Stephen Jones

What a fabulous picture this is! In the bottom right, the white semi-circle is the loop of Elland Road as it passes under the Leeds/Wakefield/London railway on its way to Churwell and Morley. The Cottingley prefabs are not yet built, and the Crematorium buildings are not present either. The Ring Road from Elland Road to the Wheatsheaf is not yet built, so the visible track (which the Ring Road would later follow) must be the original Royds Lane. I've never seen a picture of this part of Royds Lane before. The hamlet of Beeston Near Royds can be seen between the Crematorium site and the Wheatsheaf pub. All of the land east of Royd's Lane is undeveloped, but Wortley Beck has been culverted as it crosses what would become the Wallace Arnold depot site. Half way up the right edge, Lowfields Road and Brown Lane can be seen, both with litte obvious development around. I'd say this scene must be late 1920s. In the lower centre of the image, just west of where Gelderd Road crosses the Leeds/Manchester railway, appears to be the workings of Ravels (Raffles) mines. I haven't seen that before, either. Thanks so much for posting this.

25-Aug-2010

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