SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Especially for Christian Lüts

The building is the former P.O. at Oakwood.

All you need to find these old bench marks is an old 6" Ordnance Survey map, preferably dated from the 1900's

You can even use an online copy.

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17 ... layers=171

CUT BENCH MARK

That's a nice Bench Mark (BM) so thanks for that Brunel .

I like to 'find' BMs and have used old OS maps to do so, but sadly many BMs have gone. It's great to come across a BM that is not noted on maps. I have long intended to try to find the many BMs noted in the centre and close by area of Leeds but I've never yet got round to finding more than a few.

Three BM's marked on this section of the 6" map

The two circled in green still extant.

WETHERBY ROAD BENCH MARK by Isambard Brunel, on Flickr

If like me you want to know what these marks were used for and the reason they are called "bench marks" this article give a good explanation
http://www.heritageandhistory.com/conte ... 0937500000

Potternewton Park.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=53.8 ... 20/-1.5255

POTTERNEWTON PARK B.M._

Many church spires and towers were frequently ustilised as triangulation points ( largely superseded by GPS of course), those used for this are noted on OS maps and all have a bench mark at ground level.

MEANWOOD METHODIST CHURCH B.M

GRADE II LISTED. Now redundant, probably will be recycled into flats...shops..Wetherspoons?

Edit: https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/onlin ... M1IJB17S00

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=53.8 ... 82/-1.5670

ROUNDHAY PARK LANE B.M. 460.2' A.S.L. by Isambard Brunel, on Flickr

chameleon wrote:Many church spires and towers were frequently ustilised as triangulation points ( largely superseded by GPS of course), those used for this are noted on OS maps and all have a bench mark at ground level.

A good example of a church tower used as a triangulation point and indicated with a BM [whcih was not used as a leveling line BM] and which also has a BM is St John's Church, Briggate.
The tower has a flush bracket plate for the leveling - this is the only flush bracket I've found in Leeds while the trig is indicated by a cut benchmark in the boundary wall on Briggate. The BM is beside and below the blue plaque and I've tried to photograph it twice but its proximity to the bus stop means that it always seems to have somebody leaning against it!