SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I hope this forum can help me.

I remember going to the old Leeds Museum in the 50s/60s which stood next to the railway station if I remember right. Certainly in the 50s one could go down an old coal mine, the entrance being within the museum.

Can anyone shed any light on this coal mine? I think you went in a small cage which took you down the shaft to the mine.

The Museum (maybe called British) I recall in the late 1940s was on the end of one of the Streets that led onto East Parade, maybe Greek St. we were taken there on school trips and from what I can recall it was quite boring, a few prehistoric type skeletons and not much else. Don't recall anything to do with coal mining there. As this was about 70 years ago am I mistaken ?

It was on Park Row, opposite and to the right of the end of Bond Street. In the 1940s and 50s it stood back from Park Row, the front having been badly affected by WW2 bombing. The coalmine exhibit was in the basement as you recall. It was quite a good museum by the standards of the time - it certainly kept me interested as a youngster.

Got it!
http://www.leodis.org/display.aspx?reso ... 4_95612735

Thanks for your help. The above said it was a miniature mine, but if my memory serves me right it was a working mine at one time albeit small. I think one of the tour guides actually worked in the mine. Gather the museum closed in 1965, which would fit in with my recollections.

Sadly it was really only the mine that sticks in my memory.

I recall going to the old museum in the early 50's with a very large spider we found in the garden, anyway it turned out to be just a common old garden spider and not a tarantula. I also recall the Mine and there was also an Egyptian sarcophagus.

Anyway here is a map from 1889 showing its original location before it was bombed.

freeatlast wrote:Got it!
http://www.leodis.org/display.aspx?reso ... 4_95612735

Thanks for your help. The above said it was a miniature mine, but if my memory serves me right it was a working mine at one time albeit small. I think one of the tour guides actually worked in the mine.

OT because its out of Leeds but, for those that don't know, you can still go down what was a working mine at the National Coal Mining Museum (Caphouse Colliery) between Wakefield and 'uddersfield in Overton https://www.ncm.org.uk/

jim wrote:It was on Park Row, opposite and to the right of the end of Bond Street. In the 1940s and 50s it stood back from Park Row, the front having been badly affected by WW2 bombing. The coalmine exhibit was in the basement as you recall. It was quite a good museum by the standards of the time - it certainly kept me interested as a youngster.

Thanks for that. Of course East Parade is the other end leading up to the Town Hall. On a visit to the Museum our bus used to park a little distance away outside the Bank Of England branch and as a kid I thought that it was THE Bank Of England.

volvojack wrote:

jim wrote:It was on Park Row, opposite and to the right of the end of Bond Street. In the 1940s and 50s it stood back from Park Row, the front having been badly affected by WW2 bombing. The coalmine exhibit was in the basement as you recall. It was quite a good museum by the standards of the time - it certainly kept me interested as a youngster.

Thanks for that. Of course East Parade is the other end leading up to the Town Hall. On a visit to the Museum our bus used to park a little distance away outside the Bank Of England branch and as a kid I thought that it was THE Bank Of England.

Hi volvojack .

The underground coal mine at the museum fascinated me as a kid, particularly the crawling part at the coalface (to the best of my recollection it was just a good reconstruction). As a kid, like you, I also used to think that bank on Park Row was THE Bank of England.

I remember at the far end of the mine tunnel it was not very long was a mirror.It made me jump the first time i saw it i thought there was someone at the far end,funny how things stick in you mind.

Regarding the coal mine, In one of the upper floors there was a rather bare room with a single window ,and in that room was one single exhibit,a model of a working coal mine.The model was about 8foot high by 5 foot wide and was a through section of a mine showing miners going about there work above and below ground,descending the shaft in cages ,pulling tubs of coal along the roadway ect. I wonder if they still have this exhibit at Yeadon.