SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Quote:

Mr. Smeaton designed a small fire-engine and blowing machine for an iron furnace, which was erected at Seacroft, in Yorkshire, in 1779- There was an old corn-mill, on the site of the works, which had a small supply of water in the winter, but in dry seasons and in summer the water failed in great part.

From page 24 of the old thread....

The "Old Corn Mill" I assume being Mathers Mill?

Hope you can pick up Chameleons drawing of the Foundry Mill, I note the raised roof section??

Please can you post a link to the drawing with the raised roof, I cannot find it.

It may not be directly relevant to the thread but I thought this seemed a good thread to ask. I would like to know what is/was the linear feature towards the top left near and just right of the meandering Wykebeck? This map showing it is from a 1908 map in the Old Maps UK website. The feature is not marked on an 1891/93 map in that website but is marked on a 1921 and a 1933/34 map but not on a 1950/51 map.

You would have to say that it looks like an embankment. Or at least it's consistent with how embankments are marked on OS maps.

Which means someone has gone to a reasonable amount of work to build a flat way between A and B. For what? Transporting something via a wagonway or tramway? If you are taking stuff by horse and cart then you would use the road.

There are extant wagon and tramway embankments around Leeds and they largely seem to be made up of spoil, so I guess they were built by tipping the spoil and extending the rails as the embankment grew.

All of which is supposition and gives no real answer

And raises the questions, moving what, and from where to where?

I think you will find that it is the symbol for an embankment

warringtonrhino wrote:Please can you post a link to the drawing with the raised roof, I cannot find it.

Tyke Bhoy duly obliges

I like the first O.S. map from 1847 it has a bench mark near the weir/leat at Easterly Road marked as 192.2. At the Foundry Mill is a B.M. close by at 162.7

Allowing a long leat to just about work?

Thanks rikj and buffaloskinner for your help in my query about the linear feature, which will be an embankment. That leaves a query as to how it came to be. Perhaps it was a result of some work done on Wykebeck?

Leodian wrote:Thanks rikj and buffaloskinner for your help in my query about the linear feature, which will be an embankment. That leaves a query as to how it came to be. Perhaps it was a result of some work done on Wykebeck?

It could be Leo. After all a lot of work was done on Wykebeck straightening it all out so there's been plenty of muck shifting along it. The long embankment isn't a natural feature, nor was a long pile of slag from the iron bloomeries that ended up under Fearnville playing fields. That was on the other side though.

If the feature isn't just a mistake it's probably the product of the temporary storage of natural material from work done to the beck Warrington Rhino has stated that happens from time to time. It could be work done to culvert side streams into the beck.

I walked it (again) yesterday and every so often you see a culvert discharging water into the beck so plenty of digging up and filling in has been done - albeit at right angles to the beck, so there remains some mystery. But it's a mysterious beck!!

It looks like a 'typing' error because
there does not appear to be a legitimate reason for it to be there.
it crosses a stream so it ought to have a substantial bridge?
It isn't there now, even in the area that is relatively untouched
I cannot see any 'crop marks' on aerial photographs I took in 1982.
I will ask my colleague at OS when he gets back from holiday.