Lady Betty Hastings

Picture of a blue plaque dedicated to Betty Hastings at Holy Trinity church Leeds.

It has been quite a while since I was last inside Holy Trinity church on Boar lane in Leeds city centre.

This afternoon I spent a little time inside the church mostly looking at the stained glass windows and the various monuments to long dead Leeds worthies.

The first thing I noticed on a wall just inside the entrance was a Leeds civic trust blue plaque to a Lady Betty Hastings. I had not heard of this lady before reading the plaque, she put up £1,000 towards the cost of building Holy Trinity and endowed charities that still provide educational help to this day.

The blue plaque at holy Trinity reads:
Lady Betty Hastings of Ledston Hall was a lifelong patron of charities for education, the promotion of Christian knowledge and the relief of poverty. In 1721 when the scheme for building this church was revived, her magnificent donation of £1000 ensured its success. 1682-1739

Three primary schools in the villages of Collingham, Ledsham and Thorp Arch are named after Lady Betty.

Speedwell Yorkshire Churchyard

Picture of speedwell wildflower growing in a Churchyard in Yorkshire.

I was in a churchyard that was new to me this afternoon and whilst exploring the headstones I came across several patches of speedwell growing amongst the grass.

With hindsight the above photo is not as good as the one of Speedwell I posted before. I now use a Canon and have no macro lens as yet for this camera. I can still use the macro lens on my old Olympus but I generally do not carry it with me.

The best way to photograph such a beautiful but small wildflower is to lay down on the grass, preferably with a macro lens.

Churchyard Blossom

Picture of blossom on a tree in a Yorkshire churchyard.

As I was leaving a local church last week I noticed this blossom on a tree at the edge of the churchyard, behind the tree is a road and buildings across the road.

I had been inside the church to photograph the stained glass windows but more of that another day.

Churchyard Wildflower

Picture of wood violet in Leeds churchyard.

Another churchyard, another wildflower this one is I think the wood violet. I am going with wood violet because its a woody churchyard and it looks to me like a violet.

This small wildflower was growing in the churchyard of St John the evangelist in Wortley, Leeds

Churchyard Primrose

Picture of primula growing wild in a Yorkshire churchyard.

I visited a church not far from my home for the morning service yesterday.

I had walked around the churchyard a couple of times over the last year, but never at this time of the year and never on a Sunday.

After the service I spoke with the vicar and took some photographs of the stained glass windows. I assured the vicar that no I was not doing it for Ship of Fools. Here is a Ship of Fools Leeds church in Whitkirk. I hasten to add I do not write for Ship of Fools but I can see where they are coming from.

I have always loved old churches and mostly prefer to visit when there is no service and I can wander around discovering for myself their beauty.

After the service I wandered through the wild (ish) bit of the churchyard where there were primroses (Primula vulgaris) and celandines growing wild.

Clocks

Picture of a clock on Briggate in Leeds.

Just in case anyone missed it, yes the clocks changed early this morning.

Spring forward, Fall back is I find a good way to remember it.

This clock is high above Briggate on a building in the Leeds shopping district. The Harvey Nicks building as it is now at the junction with King Edward St and Briggate.

Daffs

Bought these daffodils a few days back for a friend, thought they would brighten their day. Amazing how much goodwill you can get for 89p.

Drama at Library

This lunchtime I was lucky and caught a little drama at the Leeds Library.

It was Edward Albee's brilliant two-hander from 1959, The Zoo Story with David Robertson and Guillaume Blanchard.

In the above photo Guillaume (on the left) and David are performing on a non existent stage at the library. This is theatre at its most pared down, using one prop a bench.

I really enjoyed this and chatted with David and Guillaume afterwards. Guillaume had traveled from his home in Paris to perform here in Leeds.

This was a Theatre of the Dales production and it can be seen along with an exploration on the effect of the music-hall comedy double-act on plays of the fifties by Pinter and Beckett tomorrow Sat 24th March at 7.30pm New Headingley Club, St Michael’s Road as part of the Headingley Litfest 2012.

Playground at Burley

Picture of a small playground at Burley in Leeds

Just along from the church of St Matthias in Burley, Leeds and past the nearby houses there is a small playground of the kind that I enjoyed as a boy.

However the one here has seen better days, the swings had no chains or seats and there were chunks missing of the cushioned floor. I talked with a young man who grew up and still lived nearby and he played here as a child before it became neglected. He said it was such a pity that the many children that live here can no longer play safely on this little playground.

I think the reason for its decline is that local councils are much more health and safety conscious and there is a reasonable play area in the nearby Burley public park.

I will be posting about the church of St Matthias here in Burley in the next few days.

Gargoyle

Having recently discovered the hounds high up on the former Church Institute building on Albion Place in the city centre I had another look. High up near the roof there are what appear to be gargoyles.

Half Mast

This afternoon whilst walking along Albion Street in the city centre I noticed the the normal blue and yellow flag flying above the Leeds Building Society building had changed to the Yorkshire flag and it was flying at half mast.

Thinking this was unusual I called in to enquire and was told that today the bodies of the 6 soldiers killed in Afghanistan recently were being returned today. 5 of the 6 were members of the 3rd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment, whilst the 6th was a soldier in 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Sgt Coupe, 33, Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, and Privates Anthony Frampton, 20, Christopher Kershaw, 19, Daniel Wade, 20, and Daniel Wilford, 21, were killed near the border between Helmand and Kandahar provinces two weeks ago.

The plane carrying their remains landed at Brize Norton early this afternoon and the hearses passed through nearby Carterton passing by many well wishers on the short journey to the mortuary in Oxford.

I know this journey pretty well having lived nearby for some years and flown from and to Brize Norton when I was in the military. My sister lives at nearby Royal Wootton Bassett.

The Yorkshire Regiment asked for flags to be flown at half mast as an act of remembrance and the Leeds were not the only organization to do so.

Neat Graffiti

Picture of graffiti on a Meanwood, Leeds gatepost.

I was over in Meanwood today and spotted the above graffiti stenciled onto a stone gate post.

I am not generally a fan of most graffiti, but this one did make me smile.

G-CEMS Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Picture of G-CEMS Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopter.

Whilst I was over in Yeadon last week I saw a yellow helicopter fly overhead and guessed it was one of the two helicopters flown by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The helicopter was G-CEMS an MD 902 Explorer which is based at Bagby airport near the town of Thirsk in N Yorkshire. The other Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopter G-SASH is based at Leeds/Bradford airport.

Yeadon Church Daffodils

Picture of daffodils in the churchyard of St John at Yeadon".

These daffodils are in the churchyard of the church of St John the Evangelist in Yeadon.

I had until recently not realised this church existed, it is rather hidden behind some houses. On the day I dropped by I would have looked around the inside but like so many churches across England this church was locked.

I grew up in rural Oxfordshire and although quite a few churches there are locked and shut there is often a notice saying something like try the cottage opposite the war memorial for the key or access. This is also quite often the case in North Yorkshire but here in built up West Yorkshire it seems to me to be uncommon.

Because of this blog and a longstanding interest in churches and the art inside I get to visit quite a few churches around Leeds and further afield. Recently a vicar I spoke with on the phone suggested if I wanted to see the inside of his church I should drop by on a Sunday. I have no real problem with that but many churches do not hold a regular every Sunday service, his church has no info available online about services. I have visited the church more than 10 times in as many weeks and on every occasion it has been locked.

I perhaps visit between 1 to 4 churches most weeks so sticking to Sundays during daylight I would struggle. The need for daylight is that I often like to get photos of the stained glass windows. I have an ongoing project about the art and treasures that can be found in most churches. I should add that I have long discovered that you cannot judge a church from its exterior alone. Three churches in the last week alone have surprised me with the richness of the art to be found within their walls.

Waiting

Picture of two golden retriever dogs.

These two were parked up outside a local supermarket. They were both gazing patiently in the direction of the entrance, where I guess the owner had gone.

They say a dog is mans best friend, someone is doubly blessed. I wandered over to say hello but whilst being friendly they would not be distracted from the task at hand, waiting for their master (mistress).

I have never had a Golden Retriever as a pet but I would have been well pleased with either or both of these two. These are the kind of family pets people with young children should keep, not dogs with a potential to rip your arm off and only desist when hit with a heavy metal bar.

Surprise

High above Lands Lane and Albion Place in Leeds city centre above the former church institute building there is a spire. What I had never noticed until I photographed the spire last week and then looked through the photos was that there surrounding the spire are what appear to be the heads of hounds or dogs.

Its odd because from street level they are not discernible for what they are. The building was gutted and a new build was inserted into and around the shell around 30 year back.

Spring Blossom

Picture of tree blossom.

I was in the grounds of a local church yesterday and saw this blossom on a tree.

It was warm, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. I think Spring has finally arrived here in my bit of Yorkshire.

St George's Church

Picture of church of St George at Leeds.

Not sure how I missed writing about this church over the past 3 years.

Today the church of St George in Leeds city centre is rather overshadowed by the nearby buildings of the Leeds General Infirmary. When this church was built in 1836-38 by John Clark in the Gothic Revival style it would have been seen as more imposing than it does today.

Unusually this church was built with no churchyard, instead there was an under-croft with 700 recesses for coffins. I may be wrong but I think that these coffins have long been removed. Today the crypt of this church St Georges is perhaps the best known part of the church across the city.

St Georges crypt has operated as a centre for the homeless and the needy since the 1930's and is I think one of the best known charities in the city. I certainly had heard of it long before I first walked past the church.

Externally at least from the front view this now listed Grade I building looks pretty much as it has always done. Inside it is a different matter, once through the modern glass doors St Georges church is a very modern organization.

Unusually for a city centre church St Georges was open to visitors on the day last week when I visited. I say this because yesterday I visited another large church in the nearby town of Keighley, on a planned visit only to discover that it was locked shut. This church was supposed to be open for a few hours on Saturdays for visitors, it is locked during the week as I discovered on an earlier unplanned trip.

Even on Sundays some of our churches do not necessarily have a service every week, so I try to be there when there will be someone there. Church wardens I find are a really good contact, they often live nearby and usually know quite a bit about their church.

Meerkat at Tropical World

Picture of a meerkat at Tropical World, Leeds.

In a bit of a rush, things to do people to see...

The above meerkat photo was taken a while back at Tropical World in Roundhay Park, Leeds.

Stopped Clock

Picture of a clock at the Albert Inn in Yeadon.

Walking back along Cemetery Road into Yeadon I passed a pub called the Albert Inn. The one thing I recall about the pub is an old clock high on a wall that was showing the wrong time and looks as though it has not worked in some years.

Yeadon Cemetery

Picture of cemetery at Yeadon in W Yorkshire.

Walking along Cemetery Road in Yeadon past the Mercy House and the allotment gardens is Yeadon cemetery.

Yeadon cemetery was opened in 1875 amongst the many civil interments it also has 22 war graves each marked with a CWGC Portland stone headstone.

International Womens Day

I called into Yeadon library a few a few days back and saw a small display in the entrance for International Women's Day.

I could recognize around a third of the famous women on the board. I have posted here about the three sisters who lived a few miles from here. The Bronte sisters were from Yorkshire, born in the village of Thornton and living and writing in Haworth.

March 8th is International Women's Day.

Allotments at Yeadon

Picture of allotment gardens at Yeadon, Leeds.

Adjacent to the Sisters of Mercy in Yeadon on Cemetery Road in Yeadon there are some allotments.

These allotment gardens are unusually easily accessed through an unlocked gate. On the day I was there there I just walked in and there being no one around I took the above photo.

The Victorian building in the background is in Yeadon cemetery, the allotments lie between the cemetery and the Sisters of Mercy.

Mercy in Yeadon

Picture of Sisters of Mercy at Yeadon, Leeds.

This building is set back in nice gardens on Cemetery Road, Yeadon between the Tarn and Yeadon cemetery.

What caught my eye was the odd name of the house "Mercy" and the statues in the garden.

No its not the rock band Sisters of Mercy, who I saw when they played when my then girlfriend took me to see Echo and the Bunnymen at York racecourse back in the late summer of 1984.

I think this is a convent of the religious order Sisters of Mercy.

Public Place Photography

The above building is the Leeds Student Medical Practice on Blenheim Walk a short walk from the University of Leeds campus.

I took this photo a year back and I recall trying to get the photo without anyone in it. These days I would most likely do the opposite.

A few days back I took a friend to a local hospital (not Leeds) and whilst waiting for them to seen in A&E I thought I would get a few photos of the buildings from the outside. A few seconds after I produced my camera a security guard appeared and said I could not take photos there because of "data protection" I said I could walk a few yards away to the nearby public road and he could not stop me, after that discussion he left...

Just occasionally I feel perhaps I ought to get the I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! badge.

Leeds Rifles

Picture of Leeds Rifles badge on war grave headstone at Wortley cemetery, Leeds.

The Leeds Rifles are long gone but across the city of Leeds there are several small reminders of the many men who served in the two battalions.

The above photo shows a detail of a CWGC headstone at Wortley cemetery, the detail being the badge of the 8th Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)(Leeds Rifles).

The 2 battalions the 7th and 8th of the Leeds Rifles were based from the 1880's in Carlton Barracks, the being the former home of the militia.

During WW1 between 1915 and 1918 2,050 members of the Rifles died in the fields of France and Flanders. This figure of 2,050 is virtually the same number of men that initially was the combined strength of the two battalions on mobilization.

St Barts From Afar

Picture of the church of Saint Bartholomew in Armley, Leeds.

Whilst visiting Upper Wortley cemetery a few days back I noticed in the distance St Bartholomew's church in Armley.

This large church stands on a hill in Armley and is surrounded by buildings and to get a better photo close up I would I think need a wider angle lens. The day I took this photo there was some haze in the distance, so I have tweaked this picture a little to get a crisper look. I think that from where I was stood in the cemetery in Wortley to the church was around 1/2 mile or perhaps a little less.

Wortley Cemetery Leeds

Picture of Wortley cemetery, Leeds.

This is a photo from Upper Wortley cemetery which opened in 1865.

There are 22 cemeteries maintained by Leeds city council spread across the city. The cemeteries range from Armley Top to Yeadon, so not quite A to Z. I passed nearby Yeadon cemetery some days back when I visited Yeadon Tarn.

Both Upper and Lower (which is adjacent) Wortley are at Oldfield Lane, Leeds, LS12 4EX.