An Exploration of Headingley Hill - Part 1

 

Hilton Court

Returning to Headingley Lane from Ford House, during an exploration of the area between St. Michael’s Road and Headingley Lane, which involved a diversion to take a quick look at the very late Victorian villas on Shire Oak Road, I had by now reached the halfway point in my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge that comprised 99 buildings - although a few of these were in large private grounds and inaccessible. 

 

Listed buildings in Headingley Hill

 

Now in the Headingley Hill area of Leeds, where much of the land had been purchased in 1827 by the woollen merchant and property speculator George Bischoff, the large villas here are mainly set around four parallel roads – North Grange Road, North Hill Road, Cumberland Road and Grosvenor Road – that end as cul-de-sacs at Woodhouse Ridge. 

 

The Headingley Hill & Hyde Park & Woodhouse Moor Conservation Area

When undertaking preliminary research to prepare for my day out to Headingley, I used Google Street View to identify the houses that were on my Photo Challenge. I discovered that the houses were set in large plots and were set back from the road and mature trees and other vegetation obscured very many of these. 

 

An aerial view of Headingley Hill

According to the Conservation Area Appraisal, between 1829 and 1846, 9 houses had been built on the 13 plots that had George Bischoff had acquired, which are shown on the 1851 Ordnance Survey (OS) map along with others on the south side of Headingley Lane. 

 

Headingley Hill on the 1851 OS map

 

Starting on North Grange Road, I came across the first of 14 ‘listed buildings’ at Headingley Hill that are actually gate piers or garden walls, which are built with coarse grained gritstone from the Rough Rock for the former and mainly Elland Flags sandstone for the latter and do not merit specific mention in this post. 

 

North Grange

 

The original early C19 house at North Grange is built with gritstone ashlar but, as expected, I could only see part of its east elevation and a view along the rear elevation of the later C19 additions, which are built with the distinctive yellow Elland Flags that is also used for the unlisted Coach House (No. 53) immediately to the north. 

 

The Coach House

 

Virginia House is of approximately the same date and is described by Historic England (HE) as having the main faces built with ashlar, but I could only get a glimpse of the rear elevation, which is built with yellow Elland Flags sandstone, when photographing the Grade II listed pump. 

 

The pump at the rear of Virginia House

Returning to Headingley Lane, Highfield House (c.1830) is largely obscured by trees and bushes but I could see that there is the same pattern of building stone for the main and rear elevations. HE notes that this was one of George Bischoff’s speculative houses, following his acquisition of 10 ha of land in 1827, and that it was purchased by Samuel Glover, a Leeds druggist. 

 

Highfield House

On the opposite of the drive that provides access to the servant’s quarters, Nos. 50-52 Headingley Lane is a pair of mid C19 semi-detached villas which, from my photos of the west and elevations, I can see that massive yellowish sandstone from the Elland Flags has been used for the ashlar masonry and not gritstone. 

 

Nos. 50 and 52 Headingley Lane

 

Holmfield (1835) on North Hill Road is a substantial house built speculatively in the Tudor Revival style by J. Calvert, a Leeds dyer. Seen from a distance, the large size of the masonry blocks, tooled finish and severe blackening suggest that it is built with coarse grained gritstone. 

 

Holmfield

 

Continuing up North Hill Road, past the brick built Lincolme (1898) by Francis Bedford and Sydney Kitson, who also designed Red Hill on Shire Oak Road, No. 17 is another large mid C19 house in the Tudor Revival style, built in gritstone with an embattled parapet. 

 

No. 17 North Hill Road

Retracing my steps, the late C19 coach house to the north of Devonshire Hall is Grade II listed for its group value. From a distance, I could see that gritstone is used for the rock-faced walling and the dressings and part of the Welsh slate roof has a fish scale design. 

 

The coach house on North Hill Road

 

At the south end of North Hill Road, Hilton Court (c.1840) is built with large blocks of gritstone ashlar, which shows well developed large scale cross-bedding, with fluted Ionic columns to the entrance on the south elevation. 

Hilton Court

 

Ashwood (c.1836) was the last of the late Georgian to early Victorian houses that I encountered at Headingley Hill, but I could only get a glimpse of the Perpendicular Gothic style tracery from Headingley Lane. HE state that this was probably built for the wool stapler Joseph Austin by the architect of Headingley Castle, John Child, who speculated as a house builder around Headingley.

 

Ashwood