Pudsey, the "top-enders"

Chapeltown, Pudsey
about 1900

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We begin our tour of Pudsey's 'top end' at Chapeltown,,
so named from Pudsey's ancient (Church of England) chapel-of-ease, All Saints, which remained, although latterly abandoned and neglected, until 1878. Its graveyard survived until 1921, you can see the high railings to the left of the picture, when it was taken over to the Pudsey Council. Pudsey's cenotaph to those who fell in the First World War was erected on the site the next year.

This photograph must have been taken before trams first came to Pudsey in 1908. From Stanningley the trams ran up to the terminus at the top of Chapeltown, opposite the Commercial Hotel.

In the distance is the Congregational Church which we
see more of later on.

Horse and Cart, in Carlisle Road
circa 1900

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This photograph looks back to Chapeltown from Carlisle Road.
The house in the left foreground still stands at the end of School Street but the cottages behind were pulled down some time ago. On the right you can see the gable end of Greenside School, but there were then buildings in what is now the playground.

All the characters on the cart, even the dog, seem to be enjoying having their photograph taken, only the horse maintains a suitable nonchalance.

Greenside Railway Station
through the years

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Further along Carlisle Road was Greenside Station. The station would have been nineteen years old when the bottom photograph was taken in 1897 although the extension to Bradford was not opened until 1892.
Wagons loaded with bales of wool for local mills were shunted into the large goods depot on the right of the picture to be unloaded and the bales stored awaiting collection.

The top photograph shows the last train to use the line in the 1960s. It also shows the Royal Hotel, built shortly after the station was opened.
It should have been called the Railway Hotel, but Pudsey already had such a hostelry, on Cliff Mill corner, near to the projected station of an earlier scheme to bring the railway to Pudsey.

Outside the Regent Hotel
late 19th century

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At the end of Carlisle Road you come to Fartown.
At the time of this photograph it was a rough district and could boast four inns, the White Cross, the Travellers' Rest (since closed), the Fleece and the Regent, pictured here.
This party look an unlikely company for the Regent Hotel! They are in fact believed to be a group from the nearly Moravian Settlement at Fulneck.

Pity the poor horses having to drag that load, with no pneumatic tyres to help. You can just see one of the solid tyres. Some horse-drawn wagonette outings ventured as far afield as Bolton Abbey some twenty miles away.

Greenside "Co-op"
1899

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Walk up to the top of Fartown, turn right along Greenside, and you would soon come to the Greenside branch of the Leeds Industrial Cooperative Society, the 'Coop'
.This picture was taken almost a hundred years ago when the shop was already about 25 years old.

By 1882 Pudsey had three Coop Grocery stores, the other two being at Lowtown and Littlemoor, with an annual turnover of about £20,000,
not insignificant when a working man's average wage was only about £1.
In 1898 a Butchers Shop and Reading Room was, added to the Greenside complex.

Pudsey Congregational Church
in the 1970s

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Almost next to the Greenside Coop stood the Congregational Church,
seen in the distance in the first photograph.

The congregation originated in 1662 as Presbyterians, later became Independents, then Congregationalist and continues today as the United Reformed Church.
This church, the second on the site, was built in 1864 costing £2,500. the architect being Messrs J P Pritchett and Son of Darlington, a firm which designed many Congregational churches in Yorkshire in the mid-l9th century.
The building became to costly to maintain and so was demolished in 1978, the congregation now meeting in part of the Sunday School which has been suitably adapted.

Notice the woman with the pram (an infrequent sight today), and the carefree children running across the road (at what today is a traffic black spot). What a lot of changes since this picture was taken not so many years ago!

Chapeltown and Uppermoor corner
late 19th century

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On the opposite corner to the Congregational Church stood this substantial garret house, demolished in 1931.
It was built, possibly as an inn, in the later l8th century but by the mid l9th century was occupied by William Potts, clock and watch maker. He later moved his business to Leeds where it continues today as Leeds's only clock manufacturing firm. William Potts was succeeded here by another clock-maker, Joseph Parker.

Many people will remember Hares sweets and tobacconists next door,
and Boyes' chemists next to that.

Buffy Lump, Smalewell
1900

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When this photograph was taken in about 1900 it would probably be seen as an old world scene even then.
The cottage still stands, at Buffy Lump, on the edge of Gibraltar quarries and overlooking the old track which linked Pudsey to Tyersal.

You can see the poor quality of much local stone. The corner stones are of necessity of better quality, set vertically for extra strength.
Notice the two water butts. Cottages without their own well (wells were costly to sink) relied on rain-water from the roof fed into large wooden barrels. Perhaps the second barrel was for 'old wesh', or urine, which was bought by local mills for scouring cloth.

A shop at Gibraltar
circa 1900

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A little further up the valley is the old hamlet, originally known as Delph End but later as Gibraltar. In the later l9th century it came to be populated mainly by those employed at the local Gibraltar mills.

Here is Mary Moorhouse, born in 1837, standing proudly outside her shop at 54 Gibraltar, wearing a "Persil-washed" apron for the occasion. As well as being a grocer and draper she was licensed to sell beer, porter and tobacco, and a close look at her window snows she also stocked teapots, cooking pots, miscellaneous ornament and pictures, and lace.

The shop was later kept by Cider Annie but finally closed about 1972.

"Pudsey Castle" Delph End
around 1900

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On the hillside above the hamlet of Gibraltar once stood this strange building, rising phoenix-like from the debris of the old quarries.

In fact. it was built as the Gibraltar mill manager's house, standing in a commanding position above the mill, but. predictably soon won the name of "Pudsey Castle" .
Already in 1890 it was a notable feature, being referred to in 'Pleasant Walks Around Bradford' as this 'conspicuous castellated building crowning the Gibraltar rock'. It was felt its presence added a certain glamour to Pudsey, and made walks 'round the Gib' a pleasant way to spend Sunday afternoons.