SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I've memories as many a Leeds lad will no doubt have of raiding the rhubarb sheds during the school holidays. Close to where I lived in Morley as a lad there were forced rhubarb sheds on Daisy Hill close to Morley Low train station.We'd go equipped with a half bag of sugar procured from our mams pantry. I can remember us all eating the stuff until out stomachs ached from all the acid. We'd still half-hinch a few stalks to take home for our mams to make rhubarb crumble / pie etc. There was tons of the stuff so we werent exactly putting the farmer out of business. I think in the part of Morley I lived near the top of Churwell Hill, the local farmer was a guy called Reuben Lindley. Over the other end of Morley towards Ardsley / Woodkirk there was a feller called Cartilidge. About 20 years ago I came across a derelict farm house / farm while out walking around the Howley Park / Soothill area. One of the sheds was stacked with loads of the old wooden crates which had 'Cartilidge Rhubarb' stamped on them. Wish I'd picked a couple up now as they were most likely burned when the farm was demolished. They would have been quite nice pieces of Leeds's heritage to own.

jonleeds:Yes,I remember Cartlidge's as being a local farmer engaged in that business(among others)....he owned land all over the place.The area you talk of from Morley top station,right across towards Tingley,following what is now the M62 corridor,again on towards East Ardsley/Lofthouse was covered with the stuff and numerous forcing sheds.As nippers,we laiked among the sheds around Tingley on land that is now covered by the M62 just over the way from Tingley Gasworks and the many branch railways that existed around there at that time ! Rhubarb crumble was very popular in our household back then.

With all the above news of land being built over, I think a pertinent question would be to ask whether the Rhubarb Triangle still exists and is rhubarb still grown around Leeds.

peterg wrote: With all the above news of land being built over, I think a pertinent question would be to ask whether the Rhubarb Triangle still exists and is rhubarb still grown around Leeds. The Rhubarb Rhombus?

Does the rhombus include the big field of rhubarb behind the farm shop at the bottom of Roker Lane in Pudsey, or does that make it a pentagon?

Book yourself a tour of the forcing sheds for early next year at Oldroyds in the far corner of the triangle over in Carlton .. don't leave it any longer though, otherwise the developers will have concreted over it all!http://www.yorkshirerhubarb.co.uk/

http://www.leodis.org/display.aspx?reso ... AY=FULLSee this above, I worked at the gasworks in the late 60s until it closed in1971. Cartlidge lived in the farm on Topcliffe Lane. They bussed in labour to harvest the tusky.

"Its a Rhubarb do" in the 1950s meant an unexpected and usually unwanted pregnancy.

Trojan wrote:carrotol wrote: But why Tusky? Who knows?Why Kayli? Why spice for sweets? Why growlers for pork pies? Why chumps for stuff you put on the bonfire?

TUSKY - fairly certain this comes from the fact that until around 1850, medicinal rhubarb roots were sold by travelling vendors - usually dressed as Moslems from North Africa - and their wares were widely referred to as Turkey rhubarb. Turkey was evolved into tusky I think.
SPICE - because grocers originally sold spices AND what we'd now call sweets

Trojan wrote:carrotol wrote: But why Tusky? Who knows?Why Kayli? Why spice for sweets? Why growlers for pork pies? Why chumps for stuff you put on the bonfire?

TUSKY - fairly certain this comes from the fact that until around 1850, medicinal rhubarb roots were sold by travelling vendors - usually dressed as Moslems from North Africa - and their wares were widely referred to as Turkey rhubarb. Turkey was evolved into tusky I think.
SPICE - because grocers originally sold spices AND what we'd now call sweets