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Churches, libraries, cricketers, Mayors, authors,
industrialists, inventors, a brewer, engineers, a
landing bay, social support, public open spaces
To...
Flat caps and hippo bones, find it in the
keystones in Armley’s Town Street pavement
scheme!
Armley’s keystones feature in the natural
Yorkstone pavement scheme along Town Street.
The aim of the project was to enhance the
footpath area of Town Street by replacing the
tarmacadam surface with high quality natural
Yorkstone flags. Through the use of public
art, a compass feature and the keystones add
interest to the scheme as well as highlighting
local celebrities and historical events relating
to Armley. The inspiration for the public art
originated from local residents at the Armley
Forum meetings.
The project is part of the Town and District
Centres programme which was funded by Leeds
City Council with support from the Heritage
Lottery Fund through the Townscape Heritage
Initiative Scheme. The Town Street pavement
scheme was officially opened in July 2010 by
Councillor Janet Harper.
Armley Heritage Advisory Group (Armley
HAG)
This is a community led
group, supported by Leeds
City Council, involving local residents and
businesses. The objective of the group is
to raise awareness of the value of Armley’s
heritage and the production of this booklet is
an example of this. With this booklet the group
hopes that you enjoy discovering a piece of
Armley’s past.
New members are welcome to join the group
and if you are interested please contact the
Regeneration Programme Team on
(0113) 395 0234.
In order to help
preserve the
Town Street
pavement
scheme
the group
encourages
thoughtful
disposal of litter
and in particular,
chewing gum
which can cause
damage to
the pavement
and public art
features.
Keystone: Armley
hippopotamus
In 1851, workmen digging
clay in Longley’s brickfield,
Wortley, discovered several
huge, mysterious bones. They
were later identified by Henry
Denny, curator of the Leeds Philosophical and
Literary Society Museum, as belonging to the
Great Northern Hippopotamus.
The bones of the Armley hippo are now kept at
the Leeds City Museum.
Keystone: Armley Common
Right Trust
The Trust was created in 1799
as a part of the 1793 Enclosure
Act. It was incorporated as a
charity to care for the common
land in Armley on behalf of its
residents. The Trust’s sites are at Armley Moor,
Charlie Cake Park, Hill Top, Moor Top, Ley Lane
and Theaker Lane.
The aim of the Trust is to encourage people to
use these sites for recreation and leisure. The
Trust relies on volunteers to maintain the sites.
Trustees must be responsible people who are
voted in by Armley residents.
Keystone: Armley Helping
Hands
From an original idea about
helping the older community
in Armley, this remarkable,
successful charity was
founded in 1995. It now has
2,400 registered older residents, for whom
it provides regular activities and a contact
point for assistance. These activities include a
weekly lunch club, film shows and art and crafts
classes. There is an annual holiday organised
for the older residents who would not otherwise
be able to get away.
Partnerships have been developed with local
companies and agencies. In 2010 the group
received local and international recognition for
its activities. One such innovation is a memory
room to assist residents with dementia, where a
lot of memorabilia is on display.
Keystone: Phil Carrick
(born 16 July 1952, died
11 January 2000)
Phil Carrick was an Armleyborn Yorkshireman who played
in over 750 cricket matches, of
which 444 were recognised as
first class. His career spanned 23 years, which
is an achievement in itself, particularly as in the
earlier era personal trainers, physiotherapists
and psychologists were not commonly used.
Carrick’s endurance
and modesty made
him a popular
‘Armleyite’ who is
remembered with
affection and respect.
Whilst it is sad that
a premature death
due to cancer was
tragic his memory
is something that
Armley can boast of
and be proud!
Keystone: Benjamin Gott
(born 24 June 1762, died
14 February 1840)
Benjamin Gott was one of
the leading figures in the
Industrial Revolution, in the
field of textile manufacturing.
His factory, Armley Mills, was once the largest
wool factory in the world and is now home to
the Armley Mills Industrial Museum.
His contribution
to the Industrial
Revolution
included new
ways of making
woollen cloth,
and the
introduction of
steam power
and power looms.
Much of the
fortune he made
was reinvested
into improving
his mills and
buying new
ones. He founded
almshouses
in Armley,
collected fine
art, and, in 1799,
became Mayor
of Leeds.
His house and
grounds were
leased by Leeds
City Council to
create Gott’s
Park.
Keystone: Barbara Taylor
Bradford, OBE (born 1933)
Barbara Taylor Bradford was
born in Leeds and grew up in
Armley. She was in the same
class at Christ Church School
as fellow Armley author Alan
Bennett. She worked in the typing pool at
the Yorkshire Evening Post before going into
journalism. By the age of 20 she was a fashion
editor of ‘Woman’s Own’ magazine and an
editor and journalist on Fleet Street for the
London Evening News.
Her debut novel ‘A
Woman of Substance’ was
published in 1979 and has
sold over 30 million copies
world wide. To date she
has written more than 27
novels.
Keystone: Alan Bennett
(born 1934)
Bennett first became famous
by appearing at the Edinburgh
festival in the satirical revue
‘Beyond the Fringe’ jointly
written with Dudley Moore,
Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in 1960.
In 1968 his first
major stage play
was ‘Forty Years On’.
Bennett has appeared
in, or written, over
100 productions.
His most successful
play ‘The History
Boys’ won six awards,
including best new
play 2005 at the
Society of London
Theatre Special
awards.
In 1998 Bennett refused an Honorary Doctorate
from Oxford University in protest at its
acceptance of funding for a named chair in
honour of press baron Rupert Murdoch. He also
declined a CBE in 1988 and a Knighthood in
1996.
Keystone: Samson Fox (born
1838, died 1903)
Born in Bowling, near Bradford
in 1838, Samson Fox was
brought up in Hunslet, the son
of a cloth mill worker and, at
the age of 10 years, Samson
also began work in the mill. He later trained as
a mechanic and was an apprentice at the Leeds
firm of Smith, Beacock & Tannett, machine tool
makers, at the Round Foundry. Subsequently he
started, with his brother and another partner,
the firm of Fox Brothers & Refitt, manufacturing
special machine tools.
In 1874 Fox established the Leeds Forge
Company on the site of the former Castleton
Lodge estate in Armley. Fox continued working
on numerous inventions, among the most
notable of these was the corrugated flue,
which enabled ocean-going steamers to travel
safely at greater speeds, and pressed steel
under-frames for railway wagons instead of the
wrought iron used previously.
Fox was active in
municipal and political
life in Leeds and later
in Harrogate where
he served as Mayor
from 1899-1901.
A lover of music,
Fox gave £45,000
towards building
the Royal College
of Music in London.
His contribution to
the economy and
expansion of Armley
was considerable.
Keystone: Armley Library
(officially opened on 17 April
1902)
The following is a personal
account by Councillor Janet
Harper.
“Armley Library was built at the end of Queen
Victoria’s reign in 1901 and, although other
libraries may claim to be older, this was the
first purpose built library in Leeds.
I worked there from 1970 to 1986 when the
library was open from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm
five days a week and 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on a
Saturday. In those days it was a thriving minimetropolis with customers regularly queuing
out of the doors.
Many famous authors used our library and some
were born and brought up in Armley. Barbara
Taylor Bradford’s parents lived in Armley and
her father used our services to do research for
her first novel “A Woman of Substance”. Alan
Bennett, the author and playwright who was
born in Armley, lived in the Hallidays, as I did
(but not at the same time)!
When the building was extended in
2000-2001 to include the One Stop
Centre a well was discovered which
delayed the building project
for some time while research was
carried out and the well had
been capped.
I believe the original
building is a fine example of
Victorian architecture and I
hope it will remain with us
for another century.”
Keystone: Samuel Ledgard
(born 1874, died 1952)
Ledgard’s businesses included
a bus company, public houses,
a brewery, outside catering,
haulage, two farms and a
quarry.
Samuel moved with his
parents to the Nelson
Hotel in Armley when he
was a young boy. When
he was 21 his father told
him to take a wife and
start running the pub; as
he was of age he became
the licensee in 1897.
His contract with Tetley’s brewery to deliver
beer meant his wagons were only used during
the week. He fitted seats so that he could carry
passengers at weekends, and also supplied
beer, food and marquees at events.
After World War One he bought eight buses
from the War Department and from the 1920s
onwards expanded
the business
around Leeds until
Ledgard’s had
become the leading
independent bus
operator.
His first love
remained the
Nelson, and he
continued to serve
behind the bar in
his trademark flat
cap until he died.
Keystone: Botany Bay
This is a location in Armley
by the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal in the vicinity of Canal
Road and Armley Mills. It was
said that the first wool from
Australia was landed here in
the early 19th century.
The name was often corrupted in the area by
locals to ‘Botny’.
In August 2013 it was announced that a
£29 million ‘Highways to Health’ cycling road
scheme is to be launched. This includes the
resurfacing of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
towpath between Shipley and Armley.
Keystone: Joshua Tetley
(born 20 July 1778, died 26
August 1859).
Joshua Tetley was a brewer
who was born in Armley and
founded the Tetley’s brewery
in 1822, when he bought the
William Sykes’ brewery for £400. In 1839 Tetley
made his son a partner in the business.
In 1890 Tetley’s
bought its first
public house,
although today it
does not own any
public houses,
and in 1892 the
company built one
of the first bottling
plants, which was
a considerable
innovation at the
time.
Joshua Tetley used
a borehole far below
the river Aire in
order to avoid the
river’s filthy water.
In 2011 production
of Tetley’s ceased
in Leeds and was
transferred to other
locations.
It is a common
misconception
that the Tetley’s
huntsman logo is a
likeness of Joshua
Tetley.
Keystone: St Bartholomew’s,
Wesley Road, Armley
The foundation stone for the
Victorian Gothic building was laid
in 1872 and it was consecrated
in 1877 near the site of a
previous church dating from the 17th century.
Leeds architects Walker and Athron used
Horsforth sandstone to produce a building of
impressive dimensions. Later additions included
the boundary wall, lych gate, porches and the
magnificent tower and spire, the gift of the Eyres
family, local mill owners. Many other local donations
included stained glass windows, altar and font.
The choir and clergy stalls are carved in American
walnut paid for by public subscription. The
sculpture of Benjamin Gott, the nationally famous
industrialist, is by Joseph Gott, a distant relative.
Perhaps the most well known gift, again from
the Eyres family, is the famous Schulze organ,
installed in Armley in 1879 where it continues
to be used for both services and concert
performances.
A major restoration programme of the exterior,
interior and the Schulze organ, enables St
Bartholomew’s to
continue serving the
people of Armley into
the 21st century.
Schulze organ built in
Paulinzella, Germany
by Schulze Brothers.
Keystone: Domesday Book
1086
After William of Normandy
successfully defeated the Anglo
Saxons in 1066, he wanted to
know the extent and value of his
new lands and he initiated the
great Domesday Book of 1086. William wanted to
know the name by which the holding was known;
who held it; what it was assessed at (its taxable
value); the number of plough teams that could be
fully employed on the land; the actual number of
plough teams; the number of households or able
bodied men and its value in 1066 and 1086.
Armley was in two manors at the time of the survey
– Ristone and Ermelai. The historian T. D. Whitaker
suggests Ristone may be Rigcate or Redcate.
Morfai and Achilk held the manors in 1066 and they
later passed into the hands of Ilbert de Lacy, who
subsequently sublet them back to a Saxon lord,
Ligulf, who already held many estates in Yorkshire.
The survey records three ploughs. There were
six acres of meadow, woodland and pastures.
Eight villaines (serfs) were recorded. If this
figure is multiplied by four or five a figure for the
total community is achieved (about 32 to 40).
Armley was a small hamlet. Things not recorded
are a mill, church or priest.
The pre-Conquest value of Armley was 20 shillings
but clearly it had suffered some devaluation,
resulting in a post-Conquest value of 10 shillings.
Other local celebrities and events that do
not feature in the Town Street pavement
scheme are:
Betty Diana Coupland: (5 March 1928 – 10
November 2006) Actress who was brought up in
Armley.
Diana Coupland is best remembered for her role
as ‘Jean Abbott’ in the television sitcom Bless This
House, which she played from 1971 to 1976.
Originally Coupland wanted to be a ballet dancer
but could not fulfil this ambition owing to a
horse riding accident.
Her music career began at the age of 11, and
by the time she was 14 she was singing full
time at the Mecca Locarno in Leeds. Coupland also
dubbed voices of actresses who could not sing.
She dubbed the singing voice of Ursula Andress
for the song ‘Underneath the Mango Tree’ in the
James Bond film; ‘Dr. No’ in 1962.
She gave up professional singing in the 1960s.
Chumbawamba: Anarchist rock band whose
members, for a period of time, lived in a
communal household in the Armley district.
Chumbawamba are a British band who have,
over a career spanning three decades, played
punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music
and folk music. The band were formed in
Burnley in 1982.
Their 1988 album ‘English Rebel Songs 13811914’ was a recording of traditional songs from
that period, and was very different from their
preceding work. It became their biggest selling
record in Germany.
On 18 May 1993 the band played in Ungdomshuset
in Norrebro, Copenhagen on the eve of the
infamous night when Danish voters voted ‘yes’
to the Maastricht Treaty referendum.
Elsie Suddaby: Singer who lived in Armley
(1893 – 1980)
Elsie was born in Wortley, Leeds and later lived
at 39 Wesley Road, Armley.
A pupil of Sir Edward Bairstow, she was known
as ‘The Lass With the Delicate Air’ (taken from
the title of one of the most popular songs in her
repertoire).
A leading British lyric soprano she sang both
in the congregation of St Bartholomew’s and
as a soloist at many concerts and recitals in
the church. She returned many times to York
Minster in major productions.
She was principal soprano in the bicentennial
‘St Matthew Passion’ (with Keith Falkner and
Margaret Balfour) for the Bach Cantata Club
under Charles Kennedy Scott in November 1929.
On 5 October 1938 she was one of the original
16 singers, lightest of the four soprano voices, in
Vaughan Williams’ ‘Serenade to Music’.
In 1924 Elsie became a pioneer in radio and
gramophone recording, as demand for her fine
voice grew. From April of that year, right through
to 1956, she was to be heard many times on the
radio, and in that same extraordinary year she
was signed up by The Gramophone Company,
later HMV, where she made many recordings
through the 1920s and 1930s.
Elsie became a favourite of Sir Henry Wood,
who included her in his Promenade Concerts,
today known simply as The Proms, for which
Edward Elgar unknowingly became the writer of
their signature tune, ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.