PUDSEY CONSERVATION AREA
Historical development and changing character of the conservation area
Pudsey, located mid-way between the urban sprawl of Leeds and Bradford, is situated on high ground rising to around 184m O.D. above sea level. Land to the west, south and east of Pudsey falls steeply towards the Tyersal and Pudsey Becks, the geology comprising Lower Coal Measures of the Upper Carboniferous Period. Formerly within the Wapentake of Morley and Calverley Parish, Pudsey became a Municipal Borough in 1889, merging with Farsley and Calverley 1937. In 1974 Pudsey became part of the Leeds Metropolitan District.
Evidence for Prehistoric activity in and around Pudsey is sparse and is represented by a Bronze Age barbed and tanged arrowhead found in the vicinity of Troydale, c. 1 mile to the southeast of Pudsey. In 1879 a cremation urn containing human remains, possibly prehistoric or Roman in date, was reportedly found c. 1.5 miles to the east of the town, in a stone quarry at Hough End. Roman activity within the vicinity includes three isolated finds of coins dating to the mid-1st and 4thcenturies. A Roman coin hoard, of unknown date, found to the north of Pudsey in the 19th century was found within an area traditionally known as King Alfred's Camp on Pudsey Common.
Pudsey is recorded as Podeschesaie in the Domesday records of 1086, the place-name possibly derived from the Old English personal name Pudoc, and the term haeg (enclosure) or heagh, meaning high ground (Smith 1961, 3, 236). At the time of the survey the land at Pudsey was waste, but prior to the Conquest it had been worth 40 shillings, which was twice as much as Calverley, and Farsley combined. After the Conquest the manor of Pudsey was granted to Ilbert de Lacy, and was subsequently passed to the Scott family, who eventually took the Calverley name. In the 12th and 13th centuries a number of lands and holdings at Pudsey were granted to the Knights Hospitallers and the monks of Kirkstall Abbey. It was locally believed that Hough End was formerly within the Pudsey township, but the monks of Kirkstall incorporated their holdings there with those held at Bramley. The manor was a sub-manor of Calverley until the mid-17th century when purchased by the Milner family. Charles Milner sold much of the land in 1839, the remaining holdings and manorial rights bought by William Stowe. By 1876 the manorial rights were held by Joseph Illingworth.
Medieval documents reveal that Pudsey township comprised a number of small scattered settlements with some having their own field system and woodland. Principal settlements in this period included Berecroft and Owlcotes to the north of the township, Tyersal and Wild Grove to the west of Tyersal Beck, Lowtown to the east of the township, and Ulvesthorpe to the south. Owlcote was occupied from at least the 12th century whilst Ulversthorpe is mentioned by the early 13th century. Some of these settlements no longer survive. Berecroft (c. SE224343) and Ulvesthorpe (SE217320) had disappeared by the 18th century. Owlcotes (SE212340) was abandoned in the 1930s and the site was registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1987 (SAM 30844). Some dwellings or farmsteads were situated at the edge, or upon land illegally taken from the wasteland. In 1448 the manor court ordered the dismantling of houses at le Blakhey because they had been constructed illegally on the wasteland of Thersall. This site is now represented by Black Hey, situated immediately west of Tyresal Beck. Other settlements included Fartown, The Green, and Chapeltown, and with Lowtown, helped to form the modern Pudsey of today.
Pudsey was formerly a chapelry within the parish of Calverley and routes from Calverley, settlements within the township, and elsewhere, converged upon the Chapel of Ease at Chapeltown (the place-name derived from the chapel). A field-name Chapel Flat is documented in 1362, suggesting that a chapel was situated here by this date. The site of this early chapel is unknown, but it probably stood on the site of the later chapel that was demolished in 1879. The Cenotaph erected to commemorate the 1914-18 war now partly stands upon this site. The chapel was known as All Saints Chapel and its living was valued at £10 15s in 1535. Records suggest that some refurbishment took place in 1681 and rebuilding or extensive renovation occurred in 1770. It was not until 1704 that the vicar of Calverley requested a burial license for the chapel, although interments had taken place prior to this. A new church dedicated to St Lawrence was built on Church Lane between 1821-24, and the chapel and burial ground subsequently became redundant. The chapel was eventually demolished, as part of the land was required for road widening.
Charters of the 13th and 14th centuries indicate that land at Pudsey consisted of woodland, moorland, common, pasture, and arable land. Enclosures (which later became redundant) had taken place within the township in this period near Owlcotes, Tyersal Beck and Tong Beck. The majority of land enclosures, apart from common land, took place in 1710. The Act for enclosing common land was passed in 1811, with land enclosed in 1813. Prior to the enclosures of 1813 earthworks were situated upon Upper Moor. These were supposedly entrenchments used by Parliamentarians during their attack on Leeds and Bradford in the 1640s. Bullets were found in this vicinity whilst ploughing the land after enclosure. Common land, where tenants had rights to graze animals, had also been used for leisure activities. Prior to enclosure Rickardshaw Common had been used as a racecourse, part of the common supposedly levelled for this purpose. Races were also held at Upper Moor around 1730.
The medieval settlement pattern in Pudsey township is reflected in a map of c. 1742 held at the York Minster Archives, where a series of scattered settlements and farmsteads are connected by minor route-ways. Development by this date had moved away from the settlement foci, forming a scattered ribbon pattern along the sides of these routes. Buildings annotated on the map comprised one or two storey dwellings, farmsteads with adjoining or adjacent barns, and small rows of cottages. Many buildings, away from the core, stood within their own parcel of land. Substantial housing included an apparently three-gabled house at Low Town, possibly representing the Manor House that had been rebuilt or erected by the Milner family. Stocks were situated to the west of the chapel at Chapeltown. Settlement pattern in the mid-19th century was similar to that of the mid-18th century. It was from the late 19th century (O.S.1895) and the early 20th century (O.S. 1909) that development noticeably increased, with the infilling of spaces and the merging of settlements.
Private houses and barns in Pudsey were used as Meeting houses in the 17th century prior to the building of chapels for Dissenters. In 1672 at Greentop, the house of James Sale a minister was registered as a meetinghouse for Nonconformists. Hearth Tax records of 1666 reveal that a James Sale paid tax on 7 hearths at Pudsey. Chapels were erected after the Toleration Act of c.1690, which allowed freedom of religious worship. Some barns used as meetinghouses were demolished to make way for the new church. One such barn was situated on the site of the Independent Methodist Church at Lowtown. Between 1800 and c. 1870 no fewer than eleven Methodist chapels were built at Pudsey. Associated schools were also erected. Smaller chapels were later extended or replaced by larger chapels in order to accommodate a growing congregation.
Population growth was influenced by the development of industry and improved communications. Essentially an agricultural economy, woollen manufacture was formerly used to supplement the agricultural income. By the end of the 17th century a large amount of woollen cloth was being sold in the markets of Leeds. Tanning was also carried out from the medieval period and coal mining by at least the 18th century. A map of c. 1742 annotates a group of four 'Colepitts' situated on the route at Bankhouse Green. The woollen industry came into prominence from the 18th and 19th centuries, the first steam woollen mill being introduced at Union Bridge Mill on Roker Road, to the southeast of Pudsey. A second mill, Gibraltar mill, to the west of Pudsey, was erected in 1801-2. Woollen manufacture declined when the worsted trade was established around 1860. Valley Mill, on Littlemoor, was erected in 1867, and Prospect Mill, north of Chapeltown, in 1870. Many of the mills were subsequently enlarged to meet the increasing demand. Other industries at Pudsey in this period included the Boot and Shoe trade and the quarrying of stone. The Upper Moor quarries, possibly of medieval origin, were renowned for building stone and were used for the building of Fulneck in 1746.
The growth of industry led to a demand for improved transport. The first road to be turnpiked was the Halifax to Leeds route in 1740-41. The present Leeds -Bradford route was made in 1820 and the Swallow Hill turnpike linking Lowtown to the Tong turnpike was established in 1836. The Leeds to Halifax branch of the Great Northern Railway, via Stanningley, opened in 1854, but did not extend to Pudsey until 1878.
Population figures reflect the rate of development. In 1801 the total number of inhabitants at Pudsey was 6393 rising to 13,997 in 1871. Increased development within the town replaced some earlier housing. Waver Green, a village green with a pond and pinfold, adjacent to the Town Hall, was filled in 1849 and partly built over by a bank in 1891. Old cottages were demolished to make way for the Mechanics Institute, Co-op store, and Conservative Club that opened in 1899. Little Moor Council School in 1891 was built on the site of Pudsey poorhouse on Valley Road, and in 1911 the Trinity United Methodist Church was built on the site of the Manor House. A public cemetery opened in 1875 on Cemetery Road, with both layout and buildings designed by William Gay. The cemetery was added to the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in May 2002 (GD3498). A field path, from Chapeltown to Littlemoor, recorded on the map of c. 1742 now forms South Parade. Redevelopment took place in Pudsey in the 1950s and 1960s in order to improve facilities, which included a new post office and library. Many dwellings, regarded as substandard, were demolished, changing the appearance of the old core. Modern flats and housing replaced stone cottages that stood in crofts and folds, one fold, however, dating from the 17th century, or earlier, survived. Booth's Yard, formerly Hammerton Fold, in Lowtown, was refurbished and is presently used for commercial purposes.
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