Angel Inn

In theory the Angel Inn at Angel Inn Yard in the heart of Leeds is one of the cities oldest pubs having been established here in the late 18C. However the story is a little more complicated, the Angle Inn closed as a public house in 1903 and was used for nearly 100 years for other business.

In 2000 Samuel Smith's brewery converted it back into a pub and it was restored once again as the Angel Inn. The Angel Inn Yard runs from Lands Lane through to Briggate.

Dry Dock Leeds

Picture of the Dry Dock bar on Woodhouse lane Leeds.

The Jolly Roger from yesterday flies aloft from this old boat that is now a fixture on a piece of grass opposite the main entrance to Leeds Met.

The Dry Dock is actually a pub or bar partly constructed from this old boat. For smokers I would think this is quite a good place because the upstairs is the former deck and is open to the elements.

I have never eaten or drank here and only went inside the other day to get up to have a look and get a photo of the flag.

Jolly Roger Leeds

I have walked around this bit of Leeds quite a bit over the years on Woodhouse Lane just across from Leeds Met, but I had never noticed this flag before. This black (though now rather windblown gray) with skull and crossbones is the Jolly Roger, a flag that became well known from its use by 17th and 18th century pirates.

In 1914 Lt Cdr Max Horton commanded HMS E9 and when returning to port after a successful mission he started the modern tradition of British submarines flying the Jolly Roger on entering their home port.alt="your image description"

Men at Work - Leeds Town Hall

Walking through Leeds a couple of days back I saw that there was some work going on to the famous frontage of Leeds town hall. Some men were putting up scaffolding where the columns are.

Whilst I was taking a few photos of the scaffolders at work a man in a suit walked past me and said out loud that if I wanted a photo of the town hall I should not take it while the work was underway! I took this photo because it is not something you see every day.

The perspective is a bit off, there were cars and vans that would have been in the way if had been further back. Not to mention the various bit of street furniture.

Dark Arches Leeds

Picture of the dark arches under Leeds station.

When the current railway station was built in the 1860's, it was built on arches over the river Aire. More than 18 million bricks went into the construction of the arches and they are still there today. I would think quite a few people never realise that the river Aire flows under the station.

Today many of the various spaces under the arches are used for car parking but back before 1900 several businesses used the area for storage. Back in January 1892 a fire started in the arches where oil, tallow and resin were stored, the fire raged for nearly 24 hours and fireman James Potter Schofield lost his life.

Today you can walk through the arches and across the river Aire and emerge on Granary Wharf.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Picture of one of the dark arches Leeds.

This picture shows one of the dark arches underneath Leeds train station. The river Aire flows under the station through several arches like the one in the above photo.

Not sure why but whenever I hear someone say there is light at the end of the tunnel my first thought is "yes it is an express train".

I have tried to capture the image as seen by the human eye but I have slightly lightened this photo so that you can see better the structure. Unlike the eye the camera does not adjust to the dark, at least that is my take on it.

Freddie Mercury in Leeds

Picture of Freddie Mercury in City Square Leeds.

I noticed this statue a while back when I was in City Square with my tripod to get a few Leeds at night photos.

In the dark when I was last there I had no idea who the statue was is was just a large lump in the dark. The 16 ft high bronze statue is there to promote the imminent arrival of the West End musical "We Will Rock You" here in Leeds.

The musical is on at the city’s Grand Theatre and Opera House here in Leeds 01 Nov 2011 - 26 Nov 2011.

Fountain at Roundhay Park Leeds

I took this photograph of a fountain in a garden at Roundhay Park in North Leeds.

This small rose garden is a short walk from Tropical World, also in Roundhay Park.

U-Boat in Leeds

Following on from a comment left on the Leeds Daily Photo about a U Boat on the canal in Leeds, I went into Leeds and looked along the waterfront of the Leeds - Liverpool canal.

Sure enough there was a "u-boat" moored outside the Royal Armouries museum at Clarence dock. OK when I say u-boat I mean a pretty good attempt at a replica, when the base for the design is a canal barge.

I recalled the press writing about the u-boat last year, just about all the national newspapers featured stories with pics of Richard and his u-8047. As someone said commenting on the story in the Daily Mail, its great to see the British eccentric is still with us.

The u-boat has two sides, with one being German and the other British. Richard is a larger than life character, reminded me of Captain Birdseye. Bruce Adams photographer with the Daily Mail captured Richard in the conning tower of his u-8047 really well in one of the photos in their feature.

Like me Richard is a fan of Das Boot, the German film about a u-boat and its crew in World War 2. If you want to experience a of the sights and sounds of a war patrol on a u-boat I recommend that you head down to Clarence Dock in Leeds.

If you have not seen Das Boot I highly recommend the uncut mini series. If you want to find out more about the lives of submariners or just like to watch heart pounding movies this is one to see. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 100% and IMDB rates it as 8.5. Das Boot - The Mini Series (2 Disc Uncut Version)

Haw Berries and Bug

I was looking at these hawthorn berries some days back, when I noticed a nicely camouflaged bug. They were at a height where I had to stand on tip toe to get the picture, it took me several attempts to get one without blur.

The bug is I think the green shield bug (Palomena prasina).

Ideas Wanted

I had been saving this image for a little while... I have been sorting something else tonight and time is running out..

So. Anyone any suggestions as to a picture of or near Leeds that they might want to see here in the near future?

Michaelmas Daisies

Picture of Michaelmas Daises growing wild adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool canal, Leeds.

I took this photo a little over a year ago whilst walking along the towpath of the Leeds - Liverpool canal between Whitehall and Granary Wharf in Leeds.

These Michaelmas Daises were growing wild adjacent to the towpath. Having now looked up Michaelmas Daises I have discovered that the were introduced here from N America in the early 1700's. Whenever I see them it reminds me of the Michaelmas term, the first term of the academic year of certain schools, and Universities.

Just read that according to an old legend here in Yorkshire, blackberries should not be picked after the feast of Old Michaelmas Day which falls on October 11. It was was said the the devil had spat on them! These days Michaelmas Day falls on September 29th.

Leeds Churchyard Tree Identification

Picture of Leeds churchyard tree identification post.

This is the last in a short series of pictures from the churchyard of the Church of St.John the Evangelist, Wortley

This picture shows one of a number of name posts scattered around the churchyard enabling visitors to identify the various trees, shrubs etc that are growing here.

This post in front of a tall, old tree reads..

Ash
fraxinus excelsior

Common native tree easily identified in Winter
by its very dark buds. Mature trees are a favourite
habitat for bats.

This tree appears to date back to 1856 judging by the nearby gravestone!

I did not add the last line, but I could well have done so.

Berries in a Leeds Churchyard

Picture of berries in a Leeds churchyard.

Another picture from the churchyard of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Wortley here in Leeds.

This one is of some bright red berries of a firethorn also known here as Pyracantha. This red was I think looking back the only colour in the churchyard if you do not count the grass, trees and memorials. Most of the leaves on the various trees here have yet to adopt their Autumn colours.

I think perhaps this was planted for the wildlife that finds a home in many of our churchyards. The bees and insects love the flowers and the birds will soon be tucking in to these berries. There are little posts as markers to some of the plants and trees in this small urban churchyard.

Suffer the Little Children

Picture of childrens memorial in a Leeds churchyard.

Whilst mooching around the churchyard of St John the Evangelist in Wortley, Leeds a couple of days back I looked at and photographed several of the more readable and accessible gravestones.

Several of these old headstones are quite large and even though some of them are now lying in the grass to get a decent photo a step ladder would be handy. Not having a ladder, a friend gave mine away, thinking I did no longer need it.

This headstone in the above photo is broken in two pieces and they lie slightly off kilter, not being 8 feet tall did not help.

The words on this early Victorian stone memorial gave me pause for thought when I first saw them and again just now when I copied out the wording of their short lives here in Leeds.

In MEMORY Of


John, Son of James and Hannah Johnson,
of Wortley, who died Augst 26th, 1828, Aged 8 Months and 3 Weeks.

Also Samuel, Son of the above, who died March 3rd 1833, Aged 3 Months.


Also William, Son of the above, who died June 15th 1837 in the 16th Year of his Age.


Also David, Son of the above, who died Nov 17th 1838, Aged 6 Days.


Also Emma, Daughter of the above, who died April 1st 1840, Aged 5 Months and 14 Days.


Also Selina, Daughter of the above, who died Jan 11th 1841, in the 5th Year of her Age.


Also Ann, Daughter of the above, who died Jan 16th 1841, in the 7th Year of her Age.


Farewell dear Children the parting _ _ _ _ _ hard
Your course was short but _ _ _ _ _ reward

I could not make out some of the last few words but to lose 4 sons and 3 daughters must have sorely challenged their faith. There is another Victorian monument in this same small churchyard to 11 young girls who died in a fire adjacent to the church on New Years Day 1891.

Autumn Leaf in A Leeds Churchyard

Picture of an autumn leaf in a Leeds churchyard.

I stopped off at the churchyard of St John the Evangelist in Wortley, Leeds yesterday, I had been wanting to get a few more pictures from this churchyard for a while.

This last week or so it has been pretty damp and also overcast, so I took some close up photos of some of the headstones and memorials. Not sure why but I quite liked this fallen leaf that was laying on this old headstone that was now laid into the grass.

Just to give some point of reference to the date on the headstone, in the year 1834 these events happened....

a. Hanging in chains upon a gibbet after execution is abolished in England.
b. 1 August - Slavery abolished in most of the British Empire.
c. 14 August - Poor Law Amendment Act states the able-bodied cannot receive assistance unless they enter a workhouse.

St George's Field - Leeds

Picture of St George's Field on the Leeds University campus.

This picture is a view of St George's Field on the campus of Leeds University. This nicely grassed area was until 1969 the Woodhouse Cemetery and was formerly the Leeds General Cemetery.

Opened in 1835 the cemetery was until 1969 pretty crowded with stone monuments, headstones and memorials since a total of 93,569 interments took place in it.

When the former cemetery was landscaped virtually all the monuments were removed and now there are only a few remaining, these being scattered around the area. The former Cemetery Chapel designed by John Clark in the style of a Greek ionic temple. Both the former chapel and a few of the monuments are now listed as Grade II. I believe the chapel was never actually used as such, Leeds at the time had many non-conformists and there were differences of opinion!

Despite now being surrounded by the Leeds University campus this former cemetery is freely accessed and some of the memorials are perhaps of interest to anyone with a sense of curiosity about our social history. A memorial to look out for is the Leeds firemans memorial.

This post is the 1,000th post here on the Leeds Daily Photo.

Leeds Firemans Memorial - Detail

Picture of Leeds firemans memorial - detail.

Yesterday I posted about a Victorian memorial to Leeds firemen who died whilst attending fires. I thought the stone plaque at the top of the memorial was worth a second look.

The round plaque has carved in it a Victorian fire crew with a wagon and horse. To me it looks stylized but that could just be weathering it being exposed to the elements for more than 100 years.

James Potter Schofield is the first name on this memorial and he died in the dark arches fire at the Leeds railway station which had been partly built on arches over the river Aire in 1854 being called the Leeds Central station on Wellington Street. Back then several business had their premises under in station in the dark arches. In 1892 a fire started and raged out of control for nearly 24 hours despite the efforts of fire crews from Leeds, Bradford and further afield. Jim Schofield was tackling the fire when the platform he was working on collapsed and he found himself inside the arches and was overwhelmed.

The funeral of fireman James Schofield was attended by firemen from across Yorkshire and it was said that around 100,000 people lined the route.

Leeds Firemans Memorial

Picture of Leeds Firemans Memorial at St Georges Fields Leeds.

The Leeds firemans memorial is located in St Georges Fields on the Leeds University campus.

Why is a Victorian memorial to fallen firemen on the Uni campus. This area of the campus was originally a Cemetery, the Leeds General Cemetery Company opened it in 1833. After the last internments in the 1970's the cemetery closed and the university landscaped the grounds and moved many of the memorials. Today on a sunny day many students can be seen sitting or lying on the grass perhaps reading or just relaxing.

The memorial commemorates Leeds firemen who died in fires, the words on are as follows...

Firemans Memorial

"Always Ready"

In memory of

James Potter Schofield, Who fell at his post, Leeds joint station fire January 13 1892, aged 43.

R W Horney, fireman died Feb 8 1896, aged 28 years.

Joseph Ellis, died March 30 1897, aged 31.

Herbert Storey, killed in the execution of his duty Feby 24th 1909, aged 32.

In the days before radios, breathing apparatus and health and safety these men and many like them entered burning buildings to save life at no little risk to themselves. My uncle Sid was for many years a fireman and latterly a fire officer in London, though he is now long retired. I have the utmost respect for anyone prepared to put their life on the line to save others. Some would say it is just a job and they knew the risks when they joined. In my book they and those like them are heroes.

I will post some more about the Leeds General Cemetery tomorrow.

Visitor Maps of Leeds

Picture of a visitor map at Victoria Gardens, Leeds .

I cannot recall when the city council installed these visitor maps across Leeds city centre. I think the first one that I noticed was just off the Calls in the small passageway that leads to the pedestrian bridge across the river Aire to Brewery Wharf.

I do not tend to look much for them or at them because since starting my this blog about Leeds I have got a much better idea of the layout of the city and where things are.

The visitor map in the above photo is just opposite the Central Library on the Headrow by the pedestrian crossing that would take you over towards the former Pearl Assurance building. I have thought these visitor maps were a great idea since first seeing them across Paris many years ago. Having looked at this once recently there is one, to me at least omission, no mention of public toilets on the map. Of all the places a person who is a stranger to Leeds might want to find I would have thought a public convenience might well be one of them. That said it could well be that because of the dearth of these places across Leeds city centre the council thought that perhaps it was best not to point this out.

Bridgewater Place, Leeds - Night

Picture of Bridgewater Place Leeds at night.

This is a view of the tallest building in Yorkshire, Bridgewater Place here in Leeds. I took this photograph a few days back one evening after dark. The building on the left of the picture in the middle is the ASDA head office adjacent to the Leeds - Liverpool canal.

At 112 metres (367ft) Bridgewater place is 9 metres taller than the second tallest building in Leeds, Sky Plaza which is the worlds second tallest student accommodation.

Pitfall Street

Street sign Pitfall street, Leeds.

Whats in a name? Its pretty rare that I quote Shakespeare on the Leeds Daily Photo. When I first saw the name on this street sign down off the Calls in Leeds city centre I thought what an odd name.

The street name is or rather was the location of perhaps the first waterworks in Leeds, Pitfall Mills were built here in 1694 and drew water from the river Aire and pumped it to a reservoir adjacent to St Johns Church. Today all that remains of this endeavor is the street sign Pitfall Street.

Anyone who ponders at the numerous infants and children whose names appear on early headstones in churchyards and cemeteries should perhaps think on what happened to the water pumped up from the river. I would hazard a guess that it became available for domestic use, this being water drawn from a river that I would guess had quite a bit of effluent in it. The Georgians and the early Victorians regarded rivers and streams as little more than a means to dispose of the daily output of the cities sewers.

Border Collie Pup

Picture of Border Collie Puppy in Yorkshire.

This is Whitney, a Border Collie puppy of 11 weeks when I met her back in the summer of 2009.

I often see Border Collie dogs when I am out and about my little bit of Yorkshire, though I have yet to meet Whitney since that day. She was a beautiful puppy and I thought I would revisit that photograph and re post an edited version of the original picture.

More than likely I have seen this dog out and about but now she will be well over two years old. I do not have a dog but if I did it would be a Border Collie, perhaps I will get one when I retire.

Here is the original post about the Border Collie pup.

Autumn Leaves With Bird

Picture of starling amongst autumn leaves in Yorkshire.

Autumn is well and truly here with rain and hail on a pretty cold and windy day today.

I took this photograph about a year ago. I do not really have the lens necessary for bird photography but this tree was not very tall. It helped that this starling was near the bottom outer branches.

Coffee

Picture of coffee beans.

I took this a while back, I was just playing around or perhaps it was more trial and error. I guess the best way to figure what works is to try it and see.

Either way I am a real coffee lover, though I can drink a decent instant if the other is not available.

What do you think about coffee or indeed my picture?

Queens Hotel at Night

Picture of Queens Hotel Leeds at Night.

Walking back towards the train station a few evenings back I stopped off in City Square to get a few pictures using a tripod.

I had been wanting to try to capture vehicle tail lights in the frame on a longer exposure. The lights and movement in the photograph is a bus moving through the exposure from left to right and disappearing down Wellington Street.

The Queens Hotel is perhaps the best known of the Leeds hotels. Leeds may not have a lovely old train station but in the Queens it does have a rather stylish art deco former railway hotel. The Queens hotel was built in 1937 for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The Queens hotel is now a listed Grade II building and part of a chain of hotels across the England and Scotland.

With hindsight and more thought I perhaps could have used someone in the foreground in this photograph.

Parking Enforcement Leeds

Picture of Parking Ticket Leeds.

Leeds like the rest of England no longer has traffic wardens to enforce parking regulations. I saw this ticket being issued on a Leeds city centre street a few weeks back.

Personally I have no problem with the rules about where you can and cannot park in the city. If I have something on in the city centre I mostly go in on the train, travel is quite quick and finding somewhere to park a car is not an issue.

I did get a ticket not so long ago, which puzzled me because I had a valid permit for the area where the car was parked and I was parked within the lines on the road. The ticket said I had failed to display a valid permit, oddly the valid permit was next to the tax disc. I wrote to them explaining this and they rescinded the ticket "on this occasion". My one and only parking ticket...

If I travel to the village of Haworth, the former home of the Brontë family, I never ever use the Changegate car park just opposite the woolen mill shop, because I do not want my car to be clamped.

Mushroom in Leeds Garden

Picture of mushrooms in a Leeds garden.

I was visiting Temple Newsam a year ago when walking around towards the church of St Mary at Whitkirk when I walked past a garden with mushrooms on the lawn.

Normally I would have got closer and most likely down on the grass up close and personal. However this garden belonged to a stranger and I really did not want to explain what I was doing on the lawn.

I may well be wrong calling them mushroom, but in any event they are fungi growing wild in the grass.

Wildflowers at Gamble Hill

Picture of wildflowers Leeds.

I often try to take the road less traveled when I am out and about, mostly because I am curious to see what is around the next bend in the road. The other reason is that I am always on the lookout for pictures for this blog.

I recently took a road that runs parallel to the A6110 the Leeds Ring Road, turns out the road I was on was the Pudsey Road the B6154 and the area is called Gamble Hill. A short distance from the turnoff the Ring Road I saw there was a small embankment around a stretch of Bramley Reservoir and it was a sea of wildflowers.

In the top right of the picture there are a couple of tower blocks, until recently these were called council flats, now I think it is called social housing.

I am pretty good at the names of wildflowers but the only one I know in the above photo is the cornflower. Not sure what the bright yellow ones are called, suggestions?