UC-NRLF 
 
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 '"V'.'j ■/-■ <r 'f--'j 
 
 
 Percy Robinson, 
 
 I896.< 
 
LIBRARY I 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF j 
 V CALIFORNIA J 
 

 ~ZJ^^^op^for( ,.\^ 
 
Tidies of ©16 iCeebs, 
 
 BY 
 
 Percy Robinson. 
 
 Illustrated by Twenty Full-page Plates and numerous Blocks in 
 
 THE Letterpress. 
 All Reproduced from Drawings by the Author. 
 
 PERCY ROBINSON, 72, Albion Street. 
 
 Eonlion : 
 
 B. T. BATSFORD, 94, High HoLBORNr W.C. 
 
 1896. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
teAN STACK 
 

 TO' V ;vv' 
 
 EDMUND WILSON, Esq., F.S.A., 
 
 President and Founder 
 
 OF THE Leeds Thoreshy Society. 
 
 THIS WoKK is 
 
 RESrECTFtLLY DEDICATED BY THE AuTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 " The substance faded ! All the pageant gone ! 
 Save frail memorials, which the votive hand 
 Shall snatch, decaying from the hand of Time, 
 And bid them live in record." 
 
 This volume is placed before the public in the hope that it may 
 serve as a record of some of those relics of Old Leeds which, though they 
 may not in all cases be of surpassing architectural or artistic merit, are 
 yet interesting from their associations with the past history of the town. 
 Year by year we see these relics disappearing before the ever advancing 
 tide of modern improvement; the Mixed Cloth Hall and the Old Infirmary 
 have recently disappeared, the former to make way for the improvement 
 known as City Square and the new Post Office and the latter for the 
 new premises of the Yorkshire Penny Bank Others are doomed, and in 
 a few years we shall have very little remaining of Old Leeds. 
 
 The drawings representing buildings now demolished, are from 
 photographs or engravings which have been kindly lent for the purpose ; 
 all others have been drawn on the spot, at intervals, as opportunity offered, 
 during the last few years. 
 
 I will here take the opportunity of thanking all those who have in 
 
 any way rendered assistance or information during the progress of the 
 
 work. 
 
 PERCY ROBINSON. 
 
 72, Albion Street, Leeds. 
 1896. 
 

 
 SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF LEEDS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Leeds is, historically, of comparatively small note, 
 deriving its importance more from its commercial prosperity and 
 the rapid development of its many industries, than from its associa- 
 tions with the past ; yet it is not by any means a town of modern origin, 
 and if it cannot boast of a history teeming with stirring political events, 
 like that of the neighbouring city of York, there is, nevertheless, much that 
 
 is interesting in the record of its career and 
 development, from an agricultural village 
 to one of the greatest commercial centres 
 in the Kingdom. It is worthy of note that 
 while Manchester and Birmingham have 
 been incorporated during the present cen- 
 tury, Leeds can boast of two and a half 
 centuries of incorporation, and a social 
 ll foundation extending far back in the past — 
 '■■' a foundation, in all probability, coeval with 
 the dawn of Christianity in this country. 
 It is, however, only in comparatively recent 
 years that it has assumed its present 
 position of importance. Perhaps the best 
 index to the rate of development of the 
 town, is the record of its population at 
 different periods. At the Norman Conquest, the population is supposed 
 to have been under i,ooo. In seven hundred years the increase was not 
 ||more than seventeenfold, the number being given in 1775 as 17,117. 
 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 Twenty-six years later the estimate was 30,000. In 1831 it had increased 
 to 123,393, and the latest return of 1891 showed a total of 367,506. The 
 area of the parish is 21,000 acres. 
 
 The earliest mention of the town of Leeds is made by Bede, the 
 historian, who wrote in the seventh century. He describes the district of 
 Leeds — which he calls Loidis*— as a place where Christianity existed 
 before his day, so that this first record is a somewhat satisfactory one. 
 Of its origin as a town we have no authentic record, and the matter is 
 necessarily involved in obscurity ; but from this allusion to it by Bede, we 
 may conclu ie that it was a place of some importance in his day. Thoresby 
 is of opinion that there was a town here in the time of the Romans, 
 and though the vestiges of Roman antiquities, which have been discovered 
 at various times, are sufficient proof that it was known to the Romans, 
 the existence of a town is a matter of conjecture. Although we have no 
 positive evidence of the existence of a Roman station at Leeds proper, we 
 have sufficient evidence to warrant us in assuming that it was, at any rate, 
 a position of some importance in that era. The Roman stations about 
 here, which may be accepted as accurately fixed, are Danum (Doncaster), 
 Legolium (Castleford), Calcaria (Tadcaster), Eboracum (York), Isurium 
 (Aldborough), Burgodunum (Adel), and Cambodunum (Slack). If we take 
 into consideration the close proximity of Burgodunum (Adelj, and the 
 relative positions of the other stations mentioned, it is apparent that Leeds 
 must have been crossed by several important highways, and some evidences 
 of this have been revealed accordingly. In May, 18 19, while some labourers 
 were excavating on the site of the present Dock Street, the remains of 
 what is supposed to have been a Roman ford were laid bare. Since that 
 time various other traces of Roman work have been discovered in the 
 vicinity. So recently as January, 1896, a number of circular bell pits, from 
 which ironstone had been extracted, were discovered in excavating the 
 foundation of a new building on the site of the old Central Market, in 
 Duncan Street, and it is stated that similar pits were discovered on the 
 site of the Corn Exchange and other adjacent buildings. 
 
 * The name Loidis is said to have been derived from the British " Caer XjaxH Coit" — the town, or 
 city in the wood. 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 From the time of Bede to the Norman Conquest, we have no record 
 of the progress of Leeds, but the Domesday book, which was compiled 
 in 1086, tells us that " In Ledes (Leeds) there are ten carucates and six 
 bovates of land for geld. Land to six ploughs. Seven thanes held it for 
 seven manors. Now, twenty seven villanes and four sokemen and four 
 bordars have fourteen ploughs there. A priest is there and a church, and 
 a mill of four shillings (annual value), and ten acres of meadow. It was 
 worth six pounds, now seven pounds." From this we see the state of Leeds 
 at the Conquest era, and, considering the period, it is a very satisfactory 
 account, both as regards population and value, for it must be remembered 
 that the district had suffered severely from the ravages of William, who, 
 after the rebellions of 1068-9, laid waste the whole country from the H umber 
 to the Tweed, spreading death and desolation on every side. It is said 
 he left no town unburnt, and no village unsacked in the whole course of 
 his march. When the Saxon lands were divided by William, Leeds was 
 bestowed upon the powerful Norman baron, Ilbert de Laci, who consolidated 
 all his Yorkshire estates in the great barony of Pontefract, but it does 
 not appear to have remained long in his possession, for we learn that in 
 1089, the advowson of the Church of Leeds, along with the Chapel of 
 Holbeck, dedicated to St. Helena, was given by Ralph Paynel, Lord 
 of Leeds, to the Priory of Holy Trmity at York, from which it would 
 appear that the Manor of Leeds had been granted to the Paynel family 
 by De Laci. 
 
 From the Norman era to the reign of King John, Leeds appears 
 to have progressed considerably and advanced in importance, for on the 
 iith November, 1207, Maurice Paynel, Lord of the Manor, granted a 
 charter to the burgesses of the town, conferring upon them certain rights 
 and privileges, amongst which were — the right to hold a toft (or homestead) 
 and half an acre of land on payment of sixteen pence at Pentecost and 
 the feast of Saint Martin, and to sell and convey the same to whom he will, 
 subject to ordinary customs. A "Praetor," or mayor, was to be appointed 
 by the lord, whose duties were to superintend the internal economy of the 
 town, to preside at the trials of offenders, to receive fines from the tenants, 
 to collect the annual revenues, and to render a proper account of the same to 
 
jQ RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 the Lord of the borough at Pentecost. The " Prsetor " was appointed 
 annually, and the office seems to have been a coveted one, and must 
 have carried with it some perquisites or privileges, for the charter expressly 
 states that — " At Pentecost the lord shall remove him (the " Praiotor "), 
 and put in his place whomsoever he shall think proper, but the burgesses 
 shall be more eligible, if only they be willing to pay as much as others 
 (who are not burgesses)." If a burgess was impleaded of larceny, he was 
 cleared from the charge on the testimony of thirty-six compurgators, but 
 if impleaded a second time, he had either to purge himself — i.e., prove 
 his innocence — by the ordeal of water, or by single combat. Women were 
 classed with goods and chattels, and those who were to be sold for slavery 
 were freed from certain tolls. All persons were bound to bake in their 
 lord's oven. The provisions of this charter*, however barbaric and degrading 
 they may appear at this day, were doubtless appreciated and valued 
 by the burgesses as a great boon, and an advance on the previous customs 
 of the time. About this time the use of the Aire was made available, 
 and a certain amount of trade must have been done in the town, for the 
 charter provides that the inhabitants might trade as they liked, subject 
 to certain tolls and regulations and might convey their grain and merchandise 
 by land or water. 
 
 From the granting of the first charter to the time of Charles the 
 First, comparatively little is recorded of the history and government of 
 the town, and, from the brief glimpses we do obtain, there does not appear 
 to have been any very rapid development during that period. In the reign 
 of Edward III., 1327, a new bridge was built across the Aire, with a chantry 
 on the north side, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.* Ten years later 
 the King granted a charter for paving and reducing to order the streets of 
 the town. About this time the population did not exceed fifty families of 
 married persons, and it is interesting to note that many of the surrounding 
 towns, in the matter of population and commercial importance, occupied 
 a position almost the reverse of that which they occupy to-day. Pomfret, 
 or Pontefract, was pre-eminent for commercial prosperity, having a population 
 
 This chantry was removed when Leeds Bridge was widened in 1760. 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. ir 
 
 more than six times as large as Leeds, while the now flourishing towns 
 of Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, and Dewsbury were then mere villages. 
 We have some interesting information regarding the value of money about 
 this period, from the maximum prices in the King's writs fixed upon the 
 following: — "An ox, stall or corn fed, 24/-; one grass fed, 16/-; a fat 
 stalled cow, 12/- ; any other fed cow, 10/- ; a fat sheep, 1/8 ; ditto, shorn, 1/2 ; 
 a fat hog, 2 years old, 3/4; a fat goose, 3d. ; a fat capon, 2)4d.; a fat 
 hen, ij4d. ; 24 eggs, id." 
 
 About the close of the fourteenth century the cloth trade appears to 
 have developed considerably, and we find such towns as Halifax and Bradford 
 coming rapidly to the front. From the Ulnager's accounts of the subsidies 
 paid on cloths produced in the West Riding in 1469-70, we find Halifax 
 is second only to Ripon, producing 853^ cloths, while " Pountefret," which 
 was formerly paramount, produces only 106^'. This development in the 
 clothing trade was no doubt due in a great measure to the sumptuary laws 
 which were then in force, and by which all persons were compelled, under 
 severe fines, to wear cloth of a quality according with their station or position, 
 from "cloth of gold," to "good serge of 2od. the yard." The weight, 
 width, quality, and price of all cloth was regulated by the government, and 
 heavy penalties were inflicted on manufacturers making cloths whiph were not 
 in accordance with the regulations. 
 
 From the time of Henry the Eighth to the beginning of the 
 seventeenth century, the history of the town is a comparatively uneventful 
 record. Leland, the antiquary who visited Leeds about 1533, gives a 
 description of it in his Itinerary as follows : — " Ledis, two miles lower 
 then Christal abbay, on Aire river, is a praty market, having one paroche 
 chirche, reasonably well buildid, and as large as Bradeford, but not so 
 quik as it." 
 
 The government of the town about this period was vested in a chief 
 ofiicer, or bailiff, acting for the Lord of the Manor, and this officer appears 
 to have ruled much as he pleased, and regulated matters for his own con- 
 venience and benefit. We find, in 1620, an enquiry was held into the 
 administration of certain public charities, when it was found that the Moot 
 Hall, then, lately erected in the town, was built out of money belonging 
 
12 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 to the poor, upon the agreement that the rent derived from the same be 
 devoted to the rehef of the poor ; but that John Metcalfe, the baihff who 
 collected this rent, appropriated it to his own use. It was also found that 
 the toll which was collected upon all corn exposed for sale in the markets, 
 and known as the " toll dish," was, by the decree which instituted the toll, 
 to be divided as follows : — one-third to be given to the bailiff or chief 
 magistrate of the town for his own use, one-third to be given to the poor, 
 and the remainder to be given towards the expense of repairing the highways. 
 This toll had been collected regularly by the said John Metcalfe, but no 
 portion of it had been devoted either to the relief of the poor, or the repair 
 of the highways, he having appropriated the whole amount for his own 
 use. These and other irregularities led a number of the inhabitants to 
 petition the King for a charter of rights for the borough, and, in accordance 
 with this petition, the first Charter of Incorporation was granted by Charles 
 I. on July 13th, 1626, constituting the town and parish a Municipal Borough, 
 to be called the " Borough of Leedes in the County of York," to be 
 governed by a Corporation consisting of an Alderman, nine Principal 
 Burgesses, and twenty assistants. The first members of the Corporation 
 were appointed by the charter as follows : — 
 
 Alderman : i 
 
 Sir John Savile, Knight. 
 
 Principal Burgesses : 
 Ralph Hopton. Richard Sikes. 
 
 Seth Skelton. Robert Benson. 
 
 John Harrison. Thomas Metcalfe. 
 
 John Hodgson. Joseph Hillary. 
 
 Samuel Casson. 
 
 Assistants : 
 
 Benjamin Wade. Abraham Jenkinson. 
 
 William Busfield. James Sikes. 
 
 George Killingbecke. Robert Pease. 
 
 William Marshall. George Dixon. 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 n 
 
 Ralph Cooke. 
 Edward Killinghecke. 
 Francis Jacksox. 
 Walter Haycocke. 
 John Cowper. 
 Henry Watkinson. 
 
 Ralph Crofte. 
 Peter Jackson. 
 William Stahle. 
 John Jackson. 
 Christopher Preston. 
 John Hargrave. 
 
 From this time the real commercial career of Leeds may be dated. 
 The Charter had established the government of the town on a firm basis, 
 and the state of affairs generally was very satisfactory. The population 
 increased rapidly. Rents were low, materials cheap, and the cloth trade 
 flourished apace. Cloth to the value of ^200,000 was manufactured 
 annually, chiefly for export to the continent. Leeds was then the only 
 incorporated borough in the north where cloth was made, and its importance 
 may be judged from the fact that the customs paid on cloths exported 
 amounted to _^i 0,000 per annum. 
 
 During the Civil Wars, like most other towns, Leeds had its share 
 of troubles. When the war commenced the town was garrisoned and held 
 for the King by Sir William Savile, until January 23rd, 1643, when it was 
 stormed and taken by Sir Thomas F'airfax. The following account of the 
 battle is extracted from General Fairfax's Journal : — 
 
 " On Monday, being the 23rd of January, 1643, I marched from Bradford with six 
 troops of horse and three companies of dragoons, under the command of Sir Henry Fowles, 
 my Commissary, or Lieutenant-General of Horse ; and ahnost 1,000 musketeers and 2,000 
 clubmen, under the command of Sir WiUiam Fairfax, Colonel and Lieutenant-General of the foot, 
 one company of these also being dragoons under Captain Mildmay, about 30 musketeers and 
 1,000 clubmen marched on the south side towards \\'akefield, the rest on the north side 
 towards Woodhouse Moor. On the west side we commended the cause to God by prayer : 
 I dispatched a trumpeter to Sir William Savile, commander in chief, at Leeds, under the Earl 
 of Newcastle, requiring, in writing, the town to be delivered to me for the King and 
 Pailiament, to which Sir William disdainfully answered immediately, and said he used not to 
 give answer to such frivolous demands, and that he wondered Sir Thomas would be so uncivil 
 as to come so near the town before he had acquainted them with it : and that there might be 
 more virtue in his actions than that paper sent him : So confident he seemed to be with the 
 strength he had in the town, he could well enough keep it, wherein were about 2,000 men, 
 namely, 1,500 foot and 500 horse and dragoons, and two pieces of cannon: This summons 
 
I^ RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 being refused, we approached nearer the south west side of the town with our forces, and 
 being in view thereof with our banners displayed (being about thirty six colours), I sent 
 another trumpeter to Sir William Savile, who shortly after by a trumpeter, assured us we 
 should get nothing but by fight, whereupon we prepared for an assault, and instantly drew out 
 of our companies five colours of our most expert soldiers, and appointed them to march down 
 with Captains Forbes, Briggs, Lee, Frank, and Palmer with his dragoons on foot, towards the 
 water along the trenches, near to and above which, about loo musketeers were drawn out of 
 the town on a hill, and about one o'clock in the afternoon, they gave fire from the inside 
 of their works upon our musketeers, who approached nearer, shrouded themselves under a 
 hill and let fly at the sentry, with no loss at all on either side, they within the trenches 
 shooting too high, and the other at the trenches, and thus the fight began between them most 
 fiercely. 
 
 " Every commander in their several stations gave charges and commands, and riding 
 
 from place to place encouraged their men to fall resolutely, who being mightily emboldened by 
 
 their valiant leaders, performed the same with admirable courage ; and although most of them 
 
 were but unexperienced fresh water-men, taken up about Bradford and Halifax upon the 
 
 Saturday before, yet they came on most resolutely and violently, especially the musketeeis 
 
 under Sir William Fairfax, commander of the foot, who most courageously at the head of his 
 
 regiment and in the face of the enemy, stormed the town most furiously, whereupon began 
 
 very hot service : Capt. Forbes behaved himself most valiantly about the enemy's trenches 
 
 and outwoiks, from whence they played very sharply against our men, but were as hotly 
 
 answered by us with admirable courage and fearless resolution, under the conduct of this 
 
 noble captain ; in so much that notwithstanding the enemy's endeavour to oppose us, together 
 
 with the assistance of their cannon, which were often discharged upon our men, yet they soon 
 
 killed their cannoneers, and after a furious fight of two hours, our men most bravely beat them 
 
 quite from their works : When bullets flew about our men's ears as thick as hail, yet myself. 
 
 Sir William Fairfax, and Sir Henry Fowles, on one side, and the resolute Capt. Forbes 
 
 with his brave company on the other side, made way into the town most furiously sword in 
 
 hand, and violent force of arms, being closely followed by the dauntless club-men, and so 
 
 with much difficulty got possession thereof within the space of two hours, wherein were found 
 
 two brass cannon, and good store of arms and ammunition, which we presently seized ; we 
 
 took also four colours, and 500 prisoners, among whom were six commanders, most of the 
 
 rest were common soldiers, who, upon taking an oath never to fight in this cause against the 
 
 King and Parliament, were set at liberty, and suffered to depart, but unarmed. There were 
 
 not above forty slain, whereof ten or twelve at the most on our side, the rest on theirs : 
 
 Sergeant-Major Beaumont, in his flight endeavouring to cross the river to save his life, lost it 
 
 by being drowned therein ; and Sir William Savile, their General, in his flight also crossing 
 
 the same river, hardly escaped the same fate." 
 
 The following- memorandum occurs in the register of burials at the 
 Parish Church : — 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 15 
 
 " 23 January, 1643. This was the day when Leedes was taken by Sir Thomas 
 Fairfax. Eleven soldiers slayne, buried 24th January, ten unpaid for ; five more slain two or 
 three days after ; six more died of their wounds." 
 
 The same register contains the following : — • 
 
 '• Buried ist April, 1643. Captain Boswell slain at Seacroft battel, and six soldiers. 
 A gentleman and two common soldiers slain in Robert Williamson's house, of Hunslet : buried 
 13th April, 1643. Five more soldiers slain — nine more in May; sixteen more in June; twelve 
 more in July. 26 soldiers buried July and August; 1644." 
 
 Hardly had the plague of war passed away ere the town was ravaged 
 by a yet more terrible plague of disease, which, according to Whitaker, swept 
 away over a fifth part of the entire population. The epidemic broke out 
 in 1644 and spread rapidly, raging most fiercely in Vicar Lane, Marsh Lane, 
 The Calls, Lower Briggate, and Mill Hill, where the insanitary and over- 
 crowded state of the dwellings and surroundings fostered the disease. The 
 town was so neglected that the streets were grass-grown, the markets 
 were removed to Woodhouse Moor, and Divine service was suspended 
 in the churches. The whole town was in a state of demoralisation and 
 terror, and all who were able fled from the scene of contamination and 
 death. " The air in June, when the greatest number died, was very warm, 
 and so infectious that dogs and cats, rats and mice, died ; also several birds 
 in their flight over the town dropped dead." The register of burials in 
 the Parish Church could not be kept during the plague, and the following 
 note occurs explaining the reason : — " These were all the names which 
 came to our notice since the ould church doores were shut up for all the 
 rest have died in plague time. You may take them in general, as they 
 are brought in weekly to Major Carter, governor of the town." Here 
 follows the weekly returns from March 12th to December 25th, making a 
 total of 1,325 deaths. Many of the victims were buried in Vicar's Croft 
 and the fields thereabouts. In November, 1790, as some workmen were 
 digging clay in a field, now George Street, they discovered fifty oak 
 coffins containing human bones, supposed to be the remains of the plague- 
 stricken. 
 
 On the accession of Charles the Second, steps were immediately taken 
 to remedy the removals from corporate offices and other appointments which 
 had been made during the existence of the Commonwealth, and to restore 
 
J 5 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 the Royalists to the positions they had formerly occupied. A petition was 
 presented to the King by a number of the wealthiest and most induential 
 merchants in the town, praying for an enquiry into the present form of 
 'j-overnment, which they alleged was unsatisfactory, and suggesting that 
 a new charter should be conferred on the town. This petition, after some 
 opposition from the party who were then in office, had the desired result, 
 and on November 2nd, 1661. the second charter was granted and the 
 former one abrogated. By this charter the corporation was to consist, first, 
 of a mayor, to be elected annually by the mayor, aldermen, and assistants 
 for the time being. Secondly, twelve aldermen, twenty-four assistants, one 
 recorder, and one town clerk, who were to hold office for life unless by 
 their " evil behaviour or for some other reasonable cause " they might be 
 removed by the mayor and the rest of the common council of the borough. 
 The provisions of the charter were very comprehensive, and the council 
 were empowered to nnke and enforce such laws as might be necessary for 
 the regulation of trade, and for the good government of the town generally. 
 This charter has formed the basis of our municipal legislation, and its 
 provisions have, with some few exceptions, continued in force up to the 
 present day. 
 
 In 1684, the charter of 1661 was superseded by another one, the 
 tendency of which was to subject the corporate body entirely to the 
 authority of the Crown. This charter, however, only remained in force 
 five years, the former one being restored on the accession of William and 
 Mary, 1689. 
 
 During this reign the hearth tax was also repealed. This tax, which 
 was commonly known as "chimney money," had long been a grievance with 
 the public, It was instituted in 1663, or rather revived, for it is really as 
 old as the Conquest, when it was called " fumage." The amount of the 
 tax was two shillings on every hearth, or stove, in houses paying to the 
 church and the poor, and from the survey which was made when the tax 
 was imposed, it appears that there were 1,431 inhabitants and 2,845 hearths, 
 or stoves, in the borough. 
 
 In the transactions of the Corporation about this period, we find 
 many interesting and amusing items. On the 3rd of February, 1662, the. 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 17 
 
 Corporation ordered that an " eight fold assessment " should be laid, in 
 order to reimburse the churchwardens " severall great summes of money " 
 which they had "expended and laid out about the repayres of the Parish 
 Church of the said Town and about the Erecting of a Font for the more 
 Reverent administring of the holy Sacrament of Baptisme." On the 26th 
 of March, in the same year, they appointed Thomas Gorst to be the cook 
 to the Mayor and Aldermen of the borough, "that he may, from tyme to 
 tyme, upon any publique occasion, dresse, or order to be dressed, the 
 severall dishes appoynted for any such meeting or solemnitye." On the nth 
 of March, 1674, the Corporation issued an order for the better regulation 
 of the market, and also to prevent forestalling. This order states that no 
 corn shall be sold in the market until after the ringing of the " Markett 
 Bell," which bell shall be rung at ten o'clock in the forenoon. 
 

 
 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LEEDS. 
 
 OF the aspect of Leeds in the early part of the eighteenth century, a 
 Hvely picture may be drawn from an old map (1720) in the possession 
 of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. This curious old 
 print not only shows the plan of the town, but the principal buildings, and 
 even the bridges are shown in elevation, while the "beautilul Aire" is 
 depicted with several vessels in full sail riding majestically on its bosom. 
 The principal residences illustrated were situated in Briggate, Boar Lane, 
 Call Lane, Kirkgate, Hunslet Lane, and Meadow Lane. A few of these 
 are still standing, having been converted into shops or other business 
 premises. What may be termed the town proper was comprised in a very 
 small area. South of the river were very few buildings, except farmsteads 
 or country houses. To the east the buildings extended as far as the Parish 
 Church and Marsh Lane. The Calls was an open space with orchards, 
 and a pleasant footpath along the river side to the church. From the 
 Leylands, along the foot of Lady Lane and Mill Garth to Timble Bridge, 
 were fields and gardens bordering the Shipscar Beck. From Briggate to 
 Mill Hill Lane (now Basinghall Street) were long, narrow crofts, or 
 gardens, extending from Upperhead Row to Boar Lane. Albion Street was 
 Mr. Sleigh's garden. The Red Hall gardens, then the property of Mr. 
 Colverley, occupied King Charles Croft, while at the foot of these grounds, 
 on the site of Albion Place, was a large bowling green, approached from 
 Lands Lane. The road to Bradford was up Briggate, along Upperhead 
 Row and Park Lane, through Burley and Kirkstall. Burley was then a 
 remote village, and Park Lane a country road with very few houses in 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. ig 
 
 its vicinity. Briggate weis a continuously built street with many residences, 
 some of which had flower gardens in front and orchards at the back, or 
 tenters where cloth was woven. (Even up to the beginning of the present 
 century, cloth was woven in the yards off Briggate.) Nobility then lived 
 in the town — the last was Lady Lowther, who occupied a house in Kirkgate, 
 nearly opposite the Vicar's Croft. Thoresby also, in his " Ductitus 
 Leodiensis," which was published 1715, has left us some quaint descriptions 
 of the town as it existed in his day. The following is his description of 
 Briggate : — 
 
 " In this spacious street, which from the Bridge at the Foot of it, is called Bridge- 
 Gate, or, in our Northern Dialect, which retains much of the Saxon, Briggate stood many of 
 the ancient Borough-Houses, which to this Day pay a certain Burgage-Rent to the Lords of 
 the Mannor of Leedes. The famous Cloth-Market, the Life not of the Town alone, but these 
 Paris of England, is held in this street, sub dio, twice every Week, viz., upon Tuesdays and 
 Saturdays, early in the Mornings. The Brig-end-shots have made as great a Noise amongst 
 the Vulgar, where the Clothier may, together with his Pot of Ale, have a Noggind' parage, and 
 a Trencher of either Boil'd or Roast-Meal for Two-pence, as the Market itself, amongst the 
 more Judicious, where several thousand Pounds worth of Broad-Cloth are bought, and, generally 
 speaking, paid for (except the Water-lengths, which cannot then be determined) in a few Hours 
 Time, and this with so profound a Silence as is surprising to Strangers, who from the adjoining 
 Galleries, &c., can hear no more Noise than the lowly Murmur of the Merchant upon the 
 Exchange at London. After the Signal is given by the Bell at the old Chapel by the Bridge, 
 the Cloth and Benches are removed, so that the Street is at Liberty for the Market People of 
 other Professions, as the Country Linen-Drapers, Shoo-makers, Hard-ware-Men, and the Sellers 
 of Wood- Vessels, Wicker-Baskets, Wanded-Chairs, Flakes, &c. Fruit of all Sorts are bought in 
 so vast Quantities, that Hallifax, and other considerable Markets, are frequently supplied from 
 hence, the Mayor's Officers have number'd five hundred Loads of Apples only, upon one 
 Day. Avove the Market for the Milk-Cows, is the Ichthyopolium, which, notwithstanding its 
 great Distance from the Sea, is weekly twice or thrice, if not oftener, plentifully furnished with 
 great Variety of Fish, though short, I confess, of Preston in Amounderness, where the Fish- 
 Toll at id. a Horse-Load, and 4d. a cart, has sometimes amounted to six Shillings a Day, as 
 I am informed by a neighbouring Justice of the Peace. A little avove this is the Moot-Hall in 
 the Front of the Middle-Row, on one Side of which is the best furnished Flesh-Shambles in the 
 North of England; on the other the Wool-Market for Broad-Cloth, which is the All in All, From 
 the Cross, which is well stocked with Poultry, and other proper Appurtenances, to the New- 
 Street, is the Corn-Market, which is very considerable ; and the more so, because the Populous- 
 ness of the Places makes it yield greater profit to the Husband-men than other Markets do. 
 In the Upper- Head-Row is the Horse-Fair, and in the Lower the Forum-Suarium ; " 
 
20 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 A little above Kirkgate end stood the Moot Hall, in front of which 
 were the stocks and pillory. The date of the first erection is not known, 
 but it had fallen somewhat into decay at the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century, and in the Corporation records we find the following : — " 5th June, 
 1 7 10. Whereas there is a design to repair and alter the Moot Hall for the 
 conveniency of the reception of the West Riding Justices, who have ugreed 
 to keep the General Quarter Sessions for the West Riding here. It is 
 agreed by this Court that half the charge of altering and enlarging the hall 
 shall be paid by the Treasurer of the Corporation Stock, providing the half 
 do not exceed the sum of ^70; and that Mr. Mayor, eleven aldermen, and 
 five assistants, be managers and inspectors of the repairs on the part of 
 the Corporation, and make their report at the first Court after the finishing 
 of the repairs." This building was further graced, in 1713, by a white marble 
 statue of Queen Anne, which was erected at the expense of Alderman 
 Milner. The following inscription, in letters of gold on black marble, was 
 subsequently placed under it by the Corporation : — 
 
 " ECCE ! INSIGNEM STATUAM LONDINENSI (ULTRA IPSAM PAULINUM LONDINENSEM) 
 INSIGNISSIM^ REGIN^ ANN.^ OMNI LICET IMAGINE LONGE MAJORI 
 PIC CONSECRATUM. ET A GULIELMO MILNER, ARMKIERO, PRUDENTI 
 JUSTICIARIO, FIDELE SUBITO GENER030 GIVE OPULENTO MERCATORE, PENITUS 
 EXTRUCTAM." 
 
 Translation of the above, inscribed upon the statue, 1 840. 
 
 " MARK THIS ELEGANT STATUE (SUPERIOR EVEN TO THAT OF ST. PAUL'S IN 
 LONDON) PIOUSLY CONSECRATED TO OUR MOST ILLUSTRIOUS QUEEN 
 ANNE, (THOUGH FAR SURPASSING EVERY REPRESENTATION;) AND ERECTED 
 AT THE SOLE EXPESSE OF WILLIAM MILNER, KNIGHT, A PRUDENT JUSTICE 
 OF THE PEACE, A FAITHFUL SUBJECT, A NOBLE CITJZEN, AND AN 
 OPULENT MERCHANT." 
 
 This statue, on the demolition of the Moot Hall in 1825, was removed 
 to the Corn Exchange, at the top of Briggate. It has now found a permanent 
 resting-place in the City Art Gallery. 
 
 Briggate was the scene of all the great public festivals and rejoicings, 
 and such occasions were not few, for the inhabitants appear to have been 
 always ready to avail themselves of any excuse for a feast. Many of these 
 celebrations are chronicled, and it is interesting to compare them with our 
 ideas of public rejoicing at the present day. For instance, on the 26th 
 
/fcre-rcij- 
 
 ^v:;?»v:*si^•ai-ijaii6*aSc:JE■' 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 21 
 
 November, 1702, the Corporation make the following order, relative to the 
 success of the British Army abroad: — "Ordered that the sume of twelve 
 pounds be allowed out of the publick Stock, to be expended at a treat at 
 Mr. Blaiks, upon Thursday the 3rd of December next, being the day 
 appointed for publick thankesgiveing for the success of her Maj"" army and 
 her allyes ag' Vigo, and that whoever Stayes to Spend above that, they shall 
 pay it out of their own pocketts." And, again, on a similar occasion — 
 November 22nd, 1709 — we are told, the Corporation attended divine service 
 at the Parish Church, and, as the day was set apart for a public festival, they 
 agreed "to meete againe att Mrs. Owens att 5 of the clocke in the evening to 
 Drinck to her Maj"" health and further good success ; the expenses of the 
 evening to be att the Corporac'ons charge." On these occasions bonfires were 
 lighted in Briggate, casks of ale were broached on the grassy slopes of the 
 footways, on either side of the street, and Bacchus reigned supreme. Briggate 
 was also the arena of all spectacular displays and pageants ; there the troops 
 were paraded, and volleys fired, on occasions of public rejoicing ; there the 
 menageries and other itinerant exhibitions pitched, in the centre of the street. 
 On market days, the before mentioned grassy slopes would be crowded with 
 sheep, pigs, horses and carts, and agricultural implements, while auctioneer 
 Thomas Stooks, whose head-quarters were at the King's Arms, would be 
 mounted on his rostrum conducting his weekly auction sale, surrounded by a 
 crowd of eager country people. Briggate was, indeed, the great centre of life 
 and business in the town, and the scene of all the most interesting events of 
 the last century. 
 
 In 1720, the Corporation passed a resolution that no more money 
 should be expended out of their funds upon any public or common treat ; but 
 in spite of this we find an order made on June 19th, 1727, for proclaiming the 
 accession to the throne of George II., as follows : "Ordered that the Alder- 
 men and Assistants of this Burrough, do waite upon Mr. Mayor to-morrow, at 
 twelve of the Clock, at his own house, in their Gowns and on horseback, to go 
 from thence in procession up the Back of the Shambles to the Markett Cross, 
 and there Proclaim the Mighty Prince, George Prince of Wales, to be lawfull 
 and RightfuU King of Great Brittaine, &c., and from thence to go down the 
 Shambles, and to make the like Proclamac'on at Kirkgate end, at the 
 
22 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 Vicaridge, at the North end of the Bridge; and at Boar Lane end, and 
 from Boar lane to adjourn to the house of Mr. James Wainman's to Solemp- 
 nize the day, where an entertainment is to be prepared at the Corporac'on 
 charge, but the same is not to exceed the sume of fifteen pounds. The 
 method to be observed in the procession is to be as follows ; viz'., the 
 Constables for the Burrough are to lead the Van two by two, and are to be 
 followed by the Musicians ; then the two youngest Assistants are to go in a 
 breast, and are to be followed by the other Assistants, two by two, in point of 
 Seniority, until the Aldermen fall in their ranks, who are to observe the like 
 method till they come to the Mayor, who is to be preceded first by the Two 
 Maces and then by the Com'on Clerk." 
 
 With the rapid increase of the town arose necessity for other places of 
 worship than the Parish Church and St. John's, which were becoming 
 
 inadequate to meet the wants 
 of so large a population. 
 Accordingly, in 1722, the 
 building of Trinity Church 
 was commenced. The 
 church was endowed by the 
 Rev. Henry Robinson, son 
 of Henry Robinson, Vicar 
 of Leeds, with lands to 
 the annual value of ;^8o. 
 The site—'' Widow Sleigh's 
 Kidstack garth " — was pur- 
 chased for ^175. The 
 foundation stone was laid by 
 the Rev. Henry Robinson, 
 August 23rd, 1722, and 
 it was consecrated August 
 27th, 1727. The entire cost 
 of the buildins: was /"4,s63 
 9s. 6d., and oi this sum, 
 ^3,731 19s. 6d. was raised by subscription. The sale of the pews realized 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 23 
 
 the remainder. The patrons of Trinity Church are the Vicar and Recorder of 
 Leeds, and the Vicar of St. John's. 
 
 From the time of the Parliamentary Wars, nothing of importance 
 occurred to disturb the peace and quietness of the district, until the rebellion 
 of 1745, which threw the town into a state of alarm. A letter was sent by one 
 of the Secretaries of State to the Corporation, informing them of the Pretender's 
 scheme for invading the country ; in reply to this an address was sent to the 
 King assuring him of their unshaken loyalty, and their readiness to support 
 his cause. Many of the inhabitants fled, and others hid their most valuable 
 effects. John Wesley, who arrived in Leeds on the 5th November, in this 
 year, states in his journal that he found the streets " full of bonfires, 
 accompanied by the discharge of firearms.'' Wesley, however, having come 
 from the North, was able to inform them that the Pretender's army 
 was directing its march towards Manchester, and on the receipt of 
 this news the excitement soon subsided. Marshal Wade's army, to the 
 number of about thirteen thousand, with twenty pieces of cannon, were 
 encamped at this time in the fields between Leeds, Shipscar, and Woodhouse. 
 Wade himself is said to have been quartered in the old house, now known as 
 Wade Hall, opposite the top end of Merrion Street. On the subsequent 
 defeat of the Pretender's army at Culloden, by the Duke of Cumberland, 
 the Corporation presented a congratulatory address to the King, and, 
 as usual, voted a sum of money out of the Corporation funds, " To drinck 
 his Majesty's good Health, and to express their Joy upon the late glorious 
 Victory obtained by his Royall Highness the Duke of Cumberland over 
 the Rebells." 
 
 On two occasions, during the last century, did the population of Leeds 
 show their disapproval of certain legislative measures by demonstrations of 
 violence. The first occasion was in 1735. Owing to the great exportation 
 of corn, on which there appears to have been a bounty, the price of bread 
 and other provisions advanced so much that the indignation of the public was 
 roused, and riots took place in various parts of the country. In Leeds the 
 conduct of the rioters was so violent that the troops were compelled to fire 
 upon them, when eight or nine were killed. The second riot occurred in 
 1753, and arose in consequence of the exactions of the Turnpike Act. The 
 
24 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 public objected strongly to the payment of the tolls, and eventually decided to 
 shew their disapproval by demolishing the gates and houses of the collectors. 
 In the attempt against the bar at Hare wood Bridge, the mob were defeated 
 and driven back by Mr. Lascelles, who was assisted by a number of his 
 tenants and workmen. In other cases they were more successful, the bar 
 between Leeds and Bradford, and those at Hal ton Dial and Beeston, were 
 demolished. At Beeston three of the rioters were arrested and taken before 
 the magistrates at the King's Arms. On the following day the mob assembled 
 in Briggate, with the object of rescuing the prisoners, and proceeded to make 
 an assault on the King's Arms, demolishing the windows and shutters with 
 stones. The magistrates, finding the civil powers inadequate to cope with the 
 rioters, called out the Dragoons, who were then stationed in the town, but this, 
 instead of intimidating them, aroused their fury to a greater pitch, and they 
 even tore up the stones in the street to use as missiles. The military then 
 received orders to fire upon the mob, which they did, first with powder, but as 
 this produced no effect, a second volley was fired with ball, by which thirty- 
 seven were killed and wounded. 
 
 In 1755, an Act of Parliament was obtained for lighting the streets 
 and regulating the pavements of the town. The preamble to this Act states 
 that '' The Town of Leeds, in the County of York, is a Place of great trade 
 and large extent, consisting of many Streets, narrow Lanes, and Alleys, 
 inhabited by great numbers of Tradesmen, Manufacturers, Artificers, and 
 others, who in the prosecution and carrying on their respective Trades and 
 Manufactures, are obliged to pass and repass through the same, as well in 
 the night as in the day time : " and that '' several Burglaries, Robberies, and 
 other Outrages and Disorders have lately been committed, and many more 
 attempted within the said Town, and the Streets, Lanes, Alleys, and 
 passages thereof, and the enlightening the said Streets and Lanes, and. 
 regulating the Pavements thereof, would be of great advantage, and tend 
 not only to the security and preservation of the Person and Properties 
 of the Inhabitants of the said Town, but to the benefit and convenience 
 of strangers and persons resorting to the several markets kept within the 
 said Town, and to others whose affairs may oblige them to pass and repass 
 through the same, and also to prevent the many mischiefs which might 
 
i^mf*si'^a!:ii.y'i^^-':':e&:':^AllV■6^.T'^^y'^^mBS&!lTf''^ 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 25 
 
 happen as well from Fires, as Burglaries, Robberies, and other Outrages 
 and Disorders." The system of lighting was by oil lamps, which were in 
 use up to 1 8 19, when they were superseded by gas. 
 
 . In 1760, an Act of Parliament was passed entitled, 'An act for 
 raising money for finishing and completing the repairs of Leeds Bridge, in 
 the County of York ; and for the purchasing and taking down the houses 
 and buildings which straiten and obstruct the passage to and over the said 
 Bridge." The Act authorized the erection of " a stone arch over that part of 
 the mill stream or goit passing under one arch of Leeds Bridge aforesaid, 
 which runs between Master Green's house and the old school." The old 
 school was formerly the Chantry of St. Mary. 
 
 In 1790, an Act was passed "for better supplying the town and 
 neighbourhood of Leeds, in the County of York, with water, and for more 
 effectually lighting and cleansing the streets and other places within the said 
 town and neighbourhood, and removing and preventing nuisances, annoy- 
 ances, encroachments and obstructions therein." Up to this date Leeds 
 had been supplied by private enterprise, in the first instance, of one 
 George Sorocold, an engineer of Derby, who, in 1689, l^id down an 
 engine for pumping water from the river, at Pitfall Mills, to a 
 reservoir near St. John's Church, whence the town was supplied. By 
 this Act of 1790, these works were taken over by the Corporation, and 
 commissioners were appointed to carry out the necessary extensions and 
 alterations. 
 
 There are few things in which greater changes have taken place 
 during the last century, than our methods of travelling and conveyance, and 
 it is most interesting to look back to the old coaching days of a century ago, 
 and see, in imagination, the stage waggons with their loads of merchandise 
 lumbering up Briggate to the Golden Lion, or the New Inn, perhaps, or the 
 stage coach rattling up to the King's Arms, with its load of inside and 
 outside passengers. Some of the principal hotels in Briggate were in those 
 days posting houses. The Bull and Mouth was then known as the Red 
 Bear ; the Royal Hotel was the New Inn ; the Rose and Crown, another 
 famous posting house, occupied the site of the Queen's Arcade. The King's 
 Arms, where royalty was entertained, stood immediately above Duncan 
 
 D 
 
26 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 Street. The White Horse in Boar Lane was another noted posting house 
 in the latter part of the century. In 1780 is advertised : — 
 
 " Leeds to Scarborough in one day ! A diligence sets out from the White Horse, 
 in Boar Lane, every morning, about seven o'clock, in the Scarborough season, and arrives 
 there about seven in the evening. Fare thirteen shillings for each passenger." 
 
 A journey to London in those days was very different to the 
 
 travelHng of to-day, as will be seen from the following advertisement 
 
 in 1764 : — 
 
 " Safe and expeditious travelling with Machines on Steel Springs in 4 
 days to London, from the Old Kings Arms, in Leeds, every Monday 
 and Wednesday." 
 
 A few years later, considerable improvement seems to have been made 
 in the service, for we find the following : — 
 
 " London, Leeds, Wakefield, Barnfley, Shefifield, Chefterfield, Mans- 
 field, and Nottingham 
 
 N E W F L Y , 
 in Two Days and a Half to Leeds and London, for the Winter Seafon, 
 " "11 HLL fet out from the Crofs-Keys Inn, Wood-Street, three Doors 
 from Cheapfide, London, every Monday and Wednefday Morn- 
 ing, at Twelve o'Clock, breakfaft at the Swan, Margate-Street ; dine 
 at the Angel, Northampton, and lie at Leicefter; Breakfaft the fecond 
 Morning, at the Feathers, Nottingham ; dine at the Three Cranes, 
 Chefterfield, and lie at the Angel, Sheffield ; dine the next day at 
 Leeds. And fets out from Mr. Myers's the New-Inn, Leeds, every 
 Tuefday and Thurfday Noon ; lie at firft Night at the Angel, Sheffield ; 
 dine the fecond Day at the Feathers, Nottingham, and lie at 
 Leicefter ; dine the third Day at the Swan, Margate-ftreet, and will 
 be early in London that night. 
 
 Alfo Sheffield, Chefterfield, Mansfield, Nottingham, and Leicefter 
 NEW FLY, to Sheffield in Two Days, will fet out from the above 
 Crofs-Keys Inn, every Monday, Wednefday, and Friday Morning, at 
 Twelve o'Clock, and from the Angel, Sheffield, every Monday, Wednef- 
 day, and Friday Morning at Three o'Clock. Meet and lie at Leicefter 
 both up and down. 
 
 Paffengers and Parcels will be carefully book'd gratis, by James 
 Richardfon, in the Saddle Yard, at the Bottom of Briggate, Leeds, 
 and fafely convey'd at moderate prices. AUow'd 141b. o£ Luggage, all 
 
^ '^^"'i' i,oiiji<iJ 
 
 ©1.0 (g>itos^es (jofiw 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 above from Leeds to London 3d. per Pound, and fo in Proportion to 
 any Part of the faid Road. 
 
 Perform'd by 
 
 S. GLANVILL, Sheffield, and Co. 
 
 *^* A very genteel Vehicle behind for Oulfide Paffengers, guarded 
 
 againft the Inclemency of fevere weather. — The Proprietors will not 
 
 be accountable for Gold, Plate, Jewels, or Writings, except enter'd as 
 
 fuch, and paid for accordingly." 
 
 Leeds to London in two days and a half! and now the journey can 
 be accomplished in four hours, while a cyclist can cover the distance in a day. 
 
 Towards the latter end of the eighteenth century, several public 
 buildings were erected which are worthy of note. In 1771, the old Theatre 
 Royal in Hunslet Lane was opened. In 1777, the Assembly Rooms, near 
 the Corn Exchange, which will be alluded to later, were opened. In 1791, 
 St. Paul's Church, Park Square, was commenced, and was consecrated by 
 Dr. Markham, Archbishop of York, on September loth, 1793. The building 
 cost ^10,000, and contains 1,500 sittings. In 1792, the Music Hall, in 
 Albion Street, was erected. This building, which stood at the corner of 
 Albion Walk, was for many years a very popular place of amusement. It is 
 now converted into a carpet warehouse. 
 
ra^•+^+;+;+;+;4;+;^^;+;+;+;+;+;+;+;^^;+;^^^;+;^•;+;+;+;+;+;+;+;^^;+;+;+;+;4;+;+;+^ 
 
 N -I h'l I I 4+ k^A ^^ +'i-N.+.i.+.Kn-+.+.+ + +-+:+=+:-l-;+=+=+;+.+ .-i: 
 
 NINETEENTH CENTURY LEEDS. 
 
 THE greatest and most sudden rise in the population of Leeds, as before 
 mentioned, has taken place during the present century. At the 
 beginning of the century the population was estimated at 50,000, 
 and in 1891 the census gives the number at 367,506, which is truly an 
 enormous increase. We have formed a tolerably accurate idea of the state 
 of the town at the beginning of the eighteenth century ; we will now look 
 at its condition at the beginning of the present century, and if we compare 
 the Leeds of that date with the Leeds of to-day, we shall find a most 
 astonishing transformation has taken place. Fortunately, we have again 
 a very reliable authority in the shape of an old map, dated 1815 ; from this 
 we see exactly the extent of the town. The population was concentrated in 
 the centre, Briggate, Kirkgate, Boar Lane, and Swinegate being the principal 
 streets ; beyond this area no part of the town was closely built. From Park 
 Square to the river, and from School Close to Park Mills, near Wellington 
 Bridge, was an expanse of fields, unbroken save for a solitary group of 
 cottages known as Park Buildings, in the Bean Ings ; not a single building 
 abutted upon the river on either side. What a transformation ! Nothing 
 but pleasant hedgerows and flower-spangled meadows stretching down to 
 the river's brink, where now huge factories and forests of chimneys rear 
 their lofty heads, and pour forth their polluting filth into the atmosphere 
 above, and into the once pellucid stream below. Northwards, from Park 
 Square, were very few buildings, except in Woodhouse Lane and St. James' 
 
Quo ^wi.e>moi 
 
 iw Y^^a off Bqt^f^z 
 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 29 
 
 Street, where some good houses had been erected. St. James' Street is 
 described as "extremely pleasant, and from its elevation, the air of it is 
 remarkably salutary and bracing, from which circumstance, it was preferred 
 by invalids to any part of the town." The site on which the Town Hall is 
 built was occupied by Park House, the property of the Calverley family, 
 and for many years their residence. It was sold to the Corporation, in 185 f, 
 for ^9,500. At that time the house was occupied by Dr. Richard Hobson. 
 
 Park Lane was the 
 main road to Brad- 
 ford, and to the west 
 of the Green Dragon 
 (formerly the Duncan 
 Inn) very few build- 
 ings abutted upon it. 
 North Hall and Spring 
 Gardens* were almost 
 entirely in the country ; 
 the latter was a famous 
 resort of holiday 
 
 The Duncan Inn, Burley Bar (now Green Dragon Hotel). makerS. Some light 
 
 Is thrown upon the 
 state of this now populous district by the following occurrence, in 1815. 
 "In the tempestuous night of Friday, 15th December, as Mr. Fitzgerald, 
 of the Union Inn, was returning from Kirkstall, having spent the evening 
 with some friends, he fell into a small rivulet at the bottom of St. Peter's H ill, 
 and was drowned. The body was not found till noon next day." Near St. 
 Peter's Hill there was a medicinal spring, known as St. Peter's Well, the 
 water of which was intensely cold, and supposed to be efficacious in rheumatic 
 disorders. There were also two other noted springs in this district, viz. : — 
 Eyebright Well, near the Monk Pits, supposed to afford a sovereign remedy 
 for soreness of the eyes, and the Canker Well, a chalybeate spring near the 
 
 "t^ij*!*' 
 
 * The first house at North Hall was built by George Banister, the first Town Clerk of Leeds, in the 
 reign of Charles I. The house of entertainment known as Spring Gardens, was built by his son about the 
 end of the 17th century. 
 
30 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 present Cankerwell Lane, the water of which was reputed to be a cure for 
 cancer. Camp Road was known as Long Balk Lane, and wore quite a rural 
 aspect, the few houses in existence being- the homesteads of the farmer- 
 clothiers. Shipscar Lane (now North Street) was not much different, and 
 the district known as the Leylands was just being developed. The following 
 property is announced for sale in 1803:— "To be sold, a freehold water 
 mill with five large rooms on the ground floor (one holding two water wheels, 
 each 10 ft. diameter, the one 3 ft., and the other 4 ft. wide) and two large 
 chambers over part of the same. Also a reservoir, nearly one acre, with 
 gardens and grass land adjoining, containing about another acre. The 
 buildings suit different purposes, and at a small expense may be converted 
 for scrubbing and carding wool, cotton spinning, manufacturing tobacco 
 and snuff, paper making, or rasping and chopping of dyewoods ; they are on 
 Shipscar Beck, about a quarter of a mile from Leeds, and with a right on 
 the north and east sides, to two good adjoining carriage roads, direct to 
 Leeds ; on the north road is land 105 yards long, on the east 87 yards long, 
 both plots suitable for buildings of any kind, will be sold either with or without 
 
 two cottages or four acres of grass 
 land, all adjoining the mill. Apply 
 to Mr. Matthew Wilkinson, of Leeds, 
 the owner." This property was 
 situated on the beck near the bottom 
 of Lady Lane. 
 
 Commercial Street was only 
 projected as far as Lands Lane in 
 1803-4, and in 1807 it was carried 
 through to Briggate, a block of old 
 buildings being removed to effect the 
 improvement. Until that time access 
 to the Lands Lane district could 
 only be obtained through some of the 
 narrow ginnels, up which the inns 
 were — and still are — situated. One 
 
 
 ; 
 
 of the oldest of these road easements is the Pack Horse, or Slippin Yard, 
 
r-^TkT|G/7^.;4£^;| 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 31 
 
 which for many years was the princii>al outlet on the west side of Briggate, 
 between Boar Lane and the Head Row. The Pack Horse itself (formerly 
 called the Nag's Head) is one of the oldest of Leeds' hostelries, dating back, 
 in all probability, to the reign of "Good Queen Bess." The Slippin has 
 also other interesting associations. In the early Georgian days it was the 
 rendezvous of fashionable Leeds ; all kinds of social and festive gatherings 
 were held in its precincts. In April, 1750, a fashionable dancing academy 
 was opened by 'Mr. Joseph Baker, of London, in a large room in the 
 Nag's Head Yard commonly called the Slippin, where ladies and gentle- 
 men may depend upon being instructed in the best manner." 
 
 Boar Lane, in the early part of the century, was only half its present 
 width, and was a very irregular thoroughfare. There are people living at 
 the present day who can remember houses there with gardens in front. 
 The land upon which the Pygmalion stands, adjoining Trinity Church, was 
 sold about forty years ago for ^3 per yard, it was then an open space or 
 garden, with a fence around, and was frequently occupied by travelling 
 e.vhibitions, menageries, etc. At the back of this land, fronting into Bank 
 Street, stood the Old Bank, a low, dingy-looking building, with a bay window 
 overlooking Boar Lane. The Griffin Hotel was a low, old-fashioned 
 hostelry, nearly opposite the bottom of Basinghall Street. In the thirties 
 it was kept by one Ann Birch, and was a great Tory haunt. 
 
 In 1809, an Act of Parliament was passed, entitled: "An Act to 
 amend and enlarge the Powers of an Act passed in the Thirtieth Year of 
 His present Majesty, for better supplying the Town and Neighbourhood 
 of Leeds, in the County of York, with Water ; and for more effectually 
 lighting and cleansing the Streets and other Places within the said Town 
 and Neighbourhood, and for removing and preventing Nuisances and 
 Annoyances therein ; and for erecting a Court House and Prison for the 
 Borough of Leeds, and for widening and improving the Streets and Passages 
 in the said Town. " In pursuance of this Act the Court House in Park Row 
 was erected, and opened in 18 13. This building, after being enlarged in 
 1844 at a cost of ^^9,000, continued to serve the requirements of the borough 
 until 1859, when all business was removed to the Town Hall. The building 
 was then purchased by the Government for ^6,000, and converted into a 
 
32 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 post office. For this purpose it was used up to May i8th, 1896, when the 
 palatial pile of buildings in the City Square were first thrown open to the 
 public. 
 
 In 1815, a further Act was passed, entitled: "An Act to amend and 
 enlarge the Powers and Provisions of an Act of His present Majesty, for 
 erecting a Court house and Prison for the Borough of Leeds, in the County 
 of York, and other purposes ; to provide for the Expense of the Prosecution 
 of Felons in certain Cases ; and to establish a Police and Nightly Watch 
 in the Town, Borough and Neighbourhood of Leeds aforesaid." After 
 providing for the continuance of the special Court House rate until the 
 expenses incurred in connection with the building should be paid off, the Act 
 authorized the Justices of the Peace for the Borough to establish regulations 
 for the government of the Court House, Prison, and prisoners ; to appoint 
 a gaoler, chief constable, and other subordinate officers, including an adequate 
 body of watchmen and patrols for the town and suburbs, within one mile 
 of the bars ; and to levy a "Watch Rate," not to exceed 6d. in the pound 
 in any one year, all property under the annual value of ^4 to be exempt. 
 
 Another important Act of Parliament was passed in 1824, which still 
 further extended the provisions of the previous measures. It was under 
 this Act that the Middle Row and Moot Hall, in Briggate, were removed. 
 This pile of buildings extended along the centre of Briggate, from near 
 Kirkgate end to a little above Wood Street, contracting the roadways on 
 either side so much as to be dangerous to vehicular traffic. The expense 
 of this improvement was estimated at ^12,000, it ultimately cost ^15,097 
 4s. 2d., which amount was raised by five annual rates of 5d, in the 
 pound, and one rate of 2d. in the pound. The demolition was completed 
 May 30th, 1825. 
 
 One of the most notable reforms in the government of the town was 
 effected by the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835. Up to 
 this time the Corporation had been a self-elective body, the burgesses having 
 no voice in their appointment. This state of affairs was contrary to the 
 prevailing spirit of the age, and caused great dissatisfaction amongst the 
 burgesses. In 1834, a Royal Commission was instituted to inquire into the 
 condition of the Municipal Corporations throughout the Kingdom, and on 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. -,■, 
 
 the 19th December, one of the Commissioners appointed attended at the 
 Court House, Leeds, to inquire into the constitution of the Corporation. 
 Before the proceeding's commenced, James Nicholson, then Town Clerk, 
 read a resolution passed by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses, protesting 
 against the legality of the Commission, and the power of the Commissioners 
 to compel the attendance of any member or officer of the Corporation before 
 them ; but stating, that as the Commission had beea issued under the King's 
 authority, they were disposed to pay all proper respect to it ; and in con- 
 sequence thereof had directed him to attend and answer the questions put to 
 him on the queries transmitted to the Mayor and himself, provided such 
 questions were put by the Commissioner only. Mr. Nicholson then replied 
 to the questions put to him, describing the extent of the Borough, the 
 constitution of the Corporation and methods of election, the various public 
 officials, their salaries and duties, the sources of income and expenditure, and 
 the general state of the town. The following extracts are taken from the 
 Commissioner's report : — 
 
 " The close constitution of the Corporation is obvious ; all vacancies in each branch 
 of it being filled by the select body, gives to that body absolute and uncontrolled self 
 election." ***** 
 
 " The great respectability of the present members of the Corporation and their 
 impartial conduct as Justices, were universally acknowledged; but the restricted system and 
 want of a more popular method of election were loudly complained of, and it was said that 
 it would be satisfactory to a great majority of the Town, that there should be such more open 
 course as the Legislature in its wisdom should think best." 
 
 The result of this Commission was the passing of the Municipal 
 Corporations Act, which, after much opposition, received the Royal assent 
 on September 9th, 1835. In pursuance of this Act the lists of Burgesses 
 were revised, the Borough was divided into Wards, and the number of 
 councillors assigned to each Ward as follows : — 
 
 Leeds Township :—i, Mill Hill Ward ; 2, West Ward ; 3. North West Ward ; 4, North 
 Ward ; 5, North East Ward ; 6, East Ward (Hamlets of Osmondthorpe, Skelton, and Thornes) ; 
 7, Kirkgate Ward ; 8, South Ward. 
 
 Out Tnvnships :—<), Hunslet Ward (Township of Hunslet) ; 10, Holbeck Ward (Town- 
 ships of Holbeck and Wortley) ; 11, Bramley Ward (Townships of Bramley, Armley, Farnley, 
 and Beeston); 12, Headingley Ward (Townships of Headingley-cum-Burley, Chapel Allerton, 
 and Potternewton). 
 
 E 
 
24 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 The Mill Hill, West, Holbeck, and Bramley Wards were to have six councillors each, 
 and the remaining Wards four councillors each. 
 
 The trade and progress of Leeds was naturally greatly influenced by 
 the introduction of railways, and the increased facilities for the carriage of 
 goods. One of the first locomotives was constructed at Leeds, in 1811, and 
 ran on a railway extending from Middleton Collieries to Brandling's Staith, 
 near Leeds Bridge. This curious engine, which pulled as many as thirty 
 waggons at a rate of about three miles an hour, was propelled by a cogged 
 wheel working on a racked rail. It was for many years an object of curiosity, 
 and was visited by people from all parts. In 1834, the Leeds and Selby 
 Railway was opened, the station being in Marsh Lane. The Midland was 
 opened in 1842; Leeds and Bradford, 1846; Leeds, Dewsbury, and Man- 
 chester, 1848 ; Great Northern, 1848. We have now no end of branch lines 
 and extensions in all directions still progressing. 
 
 With the advent of the new system of Municipal government came 
 many changes in the aspect of the town. The new body were imbued with 
 the spirit of progress, and soon began to make improvements in every 
 direction. In 1843, a new Borough Prison was commenced, which, when 
 completed, cost ^60,000. The arrangements for the relief of the poor were 
 very bad, and to remedy this Industrial Schools were erected in 1848, at a 
 cost of ^14,000 ; and a new Poor House, with chapel adjoining, at Burman- 
 tofts, in 1861, at a cost of over ^31,000. In 1845, ^ House of Recovery was 
 built at Burmantofts, costing about £1,000. The old House of Recovery was 
 in Vicar Lane, and is now the Greyhound Inn. The burial grounds of the 
 town were very much overcrowded, and cemeteries at Burmantofts, Hunslet, 
 Holbeck, and Armley had to be provided, at a cost of ^25,000. The water 
 supply was bad, not more than two-thirds of the inhabitants having a regular 
 supply, and that from the river, which was polluted with dye wares and 
 sewage. In 1837, a company obtained powers to purchase the old water- 
 works, and commenced new works at Adel and Eccup ; these were purchased 
 in 1852 by the Corporation. In 1856, they extended to the river Wharfe at 
 Arthington, and, when this supply became insufficient, the reservoirs at 
 Lindley Wood, Swinsty, and Fewston were constructed. The supply is now 
 one of the finest in the Kingdom. The next great improvement was the 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. ,e 
 
 sewerage scheme, which was commenced in 1852. In 1857, Vicar's Croft 
 was enclosed and covered in, at a cost of over ^14,000. The Cattle Market 
 was begun in 1853, and cost, in the first instance, ^5,200. On July 17th, 
 1853, the foundation stone of the Town Hall was laid, and the building was 
 opened by the Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert, on September 7th, 
 1858. The total cost was upwards of ^140,000. During the last forty 
 years wonderful improvements have been made in all directions. Sanitary, 
 building, and other bye-laws and regulations have been instituted. Miles 
 of new streets have been formed. Old streets have been widened and 
 obstructions removed. Public buildings of all kinds have sprung up. Trade 
 has flourished and the population has increased at an enormous rate, causing 
 the town to extend on every side, gradually absorbing the once remote 
 country districts. Some idea of this increase may be formed from the fact 
 that the population and rateable value of the Borough has more than doubled 
 in less that 50 years. 
 
THE PARISH CHURCH. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the existing Church of St. Peter is a modern building, 
 being erected during the present century, it stands upon a site 
 
 which has been occupied by successive churches from very early 
 times. Of the beginning we have very little information, but we may 
 assume that the first church in Leeds was a Saxon structure, in all 
 probability erected during the days of Paulinus, the Northumbrian Apostle. 
 Thoresby suggests that this original church was destroyed by the Danes 
 when they burned York Minster, and this suggestion is not improbable. 
 However, in " Domesday," we have certain evidence of a church being in 
 existence, though what the structure was like can only be a matter of 
 conjecture. It would probably be one of those rude Saxon edifices which 
 were rebuilt by the Normans during the great era of church building in 
 the twelfth century, when they adapted the old churches of the Saxons 
 to their own more extended ideas of propriety and magnificence. 
 
 The first mention of a priest of Leeds occurs in one of the Kirkstall 
 Charters as early as the reign of Stephen : it alludes to one " Ailsa, persona 
 de Leedes '' (i.e., parson of Leeds). Also in 1177 there is mentioned 
 " Paulinus, priest of Leeds." 
 
 In the year 1089, the advowson of the church was given by 
 Ralph Paynel, Lord of Leeds, to the Priory of Holy Trinity, at York, 
 which monastery he founded. The monks appear to have been able to 
 take care of themselves, for we learn that they appropriated two-thirds of 
 the tithes and altarage to their own use, leaving the remaining third for 
 the secular clergy. 
 
■■ ■., ,%S^^l!l:H.!i: III 
 
 r r tigs 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 37 
 
 When the Priory of Holy Trinity was dissolved, in 1538, the 
 advowson of St. Peter's was granted by Henry the Eighth to Thomas 
 Culpepper, by letters patent given at Westminster, on the 15th day of 
 October, 1538. This curious old document is still in existence, and 
 attached to it by a cord is the Seal of Henry the Elighth. From the time 
 of Culpepper, the advowson changed hands many times, until it was 
 ultimately purchased by a number of parishioners from one Oliver Darnelly, 
 of London, for the sum of ^130. The patronage was then vested in 
 five trustees. 
 
 The church which was pulled down in 1838, to make way for the 
 present structure, has been described by Thoresby and others as an ancient 
 fabric, chiefly in the Perpendicular style of architecture, but with sortie 
 traces of Norman and Early English work. It was built in the form of a 
 cross, with a somewhat plain, square, battlemented tower over the transept 
 crossing. The plan was chiefly remarkable for its two north aisles, an 
 unusual feature, which gave the church an extraordinary width. Originally, 
 th(; building seems to have consisted of nave, chancel, and transepts only, the 
 north aisle being added in the time of Henry the Eighth, and the south aisle 
 about the end of the fifteenth century. The south wall was pulled down and 
 rebuilt in 1 809, when many fragments of an older building were discovered, 
 amongst which was a stone coffin containing a complete skeleton, with 
 portions of two others placed in a contrary direction, and supposed to be 
 those of a woman and child. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 
 many alterations were made to the building. The side altars disappeared, 
 and the choir ceased to be used except for the celebration of Holy Com- 
 munion. The east window was blocked up with a heavy screen of Italian 
 design, on the inside, and a large ugly vestry outside. In 17(4 the organ 
 took possession of the chancel arch, the ugly and cumbersome oak galleries 
 began to make their appearance, darkening the interior and giving it a 
 gloomy and dismal aspect. The roof was painted in fresco by Parmentier, an 
 artist of some repute who lived in Thoresby's time, and who painted that 
 worthy's portrait. 
 
 Leeds was constituted a vicarage in 1242, the first vicar being Alanus 
 de Sherburn, who was appointed by the Prior of Holy Trinity. From 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 that time to the present day the church has been fortunate in having an 
 almost unbroken succession of illustrious preachers. One of the most 
 noted vicars before the days of the Reformation was Thomas Clarel, who 
 was appointed in 1430. He was an energetic worker, and introduced many 
 reforms and improvements during his vicariate. We are told that he 
 beautified his church in many ways, and decorated the chancel with pictures. 
 Clarel was buried in the church, and his grave was n'^arked by a memorial 
 brass, which has now been removed from its original position to the wall of 
 the church for better preservation. Another pre- Reformation vicar, who is 
 not mentioned in either Thoresby's or Whitaker's list, was John Thompson. 
 By his will, which is dated 1419, he bequeaths the sum of £^ 3s. 4d. for the 
 maintenance of the fabric of St. Peter's Church at Leeds. In later days there 
 are many names which have become famous, but there is perhaps none more 
 conspicuous than that of Walter Farquhar Hook, who was inducted to the 
 living on the 15th April, 1837. When Dr. Hook came to Leeds he found the 
 church in a bad way ; the building itself had fallen into 
 disrepair ; the attendance was meagre, and the state of affairs 
 generally was very unsatisfactory. Under Dr. Hook's zealous 
 ministry, however, improvements soon began to appear. He 
 won the confidence and respect of his parishioners through 
 his high moral character and powerful preaching. The con- 
 gregation increased rapidly, until the church was overcrowded, 
 and then, through his efforts, the present structure was raised.. 
 The old church was pulled down in March, 1838, 
 the service being transferred to St. John's. During the 
 demolition many interesting relics were found — sculptured 
 fragments, bases and caps of pillars, portions of former 
 structures, which had been used as wallstones or fillings, also 
 a quantity of stained glass of very early date, which had been 
 used as packing to the courses of the stonework. The most 
 interesting and important find was an old Runic cross, sup- 
 posed to have been a sepulchral monument erected 
 "~i in memory of King Onlaf, or Olaf the Dane, who 
 '"'" reigned in the north about 939, and whose Villa 
 
 Rnnic Cross in Parish Church. *» J^^' 
 
RELTCS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 39 
 
 Regia is said to have been at Osmundthorpe. The fragments of the cross 
 were found buried in the masonry of the fourteenth century tower, and 
 were fitted together by Mr. Chantrell, the architect of the building, who 
 claimed the relic under the terms of the contract. For many years this 
 interesting relic was lost sight of, but it was eventually discovered in 
 the possession of a grocer at Rottingdean, who had acquired it along with 
 other property of Chantrell's ; from him it was purchased by Dr. Gott for 
 the sum of ^25. It was then brought back and re-erected in its present 
 position. 
 
 Under the chancel was found the mutilated effigy 
 of a knight in chain mail, of the period of Edward II., 
 or thereabouts, supposed, from the armorial bearings 
 on the shield, to have belonged to the family of Stainton, 
 or Manston. 
 
 The present building was erected by voluntary 
 subscriptions, at a cost of ^29,770, ajid was opened 
 on Thursday, September 2nd, 1841, in the presence of 
 the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Ripon, Ross, 
 Argyll, and New Jersey, and a large concourse of clergy 
 and laity from all parts of the kingdom. The church 
 stands upon the old site as nearly as possible, a portion 
 of the old south wall being left standing and included 
 in the present structure. The plan is also similar in 
 general arrangement to the old church, the chief 
 difference being that the tower, instead of being 
 over the transept crossing, is placed at the extremity of the north transept. 
 The double north aisle is retained, but the portion east of the tower is 
 screened off and forms an ante-chapel. The principal entrance is through 
 the tower, the basement of which forms a porch. Over the rich canopied arch, 
 in the inner porch, is placed a full-sized statue of Saint Peter, the patron 
 saint, which formerly stood on the top of the old organ. Immediately 
 opposite the central doorway is the organ, which occupies the whole of the 
 south transept, but which is not visible, being placed behind a richly carved 
 oak screen. The nave and chancel arcades have pointed arches on clustered 
 
 Effigy of Knight. 
 
40 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 columns. The chancel, which is approached by seven steps, terminates with a 
 hexagonal apse. Over the altar, in the angles of the apse, are four figures 
 of the evangelists in canopied niches. The cover of the 14th century 
 piscina is on the south-east wall of the chancel, and is converted into a 
 monument to Thoresby, the antiquary. The tower contains a fine peal 
 of bells, thirteen in number. Altogether, there are three thousand sittings 
 in the church, and of these eighteen hundred are free. 
 
 One cf the most beneficial reforms during the present century was 
 the commutation of the tithes in 1823. This system of levying money for 
 church purposes had long been a nuisance to all concerned, and was quite 
 unsuitable in the altered state of the town. To give some idea of the 
 difficulties experienced in this system, the following brief description of the 
 tithes the vicar was entitled to exact, is quoted: — "The tithes or agistement 
 of herbage of turnips sown and eaten upon the ground by barren and 
 unprofitable cattle, and which, if sold, the tithes were to be paid by the 
 occupier of the ground after the rate of one-tenth of the money the turnips 
 were sold for— the agistement of barren and unprofitable cattle, and the tithe 
 of potatoes grown and gathered, and turnips pulled from the ground — the 
 payment of threepence yearly from each householder residing within the 
 bars of the town in respect of his dwelling-house, and one psnny annually 
 for an Easter offering — the payment of twopence annually in lieu of the tithes 
 of an ancient garden, and a customary payment of twopence annually in lieu 
 of tithes of an ancient orchard — the payment of a penny in respect of each 
 "plow" kept upon every tenement in the parish, and the payment of 
 twopence in lieu of tithes of each calf dropt, and of the milk of each cow, 
 and of one halfpenny in lieu of eggs of each duck, and twopence annually in 
 lieu of tithe of hen's eggs laid upon each tenement— an offering annually for 
 each person above the age of sixteen years resident in the family of each 
 householder in the parish — the tithe of rapeseed, common and other modern 
 gardens - the annual payment of six shillings in lieu of tithe milk whenever 
 a parishioner kept twelve cows, for six cows two shillings, for six calves dropt 
 in one tenement in one year six shillings, five calves one shilling and 
 fourpence, and four calves tenpence — the payment of twopence annually from 
 each householder residing within the bars, one penny for the tithe agistment 
 

 ST •Tfeijc/'l^oH^oiJ wi.. ifj# 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 41 
 
 of one dry and unprofitable cow, one penny in lieu of tithes of bees, except 
 where six swarms are had in one year, in which case one swarm is due, one 
 penny in lieu of tithes of eggs laid by each turkey, and sixpence in lieu of 
 each foal dropt within the parish. And the Vicar was also entitled to all 
 tithes, offerings, and other ecclesiastical dues within the parish, except the 
 tithes of corn, grain, and hay, and of the King's Mills." It was arranged 
 that these tithes should be commuted upon the payment of ^500 per annum 
 to the vicar, and a capital sum of ;^ 14,000 was raised for this purpose 
 by public subscription. 
 
 The first Leeds Vicarage was founded in 1453, when William Scott, 
 of Potternewton, granted for the use of the church a house and garden in 
 Kirkgate. Here the vicarage stood until 1823, when, at a public meeting of 
 the inhabitants, it was unanimously resolved that the vicarage house, with 
 the outbuildings, garden, and croft, including altogether about 9,758 square 
 yards of land, should be purchased for the purpose of widening the adjoining 
 streets and providing a new public market. 
 
 There were formerly several chantries in connection with the church, 
 but all traces of these have long ago disappeared. At the north-west corner 
 of Briggate stood the chantry of St. Mary Magdalen, founded by William 
 Evers, vicar of Leeds, a.d. 1370. Near the old north bar stood the chantry 
 of Our Lady. There was another chantry in Kirkgate, founded by Thomas 
 Clarel, vicar of Leeds, in 1430. There was also the chantry at the north 
 end of the bridge, and others at Holbeck, Farnley, and Whitkirk. 
 
^>= 
 
 mrnhM^mmM^Mm 
 
 
 Jl'l f'H" ((„I,H,.« .U 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. 
 
 THE Church of St. John the Evangelist, in New Briggate, is the oldest 
 ecclesiastical edifice of which Leeds can boast. Built in the time of 
 
 Charles I., when Gothic art was at its lowest ebb, it possesses none 
 of that grace and elegance of design which characterises some of the earlier 
 churches, though Thoresby, in his enthusiastic way, speaks of it as being 
 "so noble and stately a structure as scarcely to be paralleled in England." 
 The plan is somewhat unusual, consisting of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, 
 with a porch on the south side and a square tower at the west end, having 
 an embattled parapet and crocketted pinnacles. The nave and south aisle 
 are of the same size, and are divided by an arcade of seven pointed arches 
 on octagonal pillars. 
 
 The most interesting feature in the interior is the richly carved oak 
 screen which stretches across the entire width of the church, separating the 
 nave from the chancel (there being no chancel arch). This is a remarkably 
 fine example of Jacobean woodwork. The pulpit is in the corner, formed by 
 the junction of the screen with the north wall, it is of the most elaborate 
 execution, octagonal in shape, and has a ponderous sounding board. The 
 pews with which the church is fitted throughout are, like the pulpit and 
 screen, of oak, darkened by age, with carved panels and moulded terminals. 
 The roof is an open timbered one, the oaken tie beams being supported by 
 corbels formed of curiously carved figures. The ceiling is plastered, and 
 enriched by panels filled in with arabesque work. 
 
^.cl®b^5 
 
 Cb^J'cb 
 
 
REL/CS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 43 
 
 The general effect is formal and sombre, but impressive, and eminently 
 characteristic of the period when the building was erected. 
 
 In the Parish Church register there is a record of a baptism in 
 1579, as follows: — "John Harrysonn, of Paudmire, had a child christened, 
 i6th Aug., named John." To this entry the clerk has added: — "This 
 is that Mr. John Harrison, who of his sole cost and charges built the 
 New Church, with a little Chapel, and the almshouses near adjoining, and 
 the Free School of Leedes." 
 
 Harrison was a man of the middle class, and for nearly forty years 
 carried on the business of a clothier In Briggate, amassing a considerable 
 fortune, which he devoted to various charitable purposes. At that time, 
 with the exception of the chantry chapels — one In KIrkgate, one In 
 Lady Lane, and one at the top of Briggate, on the west side — the only 
 place of worship was the Parish Church, where the accommodation was 
 altogether insufficient for the numerous and rapidly increasing population. 
 As Fuller says, " The church could scarce hold half the inhabitants till 
 this worthy gentleman provided them with another, so that now the men 
 of Leeds may say, with Isaac ' Rehoboth,' for now the Lord hath made 
 room for us. He (Mr. Harrison) accepted of no assistance In the building 
 of that fair fabric but what he fully paid for, so that he may be owned 
 the sole founder thereof." 
 
 By a deed of settlement, dated September 14th, 1638, there is 
 vested in certain trustees, to the use of the minister for the time being, 
 a glebe of seventy-one acres, together with a house and garden, then 
 valued at ^11 per annum. The right of nomination Is vested In "the 
 vicar of the Vicarage of the Parish Church of Leeds, the mayor and 
 the three senior aldermen of the corporation for the time being, or any 
 three of them." 
 
 The building was begun In 1631, and was consecrated on September 
 2 1 St, 1634. The first minister was Robert Todd, who was suspended on 
 the very day he entered on his duties. The consecration ceremony was 
 performed by Archbishop Neale, who appointed his own chaplain, Dr. Cosen, 
 afterwards Bishop of Durham, to preach the sermon. Mr. Todd preached 
 in the afternoon, and by some unguarded remark, which was thought to 
 
44 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 reflect on the sermon preached by Dr. Cosen in the morning, gave so much 
 offence that he was suspended for one year. He was afterwards restored to 
 his station, which he occupied until 1662. 
 
 The original value of the benefice was ^80 per annum, but this 
 soon increased, and in 1768, Richard Fawcett, A.M., then incumbent, 
 filed a bill in chancery against the trustees for withholding from the 
 minister all the increased rents and profits above ^80, and obtained a decree 
 in his favour, so that the benefice was increased to about six times its 
 original value. 
 
 The hill, upon the edge of which the church is built, was formerly 
 known as the Town Cliff, and this, along with other properties, com- 
 prising Rockley Hall in Lowerhead Row, the group of houses and gardens 
 in the vicinity of what is now New Briggate and Upperhead Row, and 
 
 the fields beyond towards Sheep- 
 scar, were purchased by Mr. Harrison 
 from the Rockleys and Falkinghams, 
 to whom they originally belonged. 
 
 The hospital for sixty poor 
 widows was founded in 1653, and was 
 rebuilt in 1850. By an indenture dated 
 August 2 1 St, 1653, John Harrison, 
 Esq., conveyed to trustees therein 
 named certain estates for the endow- 
 ment of an hospital, consisting of 
 several messuages, erected in a yard 
 on the west side of St. John's Church, 
 and two other buildings south of the 
 yard, the undivided moiety of three 
 fulling mills and one redwood mill, 
 two acres of land adjoining with the 
 buildings thereon, and also several 
 houses and gardens in New Street. 
 
 John Harrison died October 
 29th, 1652, just eight years before the 
 
 Cottages, S. John's Court, 
 
 ■" T^il''^1?o^>V^ 
 
f£1<^^ "Ron'-Jy 
 
 ■CI ■» I » ' 'I 
 
 ■W-'WJ* L.^W«^— •^BPW^^ 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 45 
 
 Restoration, which the staunch old loyalist would have been so glad to 
 see. He was buried in his own orchard in Kirkgate, but was afterwards 
 removed to St. John's Church, where a monument of black marble was 
 erected to his memory. The inscription was composed by Dr. Lake, then 
 Vicar of Leeds, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, and runs as follows : — 
 " Here resteth the body of Mr. John Harrison, the wonder of his own, and 
 pattern of succeeding ages. Eminent for prudence, piety, loyalty, charity, 
 who (beside other works of a pious munificence, and many great instances 
 of an excellent vertue), founded an hospital for the relief of indigent persons 
 of good conversation, and formerly industrious. Built the free school of 
 this town for the encouragement of learning, together with a chappell ; 
 this church (which most may envie) for the exercise of religion, and endowed 
 it with eighty pounds per annum. Also that he might do good in all his 
 capacities, he erected a stately cross for convenience of the market, and 
 having given these pledges of a joyful resurrection fell asleep, Oct. 29th, 
 Anno. Dom. 1656. /Etatis suee 77." 
 
 The church was restored in 1867, under the care of Mr. Norman 
 Shaw, when the pulpit was removed from its original position and the 
 galleries were abolished. 
 
n■^^^;^^;^^;+■4:■l^;^^=^^;^^=|i^^H;+;+;^^;^•=^+;^^;+=^^:+=+i^^=■^^=+;^^=+;•^:+:■^■M•:+^T^T^ 
 
 h=+;+;H-i+;+:-h=+=+;+=+H-;+;+;+;-l-!ii+!+j-l-;+i4-i+;4^i-=+;+;+;+:+;+;.|-!+t+i+TTT^^ 
 
 THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 
 
 THE first Free Grammar School at Leeds was founded in 1552, 
 by Sir William Sheffield, priest, who, by his will, dated 6th of 
 March in that year, vested in Sir John Neville. Kt., and 
 sixteen others as co-feofees, certain copyhold lands situate near 
 Sheepscar Bridge " for finding sustentation and living for one honest, 
 substantial and learned man to be a schoole-maister, to teach and 
 instruct freely for ever all such young scholars, youths and children 
 as shall come and resorte to him from time to time to be taught, 
 instructed and informed in such a school-house as shall be founded, 
 erected and builded by the parishoners of the said town and parish 
 of Leeds ; upon condition that if the parishoners should not find a 
 school-house, and also purchase with the school-master for the time 
 being, a sufficient living of other lands together with his gift, to the 
 clear yearly value of ;^io for ever, within four years after his decease, 
 then the feofees should stand seized to the use of the poor inhabitants 
 of Leeds." The nomination, election, and appointment of the school- 
 master was to be in the hands of the feofees and their heirs for ever, 
 and power was given them to remove him for reasonable cause at their 
 discretion, "the best man's voice to take no more place than the honest 
 poorest man of them." In 1554 certain copyhold premises were 
 surrendered by Richard Bank — lessee of King's Mills— and his wife, 
 for the use and support of the school. In 1555 a further feoffment 
 
u^ 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 47 
 
 was made by Sir William Armistead, Canon of St. Paul's, London, with 
 this curious clause attached to it : — " The feofees should employ the profits 
 towards the finding of one priest, sufficiently learned to teach a free 
 Grammar School within the town of Leeds, for ever, for all such as 
 should repair thereto, without taking any money more or less, for teaching 
 ot the said children or scholars, saving of one penny of every scholar, to 
 mention his name in the master's book, if the scholar have a penny, 
 and if not, to enter and continue freely without any paying." In 1595 
 certain copyhold premises were surrendered by John Moore and others, 
 for the use of the school ; and Christopher Hopton and others also 
 granted a close, denominated the Calls, containing three acres, for the 
 same purpose. 
 
 The first edifice used as a school, under the terms of Sir William 
 Sheffield's will, was an inconvenient structure on the site which was 
 occupied later by the pinfold. In 1558 the "New Chapel" was purchased 
 of Queen Elizabeth and converted into a Grammar School, which purpose 
 it served until 1624, when a new school was erected in North Street by 
 John Harrison. The following reference to this benefaction is contained 
 in his will: — "Whereas I have of my own charge, and upon my own 
 land, erected and builded one new house, now used and employed for a 
 Grammar School, and walled the yard thereunto belonging with a stone 
 wall, as the same abutteth upon the land of Henry Royds, upon the 
 north and upon my own lands, the south, east, and west — my mind and 
 will is that the same shall be for a master and ushers to teach scholars 
 for ever, and for that end and purpose I do give the said house, garth 
 and wall, &c." 
 
 This building was a long, one-story structure of stone, containing 
 one large schoolroom and a porch. Over the door was the following 
 inscription : — " Free Grammar School for teaching the learned languages, 
 founded by William Sheffield, A.D. 1552. This school-house was built 
 at the expense of John Harrison, A.D. 1664, and enlarged by the 
 trustees A.D. 1822." 
 
 In 1692, a new wing was erected by Godfrey Lawson, Esq., 
 Mayor and Alderman of Leeds, to be used as a library. This 
 
48 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 addition was two stories high, with a battlemented parapet, and was 
 similar in style to the original building. Further extensions were made 
 by the trustees in 1822, and in 1856, when necessity again arose for 
 alterations, it was decided that the building- had become obsolete and, 
 in view of the altered state of its surroundings, unsuitable for the purpose 
 it had to serve. A meeting of the trustees was held to consider the 
 question of providing a new school, with the result that the present 
 edifice near Woodhouse Moor was erected, upon land belonging to the 
 Pious Uses Trust. The foundation stone was laid by the Bishop of 
 Ripon, on April 6th, 1858, and the opening ceremony took place on June 
 27th, 1859. 
 
 When the new school was opened, the old building, in North 
 Street, was sold to Messrs. Samuel Denison and Sons, and is now used 
 by them as a foundry. 
 

 
 THE WHITE AND COLOURED CLOTH HALLS. 
 
 T^'NTIL the beginning of the eighteenth century, the cloth market was 
 I J held in the open-air on the bridge at the foot of Briggate, but as the 
 
 trade prospered and the number of manufacturers and merchants 
 increased, it became an annoyance and an impediment to traffic and business 
 generally. A cloth hall was erected in Kirkgate, on the site of an ancient 
 hospital, in 1710, but this soon proved inadequate, and the two buildings 
 known as the " White " and " Coloured Cloth Halls " were erected. In these 
 halls the principal sales of cloth took place from the manufacturer to the 
 merchant. 
 
 The coloured or mixed Cloth Hall, at the junction of Park Row and 
 Wellington Street, was built by subscription in 1758. The building was in 
 the form of a quadrangle, 127 yards long and 66 yards broad. This quadrangle 
 was divided into six streets, each havingf rows of stands on either side. 
 The total number of stands was 1,800. In the year x8io, another story 
 was added on the north side, devoted chiefly to the sale of ladies' cloths. 
 
 The White Cloth Hall in the Calls was built in 1775 on a similar 
 plan, and of about the same extent as the Mixed Cloth Hall, the total 
 number of stands being 1,210. Over one end of this hall was the New 
 Assembly Room, which was opened on June 9th, 1777, "with a minuet by 
 Lady Effingham and Sir George Saville, Bart., when upwards of two hundred 
 and twenty of the nobility and gentry were present ; the appearance of the 
 ladies and gentlemen was more brilliant than ever remembered." 
 
50 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 The regulations In both cloth halls were very similar. The markets 
 were held on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and were opened by the ringing of a 
 bell. Immediately the bell rung, the manufacturers took their places at the 
 stands and the sales would commence. At the end of an hour the bell was 
 rung announcing the close of the market, and very soon the hall would be 
 entirely cleared of merchants, there being a penalty of five shillings for every 
 five minutes a merchant was found in the hall after the last bell had rung. 
 Thus transactions amounting to the extent of from twenty to forty thousand 
 pounds were completed in a little over an hour. 
 
 The White Cloth Hall was, on the construction of the North 
 Eastern Railway, removed to King Street, where a new building was 
 erected at a cost of ^20,000. and was opened on July 18th, 1868. This 
 building, which has not been used as a cloth hall for many years, was 
 sold by the trustees, in 1895, for ^40,000, and is shortly to be removed, 
 the site having been purchased by a company for the erection of a large 
 Commercial Hotel. 
 
 The Coloured Cloth Hall was sold to the Corporation in 1889 for 
 the sum of ;^66,ooo, and was soon afterwards demolished to make way 
 for the new Post Office and City Square. 
 
 The two Cloth Halls have seen some of the most important political 
 events that have occurred in the town during the last century, and many 
 exciting scenes have taken place within their walls in the old election 
 days, when political feeling ran high and extreme partisans invariably 
 allowed their bad blood to boil over. On one occasion, when a meeting 
 was held in the Mixed Cloth Hall for the purpose of electing two members 
 to represent the borough in Parliament, a most disgraceful scene took 
 place. The candidates were Thomas Babington Macauley, Esq., John 
 Marshall, jun., Esq., and Michael Thomas Sadler, Esq. A platform had 
 been erected in the open area, and, when Mr. Marshall came forward to speak, 
 a banner was hoisted by his opponents, with a picture representing a view of 
 Messrs. Marshall's mill, Holbeck, in a snow-storm, with a number of half- 
 dressed, half-starved children trudging miserably through the snow ; underneath 
 were the words : — " A scene in Water Lane at five o'clock in the morning." 
 As soon as Marshall's supporters saw this, they made a rush and obtained 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 51 
 
 possession of the offending banner, which they quickly destroyed — then 
 commenced a regular battle between the two parties, sticks, stones, and 
 all kinds of weapons were freely used, many people were thrown down or 
 trampled upon, and sustained serious injuries. Eventually, order was 
 obtained by a number of constables stationing themselves in a line between 
 the two parties. On another election occasion a similar disturbance 
 took place, when a number of extreme partisans clambered on to the roof 
 and commenced throwing slates upon their opponents below, who, of 
 course, were powerless to retaliate. After this, it was deemed safest for 
 these political meetings to be held in some more open place, and they 
 were afterwards held on Woodhouse Moor. 
 

 
 THE OLD INFIRMARY. 
 
 THE remains of the first Leeds Infirmary may still be seen in a 
 court, off Kirkgate, known as the Old Infirmary Yard. The 
 building looks, at the present day, about as unfit for such 
 a purpose as it is possible to imagine, being cramped up in a narrow, 
 dingy court ; but it would, no doubt, present a very different aspect 
 in the middle of last century, when the surrounding area was more 
 open. 
 
 The institution was first established in 1767. Subscriptions were 
 raised for the purpose, and the building in Kirkgate was rented, and 
 converted into a temporary Infirmary, until a more suitable and 
 permanent structure could be raised. In the following year, a piece of 
 land was obtained adjoining the Burial Ground, near the Coloured 
 
 -Cloth Hall, upon which a new Infirmary was erected and opened in 
 March, 177 1. The building was of brick, and was originally only two 
 stories high; an additional wing was added in 1782, and another in 
 1786, when the main portion of the building was raised to the same 
 elevation. When completed it contained 143 beds, and relief was given 
 to upwards of 2,000 in-, and 3,000 o«^-patients annually. In 18 17, 
 the supporters of the -institution purchased a quantity of land on the 
 south front of the building, in order to protect it from the too close 
 proximity of other buildings, and in the same year a further piece of 
 
 ^land, containing about 4,000 square yards, valued at ;^ 1,500, was 
 
i^iii'- . 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 53 
 
 presented by Richard Fountain Wilson, Esq., of Ingmanthorpe, thus 
 extending the boundary down to Wellington Road. This land was 
 tastefully laid out as a garden, or airing ground. In later days it was 
 frequently used for Public Fetes, Flower Shows, &c. 
 
 The present Infirmary, in Great George Street, was opened in 
 1868, by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. It was erected from designs 
 by Sir George Gilbert Scott, R.A., at a cost of ^"120,000. Since that 
 time it has been very much enlarged to meet the increased requirements. 
 
 Since the New Infirmary was opened, the old building has served 
 many purposes. For some years, prior to the erection of the Municipal 
 Buildings, it was the Public Library. In 1893, a large portion of it was 
 demolished to make room for the new premises of the Yorkshire Penny 
 Bank. The remainder is now let off, in sections, for various business 
 purposes. 
 

 
 THE RED HALL. 
 
 ONE of the most interesting relics of the domestic architecture of Old 
 Leeds is the Red Hall in Guildford Street. In its early days it was 
 no doubt the finest residence in the town, and occupied one of the 
 choicest sites. In those days it would be quite suburban, very few 
 buildings being in existence west of it, while southwards to Boar Lane 
 were fields and orchards. Barely sixty years ago it had poplar trees 
 growing in front of it, and a large garden behind- now King Charles' 
 Croft. The house was built in 1628 by John Metcalfe, under-bailiff of 
 Leeds — the same who plundered the " toll dish " and robbed the poor of 
 their revenues — and it is said to have derived its name from being the 
 first house built of brick in Leeds. 
 
 It was here that King Charles was lodged when passing through 
 Leeds on his march northwards to Newcastle, after surrendering himself 
 to the Scots in 1646. In connection with this event two interesting 
 episodes are related : — A mAid-servant of the house, named Crosby, 
 entreated the King to make his escape, offering to lend him her clothes 
 in which to disguise himself, and assuring him she would conduct him in 
 the dark out of the garden door, into a back alley called Lands Lane, 
 and thence to a friend's house, whence he might escape to France. The 
 King, however, declined the woman's offer, but with many thanks, and 
 gave her for a token " the garter," saying, that if it were never in his 
 power, on sight of that token, his son would reward her. After the 
 
-itt"aiii»i«i*ri»A^n 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 55 
 
 Restoration the woman presented the token to the King, and told him 
 the story. The King enquired from whence she came ? She said from 
 Leeds, in Yorkshire. Whether she had a husband ? She replied yes. 
 What was his calling ? She said an under-bailiff. Then, said the King, he 
 shall be chief bailiff in Yorkshire. The man afterwards built Crosby 
 House in Upperhead Row. 
 
 The other anecdote relates to John Harrison, who, it is said, obtained 
 permission to present to the King, during his stay at the Red Hall, a 
 tankard of excellent ale, but on the King opening the lid of the tankard 
 he found, instead of the expected beverage, that the vessel was filled 
 with gold, which he contrived to hide about his person. 
 
 The house has had other noted occupants besides Royalty. John 
 Wesley was a guest there when visiting Leeds. In Thoresby's time it 
 was the residence of Richard Thornton, the Recorder of Leeds. It is 
 now converted into offices, and occupied by Messrs. Newstead and 
 Wilson. 
 
OLD HOUSE, LOW ROAD, HUNSLET. 
 
 NEAR the bottom of Church Street, in Low Road, Hunslet, stands a fine 
 old house of the pre-Jacobean era, about the early history of which 
 
 very little is known. It is evidently of the same date as the Red Hall 
 in Guildford Street, and is very similar in appearance, being built of brick 
 with stone dressings. It has been suggested that it was the Holms Hall 
 which Thoresby mentions as having been purchased by Ralph Spencer,* 
 merchant, late in the 17th century, from the co-heirs of Mr. Child; but this 
 can hardly be correct, because Holms Hall was purchased by a Mr. John 
 Graves about the close of last century, while the building here illustrated 
 came into the possession of the Varleys, wireworkers, about 1740, and has, 
 from that date to recently, been occupied by successive members of the family 
 as a wireworks. The late occupiers — Messrs. Varley and Sedgwick — give 
 the date of the establishment of the firm as 1740. It was more probably 
 the seat of the Fletchers, whom Thoresby mentions as residing at Hunslet 
 upon an estate they had purchased from the Jacksons, or it may possibly 
 have been the residence of some of the Kitchenman family. 
 
 The present owner is E. H. Lamplugh, Esq., who has inherited the 
 property from the Varleys. 
 
 The house is now divided into two tenements, one portion being 
 rented as a lodging-house. 
 
 * Kalph Spencer was a member of the Corporation in 1666, from which he was ejected as a non-juror in 
 1673, and died in May, 1707. 
 
^^#^i*i 
 
 v>'.% "' 
 

CARR HALL, HUNSLET. 
 
 CARR HALL was probably first erected by some of the Fenton family, 
 who were early settled in this district. Thoresby mentions that 
 
 the first marriage of the ancient family of Legh, of Middleton 
 (of which they were Lords of the Manor), after coming to Yorkshire, 
 was with Clarier, daughter of Mr. Thomas Fenton, 1332. Of the same 
 family was Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Kt, Secretary of State, who died in 
 1608. His son, Wm. Fenton, served the office of Mayor of Leeds in 
 the two years immediately preceding the Restoration. The Hall and 
 its estates are said to have been acquired by Sir Edward Carey in the 
 time of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 At the beginning of the present century, the Hall was occupied 
 by a notable character — Mr. Armitage, the last of the old hand-spun and 
 hand-worked cloth manufacturers. He was very eccentric and p(;nurious, 
 but died very rich, leaving upwards of a million of money. He used, 
 himself, to go to London on horseback, to buy wool, the journey 
 generally occupying four days and three nights, if the roads were in 
 good condition. He then delivered out the wool, to be spun by hand, 
 in the surrounding district, had it woven in his tenants' houses, dyed 
 and finished on his own premises, and then he would, himself, attend the 
 various markets and dispose of it. 
 
 The house is now owned and occupied by a relative of a Mr. 
 Carter, who purchased it and the estates along with it, which included 
 
 H 
 
58 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 the Middleton Company's property, which property Mr. Carter after- 
 wards sold to Mr. Armitage, of Farnley Hall. 
 
 In the large mullioned window, shown in the illustration, there 
 is some fine old stained glass, including a coat of arms, but this has 
 probably been introduced from some other building, as the arms do not 
 appear to be those of any of the former owners. 
 
 T'^'^I^'p-'T"' 
 
 Oi.c> Co-r-r^sts . 
 

 
 OLD HOUSE IN SOUTH BROOK STREET. 
 
 AT the corner of South Brook Street and Hunslet Lane stands a fine old 
 house, built of red brick, which in its palmy days has been an 
 
 imposing structure, but times and surroundings have changed, and it 
 has outlived its day. It has been a house of considerable extent, but is now, 
 like most other houses of this class, divided into several tenements. 
 
 Eighty years ago South Brook Street and Hunslet New Road were 
 not in existence ; the house then had a large" garden in front, and on the east 
 side it was skirted by a footpath known as Grey Walk, which started at 
 Salem Chapel and ran from there almost parallel to the present Hunslet 
 New Road. 
 
 The house was probably erected by some of the Brook's family, at 
 any rate it was in their possession in the early part of last century. It was 
 the residence of Alderman John Brook, a merchant, who was Mayor of Leeds 
 in 1736. Other members of this family served the office of Mayor 
 in 1754, 1800, and 1814. Shortly after this date the family left Leeds and 
 went to live near Halifax. 
 
 This part of Leeds was an early settlement of the clothiers, and the 
 remains of several other good houses may be seen in the district. 
 
RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 6r 
 
 The old oak staircase still remains intact, and is a good example of the 
 woodwork of the period. 
 
 About twenty years ago, the late Mr. Atkinson Grimshaw, the well- 
 known artist, became the tenant, and here he found a congenial home 
 and a fruitful source of inspiration. Many fragments from his poetic 
 pencil can be recognised in the ivy-clad walls, mullioned and transomed 
 windows, and picturesque gables, covered with that rime of age which 
 he loved to depict. 
 
'^^'^-^mi'j.i 
 
 
 INGRAM'S HALL, OR HILL HOUSE, BANK. 
 
 HILLHOUSE Bank is described in 1785 as about half-a-mile from 
 Leeds and "an eligible situation for building upon, as the delightful 
 
 views from it are equal to, if not exceeding, any about Leeds." The 
 district has degenerated somewhat since that description was penned. It is 
 now one of the most congested and insanitary parts of the city, crowded 
 with squalid tenements redolent of poverty and decay. 
 
 The building known as Ingram's Hall, or Hill House, is situated at 
 the corner of Bow Street and Richmond Road. Whiiaker describes it as 
 "a fair large house and makes a good appearance." It is said to have been 
 built by one of the Ingrams of Templenewsam, but this is incorrect. It was 
 built by one William Ingheram, who was in no way related to the family at 
 Templenewsam. 'I he name of the Hillhouse family frequently occurs in 
 the Parish Church registers, but always spelt Ingheram, or Ignerham, and 
 never Ingram. 
 
BURLEY GROVE. 
 
 --^^ 
 
 THE house known as Burley Grove was built in the Georgian times, 
 and is interesting as a type of the suburban house of those days. 
 It was formerly occupied by the Birchall family, clothiers, but, in 1872, 
 
 it came into the possession of Mr. James Midgley, solicitor, by whom it 
 
 is occupied at the present time. 
 
 Although Burley is now a thickly populated residential district, and no 
 
 longer the " remote village " of a century ago, approached from Leeds by 
 
 a footpath across 
 the "Park Steele," 
 Burley Grove still 
 retains its rural 
 aspect, being shut 
 in from the outer 
 world by a high 
 wall, and sheltered 
 by the fine old trees 
 — elms, chestnuts, 
 mountain ash, and 
 acacia, by which it 
 is surrounded, and 
 which still flourish 
 in the charming old- 
 world garden. In 
 the centre of the 
 
 
 
 '-•■■'''^*^-"-\Hi. Ill" 
 
 
 .js:*' 
 
 
 
 
64 
 
 RELICS OF OLD LEEDS. 
 
 lawn stands the fast decaying remains of a fine old mulberry tree, one 
 of the few existing in these parts. When Lord Brougham visited Leeds 
 as the guest of Mr. John Botterill, then Mayor of the town, a dish of 
 mulberries from this tree was sent to him by Mr. Birchall. 
 
 During the last few years extensive building operations have been 
 carried on all around, and the house and gardens are now destined to 
 demolition, to make way for a proposed new street. 
 
;+:+;+:+H.;4;+:+;i;+;+;|i+;.M+;-|-;+!+;+!|;+;+:+;+:+;+;+:+;+:+:4;+:.|.:^ 
 
 I'M M M h.-IN + h.l'l l.k+:-l-:-l-; + - + 4'.l I- + +.|.' + ir.i.-l-. + Mi|.-t: + N 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Acts of Parliament relating to Leeds 
 
 24i 25, 31. 
 Advowson of Parish Church ... 9 
 Air, River, made usable 
 
 Albion Street 
 
 Anne, Erection of Statue of Queen 
 
 Area of Parish of Leeds 
 
 Armitage, Mr. ... 
 
 Assembly Rooms 
 
 Bailiff of Leeds 
 
 Baynes, Adam ... 
 
 Bean Ings 
 
 Bede, Mention of Leeds by 
 
 Boar Lane 
 
 Borough divided into Wards 
 
 Bradford... 
 
 Bridge of Leeds 
 
 Briggate 19, 
 
 Brook family 
 
 Bull and Mouth Hotel... 
 
 Burial Grounds ... 
 
 Burley 
 
 Burley Grove 
 
 Calls, The 
 
 Camp Road 
 
 Canker Well 
 
 Carr Hall, Hunslet 
 
 Cattle Market 
 
 Chantries.,. 
 Chapel of Holbeck 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 Chapel of St. Mary, on the Bridge 
 
 .. 10 
 
 32, 
 
 33 
 
 Charities, Inquisition as to public 
 
 II, 12 
 
 .^6, 
 
 37 
 
 Charles IL, King, Accession of 
 
 •• IS 
 
 
 IC 
 
 Charles, King, at Red Hall ... 
 
 54, 55 
 
 
 i8 
 
 Charter granted by Maurice Paynel 
 
 .. 9 
 
 
 20 
 
 Charter of Incorporation granted 2, 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Charles I 
 
 12 
 
 
 57 
 
 Charter of Incorporation granted 1 3, 
 
 
 27' 
 
 49 
 
 Charles II. 
 
 .. 16 
 
 II, 
 
 12 
 
 Charter of Incorporation granted 36, 
 
 
 .. 
 
 60 
 
 Charles II 
 
 .. i6 
 
 .. 
 
 28 
 
 Charter of 1661 restored 
 
 .. 16 
 
 .. 
 
 8 
 
 Church in Leeds, First erection of a 
 
 ... 36 
 
 18, 
 
 3' 
 
 Civil wars 
 
 • 13 
 
 
 33 
 
 Cloth Halls, White and Coloured 
 
 49-51 
 
 
 II 
 
 Coaching days 
 
 25-27 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 Commercial Street 
 
 ... 30 
 
 20 
 
 32 
 
 Corporation, Members of first ... 
 
 12, 13 
 
 
 59 
 
 Court House 
 
 ... 31 
 
 .. 
 
 25 
 
 Dewsbury 
 
 ... II 
 
 .. 
 
 34 
 
 De Laci, Henry 
 
 ... 9 
 
 
 18 
 
 Domesday book 
 
 ... 9 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 Ducatus Leodiensis 
 
 ... 19 
 
 , . 
 
 18 
 
 Duncan Inn 
 
 .. 29 
 
 
 3° 
 
 Earliest mention of Leeds by Bede 
 
 ... 8 
 
 
 29 
 
 Early history of Leeds 
 
 ... 7-17 
 
 
 57 
 
 Effigy of knight, in Parish Church 
 
 ••• 39 
 
 
 35 
 
 Eighteenth century Leeds 
 
 18-27 
 
 
 41 
 
 Election disturbances 
 
 50' 51 
 
 .. 
 
 9 
 
 Eyebright Well 
 
 ... 29 
 
66 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 Fairfax, Sir Thomas 
 
 ■• 13 
 
 Nineteenth century Leeds 
 
 28-35 
 
 Fenton family - 
 
 •• 57 
 
 Norman Conquest 
 
 9 
 
 George II , Accession of King 
 
 2£ 
 
 North Hall 
 
 ■ • 29 
 
 Golden Lion Hotel 
 
 •■ 25 
 
 Pack Horse 
 
 
 3°. 31 
 
 Gorst, Thos., appointed Cook to the 
 
 
 Parish Church .. 
 
 '7 
 
 ' 36-41 
 
 Corporation 
 
 .. 17 
 
 Park House 
 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Grammar School 
 
 46-48 
 
 Park Lane 
 
 
 
 .. 18 
 
 Green Dragon Hotel 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Park Square 
 
 
 .. 28 
 
 Greyhound Inn 
 
 ■• 34 
 
 Paynel, Ralph .. 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Griffin Hotel 
 
 ■• 31 
 
 Plague, Great .. 
 
 •• 15 
 
 Grimshaw, Atkinson 
 
 .. 61 
 
 Police instituted 
 
 •• 32 
 
 Halifax 
 
 II 
 
 Pontefract 
 
 10, II 
 
 Harrison, John 43-45> 
 
 47>5S 
 
 Poor House 
 
 •• 34 
 
 Hearth tax repealed 
 
 .. 16 
 
 Population of Leeds ... 7, 8, 10, 
 
 28,35 
 
 Hill House, Bank 
 
 .. 62 
 
 Praetor, Duties of 
 
 .. 9 
 
 Holms Hall 
 
 .. 56 
 
 Prison, New 
 
 •• 34 
 
 Holy Trinity Priory 
 
 36, 37 
 
 Public festivals 
 
 22, 23 
 
 Hook, Dr, Vicar of Leeds 
 
 .. 38 
 
 Railways, Introduction of 
 
 •• 34 
 
 Hospital, Harrison 
 
 .. 44 
 
 Rebellion of 1745 
 
 •• 23 
 
 House of Recovery 
 
 •• 34 
 
 Red Bear Hotel 
 
 •■ 25 
 
 Huddcrsfield 
 
 II 
 
 Red Hall 18, 
 
 54,55 
 
 llbert de I^-ici 
 
 .. 9 
 
 Revision of lists of burgesses . . . 
 
 •• 33 
 
 Industrial Schools 
 
 •• 34 
 
 Riots 
 
 23. 24 
 
 Infirmary 
 
 52, 53 
 
 Ripon , 
 
 II 
 
 Ingram's Hall 
 
 .. 62 
 
 Roman remains 
 
 8 
 
 King's Arms Hotel 
 
 •• 25 
 
 Roman stations 
 
 8 
 
 Knowesthorpe Old Hall 
 
 60, 61 
 
 Rose and Crown Hotel 
 
 •• 25 
 
 Leeds constitued a vicarage ... 
 
 ■• 37 
 
 Royal Commission to enquire into 
 
 
 Leland, Mention of Leeds by... 
 
 11 
 
 government of town 
 
 .. 10 
 
 Leylands 
 
 18, 30 
 
 Runic Cross in Parish Church 
 
 ,. 38 
 
 Low Road, Ilunslet, Old House in 
 
 .. 56 
 
 St. James' Street 
 
 •■ 29 
 
 Lowther, Lady 
 
 .. 19 
 
 St. John's Church 
 
 42-45 
 
 Map of Leeds in 1720 
 
 .. 18 
 
 St. Paul's Church 
 
 .. 27 
 
 Map of Leeds in 1815 
 
 . 28 
 
 St Peter's Well 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Metcalf, John 
 
 12, 54 
 
 Sheffield, Sir William 
 
 46, 47 
 
 Moot Hall u, 
 
 20, 32 
 
 Shipscar 
 
 •• 30 
 
 Music Hall, Albion Street 
 
 .. 27 
 
 Siege of Leeds 
 
 I.3-I5 
 
 Municipal Corporations Act ... 
 
 32. 33 
 
 Slippin Yard 
 
 •• 31 
 
 New Chapel 
 
 ■• 47 
 
 South Brook Street, Old house in 
 
 •• 59 
 
 New Inn 
 
 •• 25 
 
 Spring Gardens .. 
 
 
 
 .. 29 
 
INDEX. 
 
 67 
 
 Page. 
 
 Stables family ... ... ... ... 60 
 
 Stage coaches ... ... ... 25-27 
 
 Stocks, Thomas ... ... ... ... 21 
 
 Subsidies paid on Cloth ... 11-13 
 
 Theatre Royal, Hunslet Lane... ... 27 
 
 Thoresby, Monument to ... ... 40 
 
 Thoresby's Ducatos Leodiensis ... 19 
 
 Thornton, Richard ... ... ... 55 
 
 Tithes, Commutation of ... 40, 41 
 
 Toll dish ... ... ... ... 12 
 
 Town Hall ... 29-35 
 
 Travelling in the eighteenth century 25 27 
 
 Trinity Church built ... .. 22, 23 
 
 Ulnager's accounts 
 
 Value of articles, fixed in King's writ 
 
 Varley family 
 
 Vicarage, Leeds constituted a .. 
 
 Vicar's Croft and Vicarage house 
 
 Wade, Marshal 
 
 Wade Hall 
 
 Watch Rate 
 
 Water supply 
 
 Wesley, John 
 
 White Horse Hotel 
 
 William and Mary, Accession of 
 
 35 
 
 Page 
 II 
 II 
 56 
 
 37 
 41 
 •■ 23 
 •• 23 
 •• 32 
 25-34 
 23. 55 
 .. 26 
 .. 16 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 No. of 
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 No. of 
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 Edinburgh Public Library .. 
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70 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 No. of 
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 E. M. Ingham, Green Hill House, 
 
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 Leeds Public Library 
 
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 VVhitkirk 
 
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