Tag Archives: Leeds

Architectural Gems of Leeds

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Architectural Gems of Leeds

 

Leeds is a splendid Victorian city with a treasure trove of colourful flamboyant buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th century. Architectural highlights include the Leeds Corn Exchange with its domed wooden roof resembling the hull of a boat, designed by Cuthbert Brodrick in 1864. 

 

  

The stunning County Arcade designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham, built between 1898-1904, is one of several well-preserved Victorian shopping arcades in Leeds. The glazed faience decoration that adorns the interior of this arcade was made by the local firm of Burmantofts.

 

  

 The terracotta cladding on the facade of  nearby Leeds City Market on Kirkgate is also very spectacular. Designed by Joseph and John Leeming in 1904, the market hall’s cast-iron structure is painted in polychrome. The market itself is one of the most vibrant in the UK.

 

  

On the other side of the city is Leeds Civic Hall with its dazzling golden owls, a late Art Deco building designed by Vincent Harris dating  from 1931-3.

 

  

Dominating the Headrow is the imposing Leeds Town Hall, another highly ornate Victorian building designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, built between 1853-8.

 

  

Next door is Leeds Art Gallery, whose newly-restored top-lit galleries provide a stunning setting for its excellent collection of 20th century paintings and sculpture. The Art Gallery’s fabulous Victorian tiled café is not to be missed. 

 

  

On the other side of the Headrow in the elegant setting of Park Square is St Paul’s House. A Victorian warehouse and cloth cutting works designed in the Moorish-Venetian style by Thomas Ambler in 1878, this extraordinary building is another of the architectural gems of Leeds.

 

  

  

Just 30 miles from Elmet Farmhouse, Leeds is easily reached by train from Hebden Bridge and makes an excellent day out.

For more information about Leeds, follow these links:

Architecture

Tourist information

Glorious Gardens

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Dove Cottage Nursery and Garden

Shibden, near Halifax

 

An outstanding nursery specialising in hardy perennials with a wonderful hillside garden  featured several times on Gardeners World, most recently in August 2017. The planting is lush and impressionistic, mixing grasses with tall herbaceous perennials to create a wild naturalistic effects with plants cascading over the winding paths. The garden is open from mid to late summer when the flowers and grasses are at their peak. Most of the plants in the herbaceous border at Elmet Farmhouse came from Dove Cottage Nursery.

Shibden Hall Road, Halifax HX3 9XA

Tel. 01422 203553

Email: info@dovecottagenursery.co.uk

www.dovecottagenursery.co.uk

Nursery open March-September. Garden open June – September

 

Slack Top Alpine Nursery and Garden

Heptonstall, near Hebden Bridge

 

 

If you’re interested in alpines, the award-winning Slack Top Alpine Nursery and Garden near Heptonstall, above Hebden Bridge, is the place to come – not just in Yorkshire, but nationwide. Situated in a stunning location on top of the Pennines above Hardcastle Crags, the nursery specialises in hardy alpine plants which flourish at high altitude. Run by  alpine experts Michael and Allison Mitchell, Slack Top Alpines has been profiled in the RHS magazine The Garden and featured on Gardeners’ World. All the plants are grown on site and many  can be seen in the adjoining garden in specially-made troughs and striking rock and scree beds. Whether you’re an alpine lover or a novice gardener, Slack Top  is an inspiring place to visit and offers one of the best selections of alpines in the UK.

Slack Top Nursery and Garden, Alpine House, 22A Slack Top, near Heptonstall, Hebden Bridges, West Yorkshire HX7 7HA

Tel. 01422 845348

Email: enquiries@slacktopnurseries.co.uk

www.slacktopnurseries.co.uk

Open from March to September, Fridays-Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays, 10am – 5pm

 

Parcevall Hall Gardens

Skyreholme, near Skipton

 

A renowned plantsman’s garden located at the heart of Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Located at the head of a small valley, there are 24 acres of formal and woodland gardens which rise up the hillside for 200 feet giving wonderful views in every direction. The gardens were laid out by the late Sir William Milner from 1927 onwards, and are planted with specimens from around the world, many collected from Western China and the Himalayas. The gardens have many different facets, including woodland walks, formal south facing terraces, a bedrock limestone rock garden and a beautiful rose garden, all set against the stunning back-drop of the Yorkshire Dales.

Parcevall Hall Gardens, Skyreholme, Skipton BD23 6DE

Tel. 01756 720311

Email: parcevallhall@btconnect.com

www.parcevallhallgardens.co.uk

Open daily from April – October, 10am – 6pm

 

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal

near Ripon

 

 

The picturesque ruins of 12th century Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, make a splendid excursion from Elmet Farmhouse. Adjoining the abbey grounds are the serene 18th century water gardens created by John and Wiliam Aislabie on their Studley Royal estate. Newly restored by the National Trust, who own both properties, the gardens consist of a series of lakes, ponds and canals adorned with classical statues, overlooked by temples, towers and viewpoints. These vistas, along with the stunning views of nearby Fountains Abbey, combine to create an unforgettable landscape experience.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, near Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 3DY

Tel: 01765608888

Email: fountainsabbey@nationaltrust.org.uk

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden

Open daily 10am – 6pm

 

York Gate Garden

Adel, near Leeds

 

 

An exquisite one-acre garden lovingly hand-crafted by the mother and son duo of Sybil and Robin Spencer during the second half of the 20th century. A highly personal creation, York Gate is divided into small intimate areas by yew and beech hedges, with beautiful paving and choice plants. Highlights include the Herb Garden with its unusual topiary and the Dell with its attractive shrubs and hidden stream. A wonderful combination of architectural structure and inspired planting, York Gate is run by the charity Perennial (formerly known as the Gardeners’ Benevolent Society), to whom it was bequeathed in 1994.

Back Church Lane, Adel, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS16 8DW

Tel: 0113 267 8240

Email: yorkgate@perennial.org.uk

www.perennial.org.uk/garden/york-gate-garden/

Open Sunday to Thursday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 12.30 am – 4.30 pm

 

 

© Text and photos copyright Lesley Jackson and Ian Fishwick

Bingley Five Rise Locks

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Bingley’s Five Rise Locks

One of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways

Less than 3 miles from Saltaire along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal are the famous Five Rise Locks at Bingley, one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’. Built  in 1774, the five adjoining locks raise boats over 59 feet (18 metres) over a distance of 320 feet.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, connecting two major cities on either side of the Pennines, spans 127 miles and is the longest canal in the UK. Bingley’s Five Rise Locks are 16 miles from Leeds. Known as staircase locks because they open directly into each other, with the top gate of one lock forming the bottom gate of the next, Bingley’s Five Rise Locks are the steepest in the  country. A few hundred yards along the canal is another shorter flight of locks: the Bingley Three Rise Locks.

Designed by John Longbotham of Halifax, the Five Rise Locks were built by four local stonemasons: John Sugden of Wilsden and Barnabus Morvil, Jonathan Farrar and William Wild of Bingley.

The locks are a remarkable feat of engineering and are still in use today, operated by lock keepers. The photographs show two narrow boats passing through the Five Rise Locks. 

For more information, follow these links:

Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Pennine Waterways

Canal and River Trust

                                                                                                                                                                                            

© Text and photographs copyright Lesley Jackson