Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west

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 ...

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 ...

. The area sits in the Moortown ward of

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

and

Leeds North East Leeds North East is a constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Fabian Hamilton of the Labour Party. Boundaries 1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Crossgates, Roundh ...

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Origins and history

The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

derivation: the ''Meene wude'' was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of

Meanwood Beck The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Carr ...

.W. A. Hopwood (1981) ''Meanwood'' (private publication) Dwellings and farms near the wood were known by a variety of names including Meanwoodside until 27 August 1847 when the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Meanwood was established and the woods became known Meanwood Woods. A skirmish, between

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

and Parliamentarian forces, took place in Meanwood, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. It is said that the "beck ran red", with the blood of the fallen, hence, the place name "Stainbeck".''Leeds Mercury'' 22 September 1888 Local Notes and Queries no 507: Meanwood Valley The Meanwood Valley was a place of industry as long ago as 1577 and it continued to the 19th century. The Meanwood Beck provided water and power for corn, flax and paper mills, dye works and tanneries. There were numerous quarries. In 1830 a turnpike road was established through the Meanwood Valley to Leeds. Public transport followed from 1850 and electric trams in 1890, meaning that it was practical for people to travel to work from greater distances, encouraging both industrial buildings and housing.

Geography and buildings

Tunnel How Hill

Tunnel How Hill, north of the Stonegate Road, "was reputed to be the highest point in Leeds." A

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

in the form of a ruined castle stood there from the 18th century until 1946, dedicated to

King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

. Some streets adjacent to the hill are named after King Alfred. The hill was formerly known as ''Pen-how-fyn'', and a hamlet below it was ''Paenfynaen'' (where ''fynaen'' means settlement). It was referred to as Penny Fun in the 19th century and several houses in the vicinity used the name.''Leeds Mercury'' 29 May 1886 "Local Notes and Queries" The 1850

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Map labels the settlement as ''Pen-y-ffynon''.via digimap.edina.ac.uk (subscription required) A public house in the Moor Allerton District Centre was called the Penny Fun until 2020, when it was renamed.

Various Buildings

The 1841 census listed 144 houses, including Carr House (Carr Manor), Meanwood Hall and Whalley House (now demolished). Most properties were stone cottages, now gone, with the exception of a few houses on Monkbridge Road. Hustler's Row remains as a group of 1850 stone cottages named after John Husler, a quarry owner.W. A. Hopwood & F. P. Casperson (1986) ''Meanwood - Village, Valley, Industry and People'' To the west along the road towards Meanwood Park are some houses built for tannery workers and the Meanwood Institute, built about 1820, but opened as the Institute in 1885, a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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, ca ...

on Meanwood Road, is the former Cliff

Tannery 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 ...

, an 1866

converted into 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 ...

. Nearby is a former Baptist school, a brick

dating from about 1886.Leeds Mercury 6 April 1886 Leeds and Yorkshire Architectural Association Meanwood Tannery blue plaque

There are a number of 19th-century industrial buildings in Meanwood Valley along the Meanwood Beck, and 19th century terraced housing on the valley side leading to

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 ...

Weetwood Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 road, A6120 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 road, A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood ...

and Woodhouse, along with an area of woodland known locally as the

Ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

. New estates have been built with grand, suburban housing, the Woodleas, the Stonegates and the Bowoods. 20th century

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

mixed with open space forms the opposite side of the valley leading up to

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

. There is a shopping centre opposite a

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

Food & Home store on Green Road, near the site of a tannery which is believed to date from 1700.

Meanwood Hall

Meanwood Hall is a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was built about 1762 for Thomas Denison, extended in 1814 for Joseph Lees, and further developed in 1834 for Christopher Beckett. In 1919 it was bought by the city council to form the nucleus of Meanwood Park Hospital which accommodated men, women and children with learning disabilities. It served the city of Leeds and other areas of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and at its maximum extent in the 1960s had 841 beds. After the hospital closed in 1997, the hall was converted to housing, and further housing developments now fill the hospital grounds.

Meanwood Towers

In the middle of an estate of inter-war semi-detached houses behind Stonegate Road stands a

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house, Meanwood Towers. Designed by

Edward Welby Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was an architect an ...

, and built in 1866–67. A private house, it was commissioned by Thomas Stuart Kennedy and was originally called Meanwood House. Kennedy commissioned the German organ-builder

Edmund Schulze Heinrich Edmund Schulze (26 March 1824 - 13 July 1878) was a German organ builder. He was the last of five generations of the Schulze family to build organs, starting with Hans Elias Schulze (1688–1762), Edmund's great-great-grandfather. He die ...

to build him a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

. In 1869, it was installed in a specially-built 800-seat wooden concert hall or 'organ house'. After eight years, there were problems with the organ house and the Schulze organ was loaned to St. Peter's Church, Harrogate and two years later, in 1879, it was sold and presented to St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley. In keeping with its grand design, the house was built with tall chimneys, but in 1969 these were shortened for safety reasons. Most of the original house survives, but converted into flats.

Carr Manor

Carr Manor Carr Manor is a Victorian grade II listed house in Meanwood, Leeds, England, designed by Edward Schroeder Prior and built for Thomas Clifford Allbutt (1836–1925). In 1881 it replaced Carr Manor House, though retaining the 1796 stable block.W. ...

was a 17th-century manor house sometimes known as Carr House. It was greatly extended 1880-81 by architect

Edward Schroeder Prior Edward Schroeder Prior (1852–1932) was an architect, instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsma ...

for

Thomas Clifford Allbutt Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt (20 July 183622 February 1925) was an English physician best known for his role as president of the British Medical Association 1920, for inventing the clinical thermometer, and for supporting Sir William Osler in fo ...

. It was used by the City of Leeds as a residence for judges during trials at

Leeds Crown Court Leeds Crown Court, more accurately the Crown Court at Leeds, is a venue of the Crown Court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated on Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts. Notable cases As Leeds As ...

, but is now private dwellings.Leodis photographic archive of Leeds
Carr Manor Carr Manor gives its name to a 1950s estate of private housesLeodis
Carr Manor housing estate, aerial view and a primary and high school. File:CarrManor01.jpg, Carr Manor House File:CarrManorHouses.jpg, Carr Manor estate 1950s private houses File:CarrManorWalk01.jpg, Carr Manor Walk later residences File:CarrManorHSch09.JPG, Carr Manor Community School

Farm Hill

Early photographs show the Model Farm, which occupied the hillside, with fields in which rhubarb was grown. The area also hosted Sugarwell Hill Mill which had a distinctive round chimney. In 1919, 80 acres of land to the south of Meanwood, close to Woodhouse Ridge, was sold by the Model Farm to Leeds Corporation. The Farm Hill housing estate was developed on the land. The area was often referred to informally as the 'white houses' because of the colour the concrete was rendered. The estate became a concentration of bad press for Meanwood very quickly. Most of the original houses were demolished in the late 1980s and many of the residents were moved to the Beckhill estate. The opening credits to police drama

Parkin's Patch ''Parkin's Patch'' is a Yorkshire Television production that aired on ITV from 1969 to 1970. John Flanagan played PC Moss Parkin, a police constable in the North York Moors. The series was filmed in the North York Moors as well as certain sce ...

began with a scene shot at Farm Hill. The area was redeveloped in 1990 as a series of two- and three-bedroom semi-detached houses and bungalows, around half of which are privately owned. A few of the original 1920s houses remain on the fringes of the estate. The Model Farm, after which the hillside and estate is named, is still standing today (situated off Farm Hill South) with a number of fields used as pasture for horses. Many of the streets in the area are still known as Farm Hill. The estate also hosts the much newer Meanwood Valley Urban Farm. A network of woodland and field footpaths connect the estate to Potternewton Lane, Buslingthorpe Lane and Woodhouse Ridge. In 2000, a further estate of residential houses was built on the opposite side of Meanwood Road, centred around Boothroyd Drive. Although the Farm Hills and Boothroyd Drive are contiguous, Meanwood Road divides the older and new estates and represents a political and postal boundary. Houses on the Farm Hill have an LS7 postcode, whilst houses on the south side of Meanwood Road have an LS6 postcode. Woodhouse Community Sports and Social Club is sandwiched between the two developments (despite its name, the club house and pitches are in Meanwood, not Woodhouse). The club hosts cricket (Woodhouse Cricket Club) and amateur rugby league (both Headingley Hawks and Woodhouse Warriors).

Religion

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church is Holy Trinity Church,Holy Trinity Meanwood
Church website a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

consecrated in 1849, designed by

William Railton William Railton (1800–77) was an English architect, best known as the designer of Nelson's Column. He was based in London, with offices at 12 Regent Street for much of his career. Life He was born in Clapham (then in Surrey) on 14 May 1800, ...

in the lancet Gothic style. Its clock was designed by Edmund Beckett and made by

Edward John Dent Edward John Dent (1790–1853) was a famous English watchmaker noted for his highly accurate clocks and marine chronometers. He founded the Dent company. Early years Edward John Dent, son of John and Elizabeth Dent, was born in London on 1 ...

, who was responsible for

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

. It has three faces, as there was open country to the east. The

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church was built in 1881 in a modified Gothic style, and enlarged seven years later to accommodate a further 120 seats. A previous Methodist Church in Meanwood had been built in 1811. The church building was closed in October 2014 and the church community moved to use the Holy Trinity Church building. The building is now used by the Iglesia ni Cristo. St Oswald's Church was built in 1890 as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

for St Chad's of Far Headingley. It was enlarged in 1910 and made into a church, but closed in 2002 and the congregation moved to St Chad's. File:HolyTrinityMeanwood.jpg, Holy Trinity Church File:MeanwoodMethChurch.jpg, Former Meanwood Methodist Church File:St Oswald House 31 Jan 2018 01.jpg, Former St Oswald's Church

Meanwood Park

Meanwood Park, in the north of the area, is approximately , and has large open areas and mature trees.

runs through it, crossed by many small footbridges. The southern end has a children's playground and an area with picnic tables. To the north west Meanwood Park borders onto the Hollies, a separate park with sloping woodland containing many

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s and

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

s. The Hollies has gardens including the

National Plant Collection The National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation vehicle whereby the Plant Heritage charity (formerly the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, docume ...

Philadelphus ''Philadelphus'' () (mock-orange) is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and (locally) in southeast Europe. They are named "mock-orange" in reference to their ...

. The Meanwood Valley Trail passes through Meanwood Park. It is believed that the artist

John Atkinson Grimshaw John Atkinson Grimshaw (6 September 1836 – 13 October 1893) was an English Victorian-era artist best known for his nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes.Alexander Robertson, ''Atkinson Grimshaw'', London, Phaidon Press, 1996 H. J. Dyos and ...

based some of his fairy paintings in Meanwood Park. Image:Meanwood Park Sign.jpg, Map sign for Meanwood Park and Meanwood Valley Trail Image:Meanwood Park Picnic.jpg, Picnic area in Meanwood Park Image:Meanwood Hollies 01.jpg, Part of the Hollies File:Oates Memorial 12 April 2017.jpg, Lawrence Oates Memorial

Community groups

Meanwood Valley Partnership is a not for profit organisation made up of residents and volunteers that focuses on caring for and preserving the Meanwood Valley, a stretch of land approximately one mile across and two miles long. It is focused on retaining the village atmosphere and holds events such as an annual funday and restoration work on projects such as the war memorial.''Meanwood Life''
- Community News, Meanwood Memorial gets a makeover YMAV Youth Movement Against Violence cic is a not for profit organisation which was founded in 2016 they support the victims and families affected by violence in a holistic approach providing 1-1 outreach support, counselling and holistic therapies. They also provide many community based projects running from Meanwood Community Center including a tea-time club, yoga group and have recently started a project called Restore Community Healing Garden see there website www.ymav.co.uk for more information

Sport and social activities

Numerous sporting activities exist in Meanwood, including the Meanwood Valley Trail Race (a cross country race that has been going since 1996),

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

. Meanwood Cricket Club has existed since 1870, and their present ground since 1895. Meanwood Cricket Club are currently members of the Wetherby Cricket League and run 2 teams. They previously played in the Dales Council League where the club enjoyed a successful period from 1989 to 2002. The cricket club won the League Cup a then record six times - appearing in eight finals in the space of 12 years - and also claimed a League and Cup double in 1998.

Notable residents

Captain Lawrence Oates Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates (17 March 188017 March 1912) was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia

(of the ill-fated Scott expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

) often resided in Meanwood. There is a monument to his altruism close to Holy Trinity Church. The Lawrence Oates School (closed 1992) was named after him. In 2012, on the 100th anniversary of his death, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was unveiled in his honour at Meanwood Park. Writer and critic

Graham Holderness Graham Holderness is a writer and critic who has published as author or editor 60 books, mostly on Shakespeare, and hundreds of chapters and articles of criticism, theory and theology. He was one of the founders of British Cultural materialism, ...

was born in Meanwood.

Location grid

References

External links

*
Leeds City Council - Meanwood Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan
*Meanwood Valley Partnershi
Meanwood Valley Partnership – Helping to preserve, protect and enhance the Meanwood ValleyMeanwood Valley Trail Online Guide and Map
{{Authority control Leeds Blue Plaques Places in Leeds