The Meanwood Beck is a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which flows southwards through Adel,

Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back t ...

and

Sheepscar Sheepscar is an inner city district of Leeds in West Yorkshire England, lying to the north east of Leeds city centre. The district is in the City of Leeds Metropolitan Council. It is overlooked by the tower blocks of Little London and Lovel ...

into the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...

in central

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Carr Beck, Lady Beck, Mabgate Beck, Sheepscar Beck, Timble Beck or Wortley Beck.

Leeds Mercury The ''Leeds Mercury'' was a newspaper published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was published from 1718 to 1755 and again from 1767. Initially it consisted of 12 pages and cost three halfpennies. In 1794 it had a circulation of about 3,00 ...

19 February 1866 p4 "The Leeds Improvement of Becks Bill" The Meanwood Valley Trail footpath follows the line of the beck for much of its course. The ultimate source of the water is Otley Chevin and the Marsh Beck feeds into what is now the Wildfowl Lake (formerly the Black Hill Dam)Golden Acre Park - A brief History
/ref> in

Golden Acre Park Golden Acre Park is a public park in Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (), administered by Leeds City Council. It is on the A660 Otley Road and covers an area of .Leeds City Council ''Golden Acre Park Guide and Map'' (undated) History T ...

.Leodis
Cross Stamford Street, Sheepscar Beck According to

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

, it is called Adel Beck from the outflow of the lake down to the A6120 Ring Road, then beyond this is the Meanwood Beck.Ordnance Survey (1996) ''Street Atlas of West Yorkshire'' John Cossins' 1775 plan of Leeds shows Sheepscar Beck as essentially the East limits of the town at the time, Adel being some distance away and Meanwood still a wood.Brian Godward (2004) The Changing Face of Leeds (Sutton Publishing, Stroud) It became the Lady Beck from Quarry Hill to the River Aire. It is of historical importance because it deposited silt into the River Aire. Along with the Hol BeckLeodis
Hol Beck doing the same from the South-West nearby it led to a fording place and a small community which eventually grew into the town of Leeds.W. R. Mitchell (2000) ''A History of Leeds'' Phillimore, West Sussex, The beck was previously a source of water for the village of

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

and two of its earliest bridges led straight to it. The beck carries a much reduced volume of water over recent years as water is collected instead into the many drains in the centre of one of Britain's largest cities. Meanwood Beck runs through Meanwood Park and

Woodhouse Ridge Woodhouse Ridge is a strip of woodland on the South West hillside of the Meanwood valley in urban area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Locally known as 'The Ridge', the area is notable as a significant area of mature woodland in an otherwise ...

. It provides water and drainage for Meanwood Valley Urban Farm. In the 16th to 18th centuries it provided power for corn mills.Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
History In the 19th century it supplied water for a chemical works and

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

, one of which,

Sugarwell Court Sugarwell Court is a hall of residence of Leeds Beckett University located off Meanwood Road in the Meanwood area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. There are currently 7 blocks based on site, which are alphabetically placed around the campus, ...

, is now a university

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

. The Beck suffered a serious pollution incident on 29 March 1999 when an oil tank at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Bodington Hall Bodington Hall was the largest hall of residence of the University of Leeds, in Leeds, England. It was opened in 1961 and closed in 2013. The site still contains the university's main playing fields. Known as ''Bod'' within the university, it wa ...

was overfilled and 10,000 litres of oil flowed into the beck. It is also a habitat for the indigenous

European crayfish ''Astacus astacus'', the European crayfish, noble crayfish, or broad-fingered crayfish, is the most common species of crayfish in Europe, and a traditional food source. Like other true crayfish, ''A. astacus'' is restricted to fresh water, livi ...

, which is currently threatened in the UK by a plague carried by the

Signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a North American species of crayfish. It was introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, but ...

introduced from America. As well as the crayfish there are also bull head fish present which can be found easily with a net and a pair of waders; they generally are located on the stream bed in the mud and silt.

References

External links

A forum discussion of the tunnels along the Meanwood Beck

A video of urban explorers going underneath Leeds in Meanwood Beck
{{authority control Meanwood Rivers of Leeds