A Brief Exploration of Bennetthorpe

 

The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry memorial

On the Saturday after my day out to Leeds on November 13th 2024, to get out as much as I could before the winter weather set in, I decided to go to Doncaster – when the Doncaster History Fair was being held at the DANUM Gallery, Library and Museum.

 

The worksheet for my day out to Doncaster

 

As always, I had prepared a British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, where there were 7 listed buildings in Bennetthorpe, Lakeside and Hyde Park that did not yet have a photo and 15 Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones in Hyde Park Cemetery, which have regimental crests that I had not seen before.

 

The Bennetthorpe Conservation Area

 

Having travelled by bus from Doncaster Interchange, I alighted at the Bennetthorpe/Roman Road stop, which is at the centre of the Bennetthorpe Conservation Area, which has several buildings that date back to 1800-1850, which reflect the extension of Doncaster south-east along the Great North Road from Hall Gate and South Parade.

 

Bennetthorpe war memorial

 

Crossing over to the opposite side of the road, I took a few photographs of Bennetthorpe war memorial (1923) by Ernest Prestwich of Leigh, which the comprehensive Historic England (HE) description states is built using Stancliffe Darley Dale stone – a medium grained gritstone from the Corbar Grit (Ashover Grit) in Derbyshire.

 

The statue

Three of the four relief plaques to the pedestal depict the armed forces, with HE describing the west face as depicting “Britannia and various ships, said to be Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, Nelson's Victory, a contemporary battle cruiser and a merchant ship”.

 

A relief plaque depicting Britannia and various ships

 

Entering Elmfield Park, which I had not previously known about, I was very interested to discover the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry memorial (KOYLI), which was unveiled on 1st August 2018. The bronze sculpture stands on a plinth made of uniformly buff coloured medium grained sandstone, but I did not look at this closely.

 

The bronze sculpture at the KOYLI memorial

 

Leaving the park, I headed south-east along Bennetthorpe and very soon stopped to take a few photographs of Rockingham House (c.1923), a former hotel that was built on the site of the Rockingham Arms - a coaching inn established in the C18 – but which has since been converted into apartments to let.

 

Rockingham House

 

Although not a listed building, its simple Neoclassical design is embellished with a balcony above the central entrance, which has large scrolled corbels and windows with foliate decoration to the hood moulds and keystones carved with lion heads.

 

A keystone carved with a lion's head

 

The building stone used here is Ancaster limestone, an oolite from the Jurassic Lincolnshire Limestone Formation that exhibits very distinct ripple marks and, quite unusually, slight pink colouration. Except where used for the C19 restoration of churches built with dolomitic limestone from the Cadeby Formation, the only place that I can recall seeing this stone used as ashlar in Doncaster is at St. James’s church.

 

Ripple marks in Ancaster limestone

 

A little further along the road, on the opposite side, is the Earl of Doncaster Hotel (1938), which was originally the Earl of Doncaster Arms (1816) but, according to the Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA) was rebuilt in the Art Deco style by the Barnsley Brewery Company.

 

The Earl of Doncaster Hotel

Looking at it from a distance, I assumed that it is built with brick and Portland stone but the CAA states that the white material is actually render, which has presumably been painted. Like most Art Deco buildings, it has not been considered worthy of listed status, but it nonetheless has some fine architectural details typical of the style – especially the front railings and the entrance.

 

The entrance to the Earl of Doncaster Hotel

At the east end of the conservation area, I encountered the first three buildings on my Photo Challenge, a row of Grade II listed early C19 semi-detached houses comprising Nos. 44-46, 48-50 and 52-54 Bennetthorpe, but are of very little interest to this Language of Stone Blog. 

 

Nos. 44 to 54 Bennetthorpe

East Street to The Calls in Leeds

 

A keystone on The Chandlers in The Calls

For the last stage of my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge in Leeds, from East Street Mills I carried on along East Street and got my first view of the Grade I listed St. Saviour’s church (1842-45) by John Macduff Derick, although this building was not on my list to photograph. 

 

St. Saviour's church

 

Further along East Street is the former St. Saviour’s School (1839-1840), by R.D. Chantrell for the vicar of Leeds, Dean Hook. It is built in what looks like the coarse grained Rough Rock and has been subsequently used as light industrial premises and later converted into apartments. 

 

The former St. Saviour's School

Walking up to Everly Road, the Grade II listed boundary wall, gate piers and railings to St. Saviour’s church were next on my Photo Challenge and their main interest lies in the fact that the walling is built with plane bedded sandstone, which is probably from the Elland Flags, with coarse grained Rough Rock used for the coping stones. 

 

The boundary wall, gates and railings at St. Saviour's church

I took a couple of photos of the former vicarage to St. Saviour’s church (c.1845), which again was not part of my Photo Challenge and, based on the block size and the general appearance this appears to be also built with the Rough Rock, although I didn’t closely inspect it. 

 

The former vicarage at St. Saviour's church

Entering the churchyard, I just took a couple of general photographs of the church but I didn’t see many features of interest. I took more note of the very coarse grained nature of the Rough Rock used to build the church, with quartz pebbles the size of a fingernail. 

 

Rough Rock used for walling at St. Saviour's church

Continuing along Ellerby Road, I just took a couple of photos of Mount St. Mary’s High School from a distance and then went to try and find a way to get a view of the Grade II* listed St. Mary’s Convent Church and the nearby presbytery. 

 

Mount St. Mary's High School

On Church Road, I found a set of steep steps leading to the back of the school, where I could see that demolition works were taking place, which I presumed to be of the church and presbytery, although the current edition of Google Map seems to show that they are still standing. On my way back down the steps, I noted that the retaining walls to the steps and on Church Road are built with yellowish, plane bedded Elland Flags sandstone. 

 

Elland Flags sandstone boundary walling to the steps on Church Road

Walking down Richmond Street, I crossed over several busy main roads until I reached The Calls, where I stopped to take a few photos of The Chandlers (1876), a former brick built mill that was built for William Turton, who was Chairman of both the Bradford Tramway and Omnibus Company, and the Leeds Tramway Company. 

 

The carriage arch at The Chandlers

The Historic England Historical Note describes the building as being a store for horse feed at a time when horses were vital to the businesses which had to transport goods to and from the railway termini, which probably explains the carving of a horse’s head on the keystone of the carriage arch - another example of the use of the Rough Rock. 

 

A blue plaque at The Chandlers

 

Before continuing along Call Lane, I stopped to have a quick look at the road setts and kerbs, which include Shap granite, pink and grey granites that lack the large rectangular phenocrysts, and a very finely grained dark green igneous rock that is generically named whinstone. 

 

Road setts and kerb stones on The Calls

Passing Leeds Minster, I just took a couple of photos of its south elevation, without going to have another look the very coarse grained and pebbly Rough Rock, and quickly made my way to Kirkgate Market – where I gave myself a birthday treat at Khao Gaeng Thai.

 

Kirkgate Market

Black Bull St. to Neptune St. in Leeds

 

A detail of the terracotta at the entrance to TF and JH Braime Ltd

Leaving Crown Point Road, I continued my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge by walking up Black Bull Street, where I caught a glimpse of Leeds Dock beneath one of the large apartment blocks that have been thrown up in this part of Leeds in recent years.

 

A view of Leeds Dock from Black Bull street

 

The Alf Cooke Printing works, by Thomas Ambler, was the next building on my list, which was originally built in 1881 and then partially rebuilt in 1894 after a fire. During my previous visit to Leeds, I had encountered his work at Nos. 1-13 Boar Lane (1872), where he was responsible for many building on this street, and also Westminster Hall and St. James’s Hall (1887).

 

The west end of the Alf Cooke Printing Works

Alf Cooke established his printing business in 1872, producing cheap prints of art works for the mass market, and the works is built with brick, terracotta and stone dressings, with a 30 bay frontage to Hunslet Road and a splayed corner bay with a clock tower, which was added in 1894.

 

The Hunslet Road elevation of the Alf Cooke Printing Works

According to the book Building a Great City - Leeds Architects and Architecture 1790-1914, the New Crown Point Works were claimed to be the ‘largest, cleanest, healthiest and most completely fitted printing works in the world’ and it now houses the Printworks Campus at Leeds City College.

 

A detail of the entrance to the Alf Cooke Printing Works

 

Continuing down Hunslet Road, the 1893 Ordnance Survey map shows that the area was dominated by heavy industry, which included a locomotive works, foundries, a nail works, engineering works and various mills, with back to back houses accommodating their workers. These have now been replaced by modern industrial units, with services and retail outlets occupying much of the space and there is very little of interest to see.

 

Hunslet on the 1893 OS map

Next on my Photo Challenge was the factory of Braime Pressed Steel Works (1911-13), which was formed back in 1881 by Thomas Braime and became widely known for the production of its oil cans in a small workshop in Hunslet, but subsequently occupied the current building and now has many subsidiary companies overseas.

 

The Braime Pressed Steel Works

 

The architect is not known, but the red brick buildings continued to be extended with other alterations and, although of a generally utilitarian design, the terracotta details around the main entrance are ornate and described by Historic England as having ‘flanking columns bearing raised floral motifs, supporting an open segmental pediment above cartouche and cornucopias’.

 

The entrance to the Braime Pressed Steel Works

I retraced my steps down Hunslet Road and continued along Sayner Road and cut through Leeds Dock to have a quick look at the Royal Armouries, which I had visited a few time before but I always like to take a photograph the Hall of Steel.

 

The Hall of Steel at the Royal Armouries

 

After taking a few photos of the River Aire and the various industrial buildings on the north bank, I went down to Knight’s Way Bridge and crossed over to Neptune Street to find the next few listed buildings on my Photo Challenge.

 

The machine shop and office on Neptune Street

 

The first of these was the early C19 machine shop and office, which are of no great interest and behind this on Neptune Street is the four storey dyeworks and attached workshop and warehouse, which is of a similar date. Walking back along Neptune Street, the cast iron bollard is of no interest to this Language of Stone Blog and I continued to East Street.

 

The dyeworks on Neptune Street

 

East Street Mills (c.1825) is a large brick built complex of buildings that was originally used for making flax, but is has been converted into residential use. Apart from its original chimney, it doesn’t possess any particularly interesting features, but it provides another example of the very varied industrial heritage of Leeds.

 

Views of East Street Mills

Neville St. to Crown Point Road in Leeds

 

A blue plaque at The Tetley

My brief visit to Old Edlington on 17th October 2024, mainly to look at the dark red sandstone used in St. Peter’s church, proved to be my last day out for very nearly four weeks, with my next trip being another British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge in Leeds on 13th November – when I would celebrate my 64th birthday by having a meal at Khao Gaeng Thai in Kirkgate Market. 

 

My British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge

When planning my route using Google Map and Street View, I soon realised that the old industrial areas around Hunslet, Leeds Dock and on the east bank of the River Aire - to the south-east of the city centre - have been radically changed by the building of the ring road and slum clearance in the second half of the C20 and recently with massive apartment blocks. 

 

The area around Hunslet on the 1893 OS map

As with my previous trips to Leeds in August and October, I was also very aware that I would not see many buildings that would be of great interest to readers of this Language of Stone Blog, in its strictest sense, but nonetheless I hope that my description of this day out on the buses and trains appeals to everyone who has an interest in historic architecture. 

 

The area around Hunslet on Google Map

 

Leaving Leeds railway station by the exit that leads to Granary Wharf, I crossed Unity Bridge and on Neville Street, I immediately stopped outside the offices of the Direct Line Group, where there are large slabs of volcanic green slate from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group in Cumbria and purple Welsh slate, which contain thin beds of green volcanic ash. 

 

Slabs of volcanic green slate and purple Welsh slate

 

Continuing to Victoria Bridge (1837-39), I got my first sight of the very coarse grained and pebbly Rough Rock, which may be from the Bramley Fall quarry that was set near to the south bank of the River Aire just upstream from Kirkstall Abbey, which is built with this stone. 

 

Rough Rock used at Victoria Bridge

 

From the bridge, I had a view of the Grade II* listed former Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company warehouse (c.1776), where the main block was designed by the company engineer Robert Owen with Rough Rock again being used for this building and for the retaining walls of the locks. 

 

The former Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company warehouse

 

Taking the path on the south bank of the river, I headed east until I came to Victoria Mills (1836 and 1847) on the opposite bank which, along with the buildings mentioned above, was not part of my Photo Challenge. The 1893 Ordnance Survey (OS) map describes it as Victoria Ware Mills (dry saltery) and the Historic England (HE) description refers to dye and linseed oil. 

 

Victoria Mills

 

A little further down the path next to the car park for ASDA House, a section of a wall with a arched doorway has very surprisingly been retained during the redevelopment of the south bank of the river. Looking at the side by side view of the 1893 OS map, this would seem to relate to the Sunday School that was sited next door to the Methodist church. 

 

A section of wall with a doorway

 

Walking along Salem Place, the former Salem Unity Reformed Church (1794) is another example of the use of Rough Rock and, together with the attached Sunday school, has survived the wholesale redevelopment of an area that had been dominated by the Tetley Brewery since 1822, when Joshua Tetley acquired the brewery that William Sykes had operated since 1792. 

 

The former Salem Unity Reformed Church

 

The brewery was demolished in 2012, with only the Art Deco office building (1931) left standing, which was converted into The Tetley contemporary art gallery in 2013, but this has since closed and the building, which is still named The Tetley, is owned by Kirkstall Brewery. 

The former offices of the Tetley Brewery

Although not a listed building, it retains many of its original Art Deco features that were designed by the architects Kirk and Tomlinson, including the ornate wrought iron lift shaft, but on this occasion I just took photos of the exterior and the foundation stones at the main entrance. 

 

A foundation stone 

 

The Tetley is at the centre of yet another very large modern development in Leeds, Aire Park, which is a 10 hectare site that has a large green space at its centre, but will be dominated by vast blocks of soulless apartments and offices, some of which will include retail units. 

 

A view of Aire Park

 

Taking a couple of photographs of the equally uninspiring landscaping, which includes large rough blocks of sandstone and gabions, I continued to Crown Point Road, where the Grade II listed boundary walls and gates to Chadwick Lodge were part of my Photo Challenge.

 

The boundary wall and gates at Chadwick Lodge

 

I didn’t inspect the stone but, looking at my photos, the plane bedding and yellowish colour of the sandstone suggests that it is from the Elland Flags, which was obtained from several quarries on the north side of Leeds, but it looks like Rough Rock has been used for Chadwick Lodge.

 

Chadwick Lodge