'The Diggings' - Between Manor Road & Sweet Street

[wigwam]

I attended St Francis' Primary School in Holbeck between 1948 and 1954. Lying between Manor Road and Sweet Street was a serious of what, as a retired construction engineer, I now recognise as being the reinforced concrete foundations of an abandoned housing project. This was known to us as 'The Diggings' or 'The Diggins' and it was where we, the Catlikes, conducted regular stone fights (there being copious amount of perfectly sized gravel to hand) with the Proddy Dogs from Pottery Fields (if memory serves) school. Sweet Street flats were nearby.

Is there anybody out there who can throw light on what this project was and why it had left unfinished?

[wigwam]

Actually, after wondering about these foundations for so many years, as soon as I posted my query on this forum, I discovered the answer. I've just seen an aerial photograph of the area, taken by the RAF in 1951. It's clear that these foundations had been planned as Phase 2 of the Sweet Street flats but, for some reason(WWII perhaps), someone had second thoughts.

[tyke bhoy]

Welcome to the site Wigwam and thanks for answering your own question. Hopefully it will launch a bit more debate on those that remember the area at the same time and from anyone who might have knowledge/evidence of why it didn't happen. Like you I suspect WWII and post war austerity may have been a factor.

[mhoulden]

On this map from 1953 it looks like the abandoned flats were going to have the same kind of layout as St Barnabas Garth, plus two sides of a similar layout opposite the Commercial Inn:

Sweet St Map.png (123.72 KiB) Viewed 2885 times

There's also some photos at http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw044375 that give quite a clear view, like this one:

[wigwam]

Thanks to tyke bhoy and mhoulden for adding to my knowledge on this subject. The 'Sweet Street Flats' were never referred to as St Barnabas Garth when I were a lad but it's clear we're talking about the same thing. That's a good picture; my old school, church and the associated girls senior school slap bang in the middle of it.

And the map shows the Co-op opposite the church where I used to get sugar rationed out from very large wooden box (I can see it now). How did they keep track of the fair and proper distribution of the stuff, I wonder?

[j.c.d.]

I only ever knew them as Sweet Street Flats, used to be pally with some of the Sims family who lived there. Danny, Barry ( Leeds Rugby League) Kathy ( Landlady) and Jean,