system now controlled by traffic-lights, but for all my life that open ground in the middle has always been there. In the days of lighter traffic it was criss-crossed by footpaths, and local kids played cricket and football on it. There were park type seats as well. The three roads which border it were all two-way traffic, and there was - wait for it - a roundabout at the junction of Leeds Road, Leeds Old Road, Woodhall Road and Gipsy Lane (I think that's the right name for the road that runs down to Dick Lane (or these days carries traffic up from Dick Lane towards Leeds Road. Bradford trolleybuses on the 89 from Hall Ings (Bradford centre) ran up Leeds Road, while those on the long 23/24/25 cross-city routes used Leeds Old Road, and all used the roundabout as a turning circle. The area was dominated by English Electric Co's works employing thousands of people on the site now occupied by B & Q and Morrisons. The older buildings which now comprise the Immigration Tribunal Service were the English Electric office block. The factory was demolished towards the end of the 1970s.Coming back towards Leeds, Dick Lane enters from the right, and this was the main road from Dudley Hill, Odsal and Halifax/Huddersfield. Prior to the one-way system this was a junction with the Leeds and Bradford Road as the major road. On the left just before this junction is a long stretch of terraced housing, and although it faces directly on to the Leeds & Bradford Road it is actually called Grangefield Avenue, and one of those houses was owned by Donald Neilson (Nappey), the infamous Black Panther covered elsewhere on this site and many others. That house stood empty for many years following his conviction, and I imagine wasn't bought until someone came along who hadn't lived through the furore he caused. Keeping on towards Leeds, Gain Lane enters from the left, now controlled by traffic lights. This marked the boundary between Bradford and Pudsey. On the left Thornbury Barracks is passed, this has always been a depot for the Parachute Regiment (T.A.). Just beyond there is the roundabout at the junction with Woodhall Lane from Calverley and Galloway Lane from Pudsey. When I began cycling to and from school (I lived in Calverley), this junction was an uncontrolled crossroads and a notorious accident blackspot. I arrived at it one day just after a car had run over and killed two pedestrians whose bodies were lying bloody and mangled in the road - not the best experience to have at 11 or 12 years of age. Soon afterwards traffic-lights were installed, and the road was later upgraded to dual-carriageway with the present roundabout. Whilst still a crossroads, there was a landmark garage and filling station called Demaine's, now long gone.The biggest change is about half a mile closer to Leeds. Until the 60s there was no Leeds Ring Road coming up from Rodley, nor Stanningley by-pass. The road bent fairly sharply to the right and was called Dawson's Corner at this point, and was another car accident blackspot. Seemingly a lot of drivers were unable to see the bend and tried to go straight on. It was also quite rural at this point. New Pudsey station hadn't been built, and there was simply a narrow bridge over the railway track carrying a footpath to Pudsey via Owlcotes Hill. That path is still there, but now starts on the Bradford side of the Stanningley by-pass close to the roundabout, but God help any walker trying to cross the dual-carriageway to reach it!Stanningley actually started at Dawson's Corner, so quite a lot of it was within the Borough of Pudsey. Keeping on towards Leeds, Old Road joins on the left, coming up from Farsley and Rodley, and was the main road before the ring road extension was built about 1960. This was a bustling area at that time, with a lot of shops. Next on the left is New Street leading up from Farsley, and the large brick building on the Leeds side was built as Jesse Stephenson's bakery. The firm had shops all over the Leeds/Bradford area prior to supermarkets. Then came the Savoy cinema on the left shortly before the Thornhill Arms pub on the right. The road then runs slightly downhill to Stanningley Bottom, dominated by the railway viaduct built by the Great Northern Railway to compete with the Midland Railway's earlier route from Leeds to Bradford via Shipley. The first road off to the right under the viaduct is Varley Street, used by Bradford and Leeds Corporation buses to turn round, Bradford's 90 service back to Bradford, and Leeds' 44 cross-suburban route away in the opposite direction to distant Halton Moor. Blakey tells me that one of his former colleagues in Leeds City Transport got a double-decker stuck under the Varley Street bridge. I believe him when he says it was a colleague Pudsey is reached via Richardshaw Lane on the right uphill, and Stanningley station was just off to the left after one passed under the viaduct. Opposite the bottom of Richardshaw Lane there are houses and mills reached by a no-through road. My mother used to work in a mill along there that she always referred to as "Bimmy's", and I always thought that was its real name. It wasn't until after her death in 1993 that I discovered its real name is A W Hainsworth & Sons Ltd., the A W being its founder Abimelech Hainsworth way back when. It continues very successfully to this day. Many of Stanningley's pubs are now closed, but in its day there was a range of pubs, shops and cafes serving local businesses and residents. The Leeds city boundary was just after this road junction, and the road towards Leeds went on through industrial buildings, and about a quarter mile towards Leeds was an ungated industrial railway crossing linking premises belonging to George Cohen "600" Group which carried out heavy engineering work. Then came the Case Tractor factory on the right, up the side of which ran the track leading up to St Joseph's church that I described earlier in this thread.The road widened at that point, with St Paul's church on the right, and an old-established and old-fashioned gents' oufitters called Claughtons on the left. There was then a major fork in the road with the Leeds & Bradford road going slightly left, Half-Mile Lane of tram and bus destination blind fame at 90 degrees left, and Stanningley Road bearing slightly right. In the triangle of this junction stood the Pavilion Picture House where I went to see The Dambusters in 1957 or 1958. This building survives, but is now offices or somesuch.Stanningley becomes Bramley at about this point. Hi Uno HooThankyou very much for that post, it was excellent and very informative, I followed the route on old maps to get an idea of what you mean and can pick out a number of the items you mentioned, can imagine it was awful seeing that crash.I guess Stanningley is quite a good example of how things have changed, gone are some of the train lines, the stations and also the majority of the factories/industries have closed, all the 'town' shops/cinema have gone to be left with takeaways/curry houses and a lot of the pubs have closed in the last few years. People travel in cars more then train/bus. Hopefully I don't offend people on here by saying that Stanningley seems quite a 'tired' area in comparison to say Farsley or Pudsey, I imagine it was a very different place prior to the ring road/decline of rail & industry, probably one of the most important towns around.Interesting to hear that Case had a factory there, was it a big factory? I'm a rural Cumbrian lad (lived in Leeds for the last 10 years) so obviously know a lot about tractors!Thanks once again,Ian

[Cardiarms]

Uno Hoo wrote: Coming back towards Leeds, Dick Lane enters from the right, and this was the main road from Dudley Hill, Odsal and Halifax/Huddersfield. Prior to the one-way system this was a junction with the Leeds and Bradford Road as the major road. On the left just before this junction is a long stretch of terraced housing, and although it faces directly on to the Leeds & Bradford Road it is actually called Grangefield Avenue, and one of those houses was owned by Donald Neilson (Nappey), the infamous Black Panther covered elsewhere on this site and many others. That house stood empty for many years following his conviction, and I imagine wasn't bought until someone came along who hadn't lived through the furore he caused. Keeping on towards Leeds, Gain Lane enters from the left, now controlled by traffic lights. This marked the boundary between Bradford and Pudsey. Just after Gain lane there's (I think) the course of a disused/infilled railway line. Was it running then or closed much earlier? Where form and were to did it go?

[jim]

Hi Cardiarms. The line you saw ran from Laisterdyke to Shipley (Windhill) and became part of the GNR, later LNER after being privately promoted in 1866. It was opened to goods in 1874, and to passengers in 1875. Closure to regular passenger services took place in 1931, to goods from Cutlers junction to Idle in 1964, and the remainder from Idle to Shipley in 1968.The old station at Shipley Windhill was used at one time as a motorcycle shop, and later as a scrapyard. The last time I travelled past the site by rail it was still there.    

[socistep]

Cardiarms wrote: Uno Hoo wrote: Coming back towards Leeds, Dick Lane enters from the right, and this was the main road from Dudley Hill, Odsal and Halifax/Huddersfield. Prior to the one-way system this was a junction with the Leeds and Bradford Road as the major road. On the left just before this junction is a long stretch of terraced housing, and although it faces directly on to the Leeds & Bradford Road it is actually called Grangefield Avenue, and one of those houses was owned by Donald Neilson (Nappey), the infamous Black Panther covered elsewhere on this site and many others. That house stood empty for many years following his conviction, and I imagine wasn't bought until someone came along who hadn't lived through the furore he caused. Keeping on towards Leeds, Gain Lane enters from the left, now controlled by traffic lights. This marked the boundary between Bradford and Pudsey. Just after Gain lane there's (I think) the course of a disused/infilled railway line. Was it running then or closed much earlier? Where form and were to did it go? It was the GNR line which ran from Laisterdyke to Shipley and had stops at places like Eccleshill, Idle, Thackley, it closed in 1968 so obviously part of Beechings Axe Edit - Jim beat me to it but has provided better information

[Cardiarms]

Thanks for the info. I can folow it as far as here and then it seem to be obliterated. It must be quite a fall from Thornbury to shipley.http://g.co/maps/n7kd6

[Cardiarms]

Ah I see now, Idlecroft road runs along it's line to railway road to leeds road. and then west.

[jim]

Lots of 1 in 50 along this line, Cardiarms. By railway standards that is hefty hill-climbing. In the past there have been several spectacular runaways down to Shipley.