I set myself a little project last year to see if I could plot the exact course of the Meanwood/Sheepscar and Lady beck tunnels as they journey under the City of Leeds. It's a pretty complex, and hidden piece of engineering. It twists and turns out of sight mainly, It's pretty hard to work out where you are in relation to the streets above, with the use of old maps, and archive photos, it is possible to plot it's exact course under the City. I'll never be able to fit the whole thing here, so i'll add the link to the full story at the end of this report if anyone wants to go into it in detail.
The City of Leeds was expanding fast during the industrial revolution, heavy industry was being built alongside it's watercourses. Factories and mills now stood on once open countryside. The evolution of Meanwood beck started in 1866 when a 'Sub Becks Committee' was inaugurated to improve Leeds main industrial watercourse. It was decided to canalise the beck from Buslingthorpe to the City. The beck was dished out and paved with stone sets and channels to maximise effeciency, the work to canalise the culvert was complete by 1872. By 1900 the beck was heavily polluted, It was decided to hide much of the culvert underground in tunnels. Work on tunnel construction started in earnest in 1913, by 1939 the whole section from Mabgate to the river Aire was underground.
The Meanwood beck rises at Breary Marsh near Golden Acre Park, it then travels through Adel, and the North suburbs of Leeds to Meanwood. The engineered culvert starts under the Buslingthorpe Lane bridge at Meanwood. This old disused footbridge used to form part of a pathway that extended from Meanwood Road to Buslingthorpe Lane. Today the bridge is fenced off, the path at the back of Springwell works is so overgrown you can't even see it.
The entrance to the first 1970/80's concrete built tunnel you come to.
This section of culvert takes you underneath the Penraevon Industrial Estate. The next time you catch a glimpse of the beck is 530 yards away from the Barrack Street bridge.
Out into the fresh air we get this view of the tunnel portal underneath Barrack Street.
The next underground section is where some very old girders and props support the remains of an old tannery, nothing remains above ground of the old building here today. Once under the tannery you can see this substantial rotting timber beam along the walkway.
The next subterranean section down you can see this very old buried bridge, it was built to carry North Street across the beck. A later addition brick tunnel butts up to the far end of the bridge. This bridge has been buried for so long it only appears on the 1850 map marked as 'Sheepscar bridge'
Back out into the open and this archive photo shows a double decker bus which had plunged 20 feet from Sheepscar Street South into the Beck in January 1956. The West Yorkshire Road Car bus was on its way to Harrogate with 50 passengers when it hit a bollard and veered off the road, thankfully there was no fatalities. For the record the West Yorkshire bus in the accident was DX14. It was only a few months old at the time and therefore avoided scrapping, being returned to Bristol and Eastern Coachworks for extensive repairs. Thanks to Blakey for the bus info.
The 2011 view minus the double decker bus!
Archive shots from 1929 showing one of the many bridges under construction, note the angled concrete kicking blocks to form the skew of the brickwork. I think it almost resembles a huge Toblerone. Four course of bricks formed the tunnel roof, a layer of concrete spread on top to bind, and waterproof it. The tunnels were very well built, there is no signs of any bad water ingress in any of the tunnels.
Underneath the same bridge you can see the angled kicking blocks close at hand. I was somewhat surprised to see that under here was someones home on my last visit. A sleeping bag was lying along the walkway, clothes were draped along a makeshift washing line. I was glad the resident wasn't home at the time.
The beck next travels underneath this 57 yard long tunnel. The Empire Shoe works stood above here according to old maps. The works was extended and straddled the beck sometime in the 1930's. The shoe factory above has since been demolished and is used as a car park these days.
Getting nearer to the City we come to the Old City of Mabgate. Underneath Mabgate is without a doubt one of the oldest parts of Victorian Leeds.
Here an old disused mill goit rejoined Lady beck. The outfall has been blocked off with a low concrete wall.
Just behind the Mabgate pub the beck can be seen for the last time. Here it travels underground for 0.6 miles through twisting tunnels. The next time we will see daylight is at the river Aire opposite the Royal Armouries, Clarence Dock. The stonework above this tunnel looks positively ancient, note the angled bricks built into the stonework from an even earlier era.
In the Victorian era the Lady beck was known as the 'Ganges of Lady lane' The beck was notorious for the waste and effluent that was discharged into it from the factories, markets, abbatoirs, and the human waste from areas of housing which had no proper sanitation. Quarry Hill and Mabgate being amongst the worst. It was later known that this had contributed to the deadly outbreaks of Typhoid and Cholera that ravaged these areas periodically.
Another place you can catch a glimpse of the underside of the City infrastructure is under the New York Road flyover. This huge pipe makes for an unusual view bursting into the tunnel. The top of the tunnel under Eastgate is the shallowest part of the culvert, the top of the tunnel is only 400mm below ground level.
These old overflow chutes are to be found just before the Arthur Aaron roundabout near Eastgate. They don't look to be be operational these days judging by the bolt fixings in the floor. I have to admit i find this last tunnel a pretty bleak place to be.
The tunnel travels right underneath Millgarth Police station no less
You can clearly see the odd design of Millgarth, daylight is clearly visible in the middle section. Millgarth has a limited ground floor footprint because it straddles the Lady beck. In effect the upper floors over the beck is like a bridge supported by two pillars.
Millgarth was home to the Yorkshire Ripper incident room in the 1970's. The six year investigation generated so much paperwork the floor had to be reinforced because of fears it might collapse. I used to find this puzzling for such a new structure. It isn't until you find out about the tunnel underneath that you realise why. Chief Superintendent Jim Hobson head of the Ripper squad in the incident room. Former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Ronald Gregory, admitted after Sutcliffe was jailed: "We were buried under an avalanche of paperwork."
These architect plans show the exact location of the tunnel.
Were now underneath the Police station looking back towards Mabgate. This concrete section was built circa 1968-70 prior to Millgarth opening in 1976. The course of the beck has been altered in this area over the years. You can usually tell which areas have been diverted, the brick lined channel replacing the older stone channel is a good clue that this is a later diversion.
Archive shots from 1937 showing beck covering work going under the railway viaduct.
The exact course of the tunnel as it journeys under the central bus station, and railway viaduct.
Were now stood on the Parish church side of the Leeds-York railway line. This barrel shaped brick structure is the biggest part of the tunnel system, it travels directly under the railway embankment. Once under here you can feel the tunnel vibrate, the noise of trains rumble loud over head. A noise that can be a little unsettling until you realise what it is.
The last part of the tunnels on it's way to the outfall at the River Aire.
The whole story can be seen in more detail with maps, and archive shots here
http://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=2958
Thanks for looking!
The City of Leeds was expanding fast during the industrial revolution, heavy industry was being built alongside it's watercourses. Factories and mills now stood on once open countryside. The evolution of Meanwood beck started in 1866 when a 'Sub Becks Committee' was inaugurated to improve Leeds main industrial watercourse. It was decided to canalise the beck from Buslingthorpe to the City. The beck was dished out and paved with stone sets and channels to maximise effeciency, the work to canalise the culvert was complete by 1872. By 1900 the beck was heavily polluted, It was decided to hide much of the culvert underground in tunnels. Work on tunnel construction started in earnest in 1913, by 1939 the whole section from Mabgate to the river Aire was underground.
The Meanwood beck rises at Breary Marsh near Golden Acre Park, it then travels through Adel, and the North suburbs of Leeds to Meanwood. The engineered culvert starts under the Buslingthorpe Lane bridge at Meanwood. This old disused footbridge used to form part of a pathway that extended from Meanwood Road to Buslingthorpe Lane. Today the bridge is fenced off, the path at the back of Springwell works is so overgrown you can't even see it.
The entrance to the first 1970/80's concrete built tunnel you come to.
This section of culvert takes you underneath the Penraevon Industrial Estate. The next time you catch a glimpse of the beck is 530 yards away from the Barrack Street bridge.
Out into the fresh air we get this view of the tunnel portal underneath Barrack Street.
The next underground section is where some very old girders and props support the remains of an old tannery, nothing remains above ground of the old building here today. Once under the tannery you can see this substantial rotting timber beam along the walkway.
The next subterranean section down you can see this very old buried bridge, it was built to carry North Street across the beck. A later addition brick tunnel butts up to the far end of the bridge. This bridge has been buried for so long it only appears on the 1850 map marked as 'Sheepscar bridge'
Back out into the open and this archive photo shows a double decker bus which had plunged 20 feet from Sheepscar Street South into the Beck in January 1956. The West Yorkshire Road Car bus was on its way to Harrogate with 50 passengers when it hit a bollard and veered off the road, thankfully there was no fatalities. For the record the West Yorkshire bus in the accident was DX14. It was only a few months old at the time and therefore avoided scrapping, being returned to Bristol and Eastern Coachworks for extensive repairs. Thanks to Blakey for the bus info.
The 2011 view minus the double decker bus!
Archive shots from 1929 showing one of the many bridges under construction, note the angled concrete kicking blocks to form the skew of the brickwork. I think it almost resembles a huge Toblerone. Four course of bricks formed the tunnel roof, a layer of concrete spread on top to bind, and waterproof it. The tunnels were very well built, there is no signs of any bad water ingress in any of the tunnels.
Underneath the same bridge you can see the angled kicking blocks close at hand. I was somewhat surprised to see that under here was someones home on my last visit. A sleeping bag was lying along the walkway, clothes were draped along a makeshift washing line. I was glad the resident wasn't home at the time.
The beck next travels underneath this 57 yard long tunnel. The Empire Shoe works stood above here according to old maps. The works was extended and straddled the beck sometime in the 1930's. The shoe factory above has since been demolished and is used as a car park these days.
Getting nearer to the City we come to the Old City of Mabgate. Underneath Mabgate is without a doubt one of the oldest parts of Victorian Leeds.
Here an old disused mill goit rejoined Lady beck. The outfall has been blocked off with a low concrete wall.
Just behind the Mabgate pub the beck can be seen for the last time. Here it travels underground for 0.6 miles through twisting tunnels. The next time we will see daylight is at the river Aire opposite the Royal Armouries, Clarence Dock. The stonework above this tunnel looks positively ancient, note the angled bricks built into the stonework from an even earlier era.
In the Victorian era the Lady beck was known as the 'Ganges of Lady lane' The beck was notorious for the waste and effluent that was discharged into it from the factories, markets, abbatoirs, and the human waste from areas of housing which had no proper sanitation. Quarry Hill and Mabgate being amongst the worst. It was later known that this had contributed to the deadly outbreaks of Typhoid and Cholera that ravaged these areas periodically.
Another place you can catch a glimpse of the underside of the City infrastructure is under the New York Road flyover. This huge pipe makes for an unusual view bursting into the tunnel. The top of the tunnel under Eastgate is the shallowest part of the culvert, the top of the tunnel is only 400mm below ground level.
These old overflow chutes are to be found just before the Arthur Aaron roundabout near Eastgate. They don't look to be be operational these days judging by the bolt fixings in the floor. I have to admit i find this last tunnel a pretty bleak place to be.
The tunnel travels right underneath Millgarth Police station no less
You can clearly see the odd design of Millgarth, daylight is clearly visible in the middle section. Millgarth has a limited ground floor footprint because it straddles the Lady beck. In effect the upper floors over the beck is like a bridge supported by two pillars.
Millgarth was home to the Yorkshire Ripper incident room in the 1970's. The six year investigation generated so much paperwork the floor had to be reinforced because of fears it might collapse. I used to find this puzzling for such a new structure. It isn't until you find out about the tunnel underneath that you realise why. Chief Superintendent Jim Hobson head of the Ripper squad in the incident room. Former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Ronald Gregory, admitted after Sutcliffe was jailed: "We were buried under an avalanche of paperwork."
These architect plans show the exact location of the tunnel.
Were now underneath the Police station looking back towards Mabgate. This concrete section was built circa 1968-70 prior to Millgarth opening in 1976. The course of the beck has been altered in this area over the years. You can usually tell which areas have been diverted, the brick lined channel replacing the older stone channel is a good clue that this is a later diversion.
Archive shots from 1937 showing beck covering work going under the railway viaduct.
The exact course of the tunnel as it journeys under the central bus station, and railway viaduct.
Were now stood on the Parish church side of the Leeds-York railway line. This barrel shaped brick structure is the biggest part of the tunnel system, it travels directly under the railway embankment. Once under here you can feel the tunnel vibrate, the noise of trains rumble loud over head. A noise that can be a little unsettling until you realise what it is.
The last part of the tunnels on it's way to the outfall at the River Aire.
The whole story can be seen in more detail with maps, and archive shots here
http://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=2958
Thanks for looking!
