Lawnswood opened in 1875 and on 31 December of that year the Church of England section was consecrated by the Bishop of Ripon. The first burial, that of Henry Sharp, took place on 23 January 1876.

Following the legalisation of cremation in 1884, the crematorium part of the cemetery, designed by W S Braithwaite, opened in 1905 at a cost of £3000 and was the first in Britain to use a gas cremator. The first cremation, that of John Dunbar Steen of Guiseley, took place on 4 January 1905. However, cremations did not become commonplace until after WWII. The crematorium is, of course, still very much in use today and the chimney, sensitively disguised as a clock tower, underwent extensive repairs in 2010.

Lawnswood is home to some unusual memorials, perhaps the  most famous  being that of Ethel Preston who died in 1911. Her grave marker shows the lifesize figure of Ethel standing on the porch of her home, Grange House in Beeston (now demolished). The monument drew huge crowds and special trams were laid on to meet demand.  Police marshalled the queue of visitors and a café was opened at the tram terminus! 

Another impressive monument is that of Sam Wilson, JP of Leeds, which has figures representing faith, hope and benevolence plus a central panel depicting the vices of earthly life left behind (riches, women, drink etc).

There is a large columbarium (structure for the public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains)  and also a WWI war graves plot as well as many WWII memorial markers throughout the cemetery. 

Lawnswood is now designated as a ”Park or Garden of Special Historic Interest” with Historic England, and contains Grade 2 listed buildings and monuments. It has expanded over the years to its current size of 53 acres with many beautiful trees and is a haven for wildlife. 

The building is a rabbit warren of narrow steps and passages. We visited the fly loft where a myriad of ropes and pulleys allow the swift silent movement of backdrops, scenery, lights  and sometimes people in and out of the stage. In times past, this job was often done by sailors who would already 'know the ropes' so wouldn't need to be taught. The view down onto the stage from this height is not for the fainthearted.

We made our way, via a surprisingly small backstage area, onto the stage where we could experience the raked floor. This, of course, is common in old theatres to allow the paying public a better view of what's happening towards the back of the stage, but it can prove tricky for a dancer to keep their balance, especially if en pointe.

Interesting fact: the prompt corner (the bit where the stage manager sits telling people what to do) is on the wrong side. In most theatres, as any thespians among you will know, it is stage left but here it is stage right, simply due to lack of space.

The theatre's popularity began to decline as television became more widespread and it eventually closed in 1954. It carried on as a cinema until 1966, then a bingo hall until the early 1980's. During this time, mercifully it's original features were covered over rather than being ripped out. When the danger of demolition loomed, it was saved by attaining listed status in 1979. 

The theatre was brought back to life by a dedicated group of supporters who managed to raise enough funds for refurbishment to allow it to reopen as a live theatre venue in 1986. It has remained open since then (apart from Covid) and continues to thrive and it is well worth a visit.

The Kingdom of Elmet emerged in the 5th century and subsequently passed between various Kings and overlords to whom the local population had to pay rent in the form of food. It is likely around this time that the area was given the name Scireburn, meaning either bright stream or dividing stream in Old English. 

The hill at Sherburn offers a good view of surrounding country and there has been a church there since Saxon times. Even on a dull day, we were able to see the towers of York Minster around 15 miles away. Sherburn church is much larger than expected and was built in the 12th century. To its North is the site of a former Manor House or Hunting Lodge known as Athelstan's Palace - a location untouched and ripe for archaeological excavation one day!

Sherburn is set on a limestone ridge which extends all the way to Garforth cliff. There were  many small quarries in the area and stone from here was used in both York Minster and Selby Abbey, apparently floated partially along the Ouse to its destination.

Spinning forward in time, in 1741 the ancient cart track through the village became a turnpike road. This led to the centre of Sherburn moving from the church area, down to the toll road to service the new coach traffic with food, drink and change of horses. Five coaches a day connecting to York and beyond meant up to 60 horses had to be stabled in the village - imagine the smell!

Within more recent memory, aviation has featured heavily in the area. The Blackburn Aircraft Company built and tested aircraft at Sherburn, producing an astonishing 1,699 Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers between 1941 and 1944 - a remarkable achievement which is commemorated by a sculpture in the village centre.

However, with the rise of the railways and the decline of inland water transport the dock eventually fell into disuse. Throughout the second half of the 20th century the area suffered a steady decline as the mills and heavy engineering works began to close, move further out of town or scale down until by the early 1990s it was a wasteland of derelict buildings.Construction of the £42.5 million Royal Armouries Museum, which opened in 1996, marked the start of the area's redevelopment. However further development was slow and it was another 8 years before the multi story car park was built, followed by a hotel in 2006. Since then, the area has been completely transformed and it now boasts an impressive array of fully occupied waterfront apartments as well as offices, shops and restaurants, including 11 digital and tech companies as well as Sky's Digital HQ. 

Rebranded as Leeds Dock in 2013, it is now home to apx 1800 residents and an onsite workforce of over 2,000 people. Take a look at the before and after photos from almost the same spot!

The rebuilding was led by vicar Dr W F Hook, widely regarded as the country's greatest parish priest of the nineteenth century, both for his inspiring worship in church and his social work amongst the poor living nearby.

The church was built to hold 1,600 people but services regularly drew 2,500 with the poor occupying the ground floor and the rich in their privately rented pews in the large gallery.The oldest artefact in the Minster is the Leeds Cross which dates from the 10th Century. When the tower from the old church was taken down in 1838, the remains of this cross were found beneath it and were pieced together and placed on display where it can still be seen today.

Impossible to miss is the abundance of stained glass in a variety of styles and colours. Some is original to Dr Hook’s plan and other windows have been gifted in memoriam of family members by wealthy churchgoers. There is also a rare Elizabethan painted table-tomb complete with a skeleton carrying a spade to remind all observers of their mortality!

More recent history is recorded in a commemorative plaque to Captain Lawrence Oates (his family came from Leeds), who perished along with his 4 companions in 1912 on the ill fated Captain Scott expedition to the South Pole. 

The Minster is well worth a visit on your next trip to Leeds.

We were able to see how Garforth Main Street (or Briggate as it used to be called) looked before cars took precedence over people. We tracked the locations of mining tunnels and the old sand quarry (perhaps best not to know!). And we viewed a very detailed study of every grave in St Mary's churchyard, including photos and transcripts of the memorials - a project which must have taken many months work by a dedicated local historian. It was a treasure trove of information for us all and one attendee even came across information in the collection about their own relatives.

we discovered, or remembered for some of the longer term Kippax residents! Kippax was a substantial village from before 1066 and evidence has been discovered showing that there were settlers on the site as long as 6,000 years ago. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 Kippax was listed as Chipesch which is believed to mean ‘Cippa’s Ash Tree’ (Cippa being an Old English personal name). The name has been used as a street name on a newish development on the site of the old Ash Tree School, Leeds Road near the library. It is thought that the Angles or English first arrived in the area in the 7th century AD. Kippax is thought to have been the administrative and ecclesiastical centre of a large Anglo-Saxon estate and, following the Norman Conquest of 1066, was the manorial centre for the Northern part of the Honour of Pontefract ( an area of land that covered about half of modern day West Yorkshire). 14th century tax rolls suggest that Kippax had a population equivalent to Leeds. The Church of St Mary Kippax, almost certainly exists on the site of an earlier church, possibly wooden, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Two fragments of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft, thought to be part of an early 10th century cross, were found in the church in the 19th century. The church probably originated as a private chapel for an English lord but it is thought to have become a Minster church before the Norman Conquest. The ‘herringbone’ masonry visible on the outer walls is typical of 11th or 12th century building work. The church is Grade 1 listed as it remains relatively unaltered in size however the tower was not added until the 16th century and the pinnacles are 19th century. Local gentry, the Blands who resided at Kippax Park Hall, have a vault under the vestry with the remains of around 15 people. Manor Garth Hill (known locally as Cheney Basin), is a nationally important archaeological site. The earthwork remains of an 11th century ringwork and bailey castle are clearly visible next to the church. This may have been the site of an earlier high status English hall. The castle’s outer defences originally extended eastwards into what is now the churchyard. The Co-op is on the site of an old chapel and hall. The doctor’s next door is called Kippax Hall Surgery in reference to this. The Co-op building was originally GT Smith’s supermarket but there was a Co-op presence in the village previously as the Co-op butchers were located in a small lodge. The largest building in Kippax sadly no longer exists. This was Kippax Park Hall owned by the Bland family for many generations. Originally built in the 17th century, around the time of Sir Thomas Bland (1614-1657), the first Baronet Bland of Kippax Park, it was extended in the 18th century by the 6th Baronet, Sir John Bland. The family continued to live in the house until the death of John Davison Bland in 1928, after which the house and contents were sold, but it was left to become derelict and was eventually demolished in the 1950’s. (Leodis) A photograph is available on the Leodis website, see link below https://www.leodis.net/viewimage/113373 There are no remains of the actual Hall but a wall and gate posts are preserved near the War Memorial. The wall edged a very substantial deer park and had a 12 foot ditch on the inside to prevent the deer from escaping. This is perhaps the origin of the road name, Longdike (or Dyke) Lane. There is also a lodge which was built in the 19th century which still exists. The old fish and chip shop on the High Street had the last coal fired fryer locally. Almost opposite the old fish and chip shop at 105-107 High Street are the remains of the Pinfold which was where stray sheep and other animals were rounded up each evening. The owner would have to pay a fine to recover his or her animals. We then walked up Gibson Lane towards Kippax Central Working Men’s Club and onto Back Lane. Here, looking up New Street, we were advised that the nearby roads were built to follow the old field ploughing lines which was why they were curved at the end. This was very evident to the eye and can even be seen on street maps. There was an old Methodist Church at this location previously. We saw the entrance to a ginnel called ‘Jumbo’s Nick’ locally, supposedly due to an elephant from a travelling circus escaping and getting stuck at the narrowed end of the ginnel! The site of Truffles Restaurant is a late Tudor farmhouse, now a private residence. It still has a Tudor fireplace. The old, semi derelict building in the centre of the High Street, previously C& S Fashions, is Grade 2 listed and was built around 1750. It is still occupied. Moving down Butt Hill from Cross Hills we were able to see as far as Wakefield Cathedral. Most of the land between Brigshaw School and the rest of Kippax was mined and there were many small shallow coal mines. The Leeds to Selby railway went through Kippax mainly for the movement of coal. Roads were very poor and wealthier people would travel by train to Selby and then by boat to Hull and onwards to London. This was quicker and more comfortable than travelling by road. There was a bus terminus near the top of the hill but a small garden and plaque are all that remains. There were two blacksmiths and farriers in Kippax. The remains of a mounting block is visible outside the building which was Hick’s blacksmiths. Well Lane just below the library off Leeds Road leads down to a spring. Before mains water was available water was collected from the spring, often by children. Some of our group remembered doing this when they were young! There was a cinema in Kippax in the 1920’s building which is now occupied by a snooker cue business. Hand made cues are now produced there. There are numerous pubs in Kippax and we were given information on quite a few of them. The Commercial, previously known as The Medhurst Arms was a Bentley’s Yorkshire Breweries pub and was also a brew house meaning that it could not sell spirits or strong wine. There was a small pub and brew house at Bramham’s Yard called the Blue Anchor. The Old Tree Inn was also a Bentley’s pub and brew house. The inner door still retains a stained glass panel with the logo of the brewery. Bentley’s brewery was based in Oulton. The White Swan was built in 1915 on the site of an earlier White Swan pub. It is thought that the Manor Court was held at the previous premises. The Royal Oak was built by Edward Gray around 1700 as a private residence and was formerly known as Kippax House and it’s coach house was the building across Cross Hills now occupied by Best One. This is a Grade 2 listed building. It later became the Royal Oak which moved to this building from nearby. This has now reverted to residential use. Finally, although we did not see these buildings, there was both a watermill, located near the allotments on Station Road and mentioned in the Domesday Book, and a windmill. The windmill is known as either Kippax Mill or Boggat’s Mill and was used for grinding corn and was converted to steam power in the late 19th century. This is situated at Mill Farm on Longdike Lane and is Grade 2 listed. Another windmill was sited at Lime Hills in the late 18th century but did not appear on maps after 1878. All in all this was a very interesting walk and the weather was kind to us.

Peckfield Colliery Disaster, commemorated in Micklefield churchyard.Lizzie M. ‘I went for a walk where I’d not been before and came across Pit Lane. I got talking to
someone about some lovely big old houses along there and was told they were the pit manager’s
house and some of the workers’ houses. I asked where the pit used to be and from there Googled
the information and found out about the disaster.’
Pat D. ‘Ashley Land is very knowledgeable about the Peckfield disaster. He has maps and history of
the men who lost their lives. He was able to show me my Great Grandfather’s statement on retrieving
his father’s body from the mine which was very moving.’
The Peckfield pit disaster was a mining accident at the Peckfield Colliery in Micklefield, which occurred on
Thursday 30 April 1896, killing 63 men and boys out of 105 who were in the pit, plus 19 out of 23 pit
ponies. The disaster is commemorated at Micklefield Church.
Peckfield Colliery was owned by Messrs. Joseph Cliff and Sons, with Mr. Joseph Cliff being senior
partner of the Micklefield Coal and Lime Company. Mr. Charles Houfton had been the manager since
the colliery opened, and Mr. William Radford had been employed as the Under Manager for 17
years. Despite seven fatal accidents in nineteen years, Peckfield was considered by miners to be a
safe mine. Ventilation was drawn through the seams by a Waddle fan (a large fan used in mines to
provide ventilation) at the top of the Upcast shaft, and had removed the eleven instances of small
escapes of gas since 1891. Men worked with picks by the light of tallow candles, whilst the
undermanager and five deputies carried safety lamps.
The explosion was caused by a slight fall in the roof in Goodall's gate, on the West side of the mine,
943 yards from the Downcast shaft. A small quantity of ‘fire-damp’ (flammable gas, particularly
methane) escaping from the crack in the roof was ignited by a miner's candle at 7:15am, just as the
men were starting work. No gas had previously been found in the New North Road or Goodall's Gate
in the West Level. Two miners and their ponies were killed at the point of impact, and four more
were killed as they began to flee. The explosion travelled south, down New North Road against the
air flow, as coal dust dislodged by the explosion carried the dull flame beyond its point of origin, and
expanded into a roaring flame when it reached the air in the West Level main intake, and then
continued to expand through the mine, killing miners and trapping them, as roofs fell. The explosion
tore through the stables, killing and burning the horsekeeper, plus 12 of the 14 pit ponies. The two
pit ponies who survived were stood in the middle, partly sheltered by the other ponies.

Augustus Walker Blue Plaque, Garforth. Carol J, Lizzie M . Pat D. ‘I believe my Grandma was in service with Gus Walker’s family.’
This blue plaque commemorates Air Chief Marshall Sir Augustus Walker 1912-1986. (27 Lidgett Lane,
round the corner next to the back door.) The plaque reads: 'Was born in Garforth and brought up in
this house. Serving in the RAF 1934-70, he rose to its highest ranks. An inspirational figure, he led
daring bombing raids with 50 Squadron on industrial targets in Germany and commanded a series of bomber stations during World War II

Carol J. ‘Moorland Terrace is the row of houses built by whoever lived in 9a Moorland Terrace, the
owners say there was a Gascoigne lived there, but it can't have been Isabella or Elizabeth as they
lived at Parlington/Lotherton. So it may have been a relative, I haven't found anything about it yetThe house must be about 1860s as our house (no 1 ) is 1870. There are quite a few Victorian houses
around here, on Lowther Avenue (technically a private road, part adopted) is Springfield Care Home
was originally in 'the doctor's house', Lowther House, and Springfield House extended to bridge
between the two. At the end is Churchfield House which looks late Victorian. (A friend lives there so
I'll ask her if she knows any history of it.) Looking at Ian Atkinson's* maps I realise that what was 3
Lowther Avenue ('Springfield') (which I said was part of the care home, certainly about 20-25 years
ago) was knocked down,10-15 years ago and the original house (named Lowther House on the maps)
had a massive extension built onto it, covering the site of Springfield.
(*Note. See https://www.ianatkinson.net/garforth/.)
Lidgett Lane apparently had an ' ancient gateway' at roughly the junction with Lowther Road, which
figures as Lidgett= lych gate. Old maps show a track going from here down to Wakefield Road and
the book, Manorial Garforth, mentions a Kyrkgatte, then Kirkgate, probably joining Church Garforth
with West Garforth and down to the Wakefield Road - look at Ian's maps and you'll see this looks
likely. From 'Manorial Garforth': 'The ancient, irregular and meandering crossroads lay close to the
entrance of the present Lowther Road. Here formerly stood a temporary gate, restricting the
movement of beasts, where Kirkgate met Lidgett Lane at the boundary beck.' That beck is now
culverted, piped under the end of the gardens of 1 and 3 Moorland Terrace on Lowther Rd side, and
open from 1 Lowther Road pretty much all the way to the Church Lane allotments by the ginnel.

Wakefield had four chantry chapels (chapels endowed for the saying of masses and
prayers), three of which dated from the 13th century. They were built outside the medieval
town on the roads leading to Leeds, Dewsbury, York and Doncaster. The Chantry of St John the
Baptist was on Northgate, the road to Leeds, where Wakefield Grammar School stands
today. The Chapel of St Mary Magdalene was on Westgate where it crossed the Ings Beck on
the road to Dewsbury. St Swithun's Chantry Chapel, on the York road, was near Clarke Hall.
In the 14th century the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin was built on the medieval
bridge across the River Calder on the road to Doncaster and the south and only a stone’s
throw from the Hepworth Gallery. Wakefield's medieval nine-arched bridge is 320 feet
(98 m) long, was built in stone between 1342 and 1356. It replaced an earlier wooden
structure on the site of an ancient ford.
[8] The chapel on the bridge was licensed in 1356.
The Battle of Wakefield was fought about a mile south of the bridge in 1460 and the Earl of
Rutland was killed near the bridge while attempting to escape.
The chapel was used for worship until the Reformation and Abolition of Chantries Acts when
all Wakefield's four chantry chapels were closed. The bridge chapel survived because it is a
structural element of the bridge. After closure it was used as a warehouse, library, office
and cheese shop and survived bridge widening in 1758 and 1797.
The chapel was transferred to the Church of England in 1842 and the Yorkshire Architectural
Society, influenced by the Oxford Movement, persuaded to undertake its restoration. The
society, keen to restore medieval ecclesiastical remains, adopted designs by George Gilbert
Scott. Restoration costing approximately £2,500 (equivalent to £240,000 in 2019), was
carried out, resulting in the complete reconstruction of the chapel above pavement level.
The new west front differed slightly from its medieval predecessor. Scott is perceived as
having made two errors, the first was being persuaded to completely replace the old west
front. The second was having the new façade carved from Caen stone, which crumbled in the
polluted urban atmosphere and was completely replaced in 1939 in gritstone by ecclesiastical
architect Sir Charles Nicholson. The original richly carved medieval façade was moved to
Kettlethorpe Hall, where it became the frontage to a folly boathouse.
The chapel opened for Anglican worship in 1848 and was used as the parish church of the
newly formed ecclesiastical district of St Mary until a church was built in 1854. The bridge
chapel became a chapel-of-ease and services were held irregularly. St Mary's merged with St
Andrew's, Eastmoor in the 1960s and the impoverished parish struggled with the chapel's
upkeep. In the 1980s it seemed likely the chapel would be declared redundant by the
Church of England. In January 2000 a parish boundary change brought the chantry into the
care of Wakefield Cathedral.

Colin R. ‘Through my family I have a connection with the Church of St Mary's in Kippax and so I
have attended services and events there. Because of this I am familiar with the earthworks
adjacent to the church which mark the site of Kippax Castle. This is a good illustration of how,
following the conquest, the Normans systematically imposed their authority on England village by
village.’
Kippax was an important manorial centre prior to the Norman Conquest. It comprised, not only
Kippax itself, but also the townships of Ledston and Barwick in Elmet, as well as parcels of land
in other townships in the locality. Kippax may have been the site of an Anglo-Saxon Minster or
mother church which would be responsible for the spreading of Christianity through the region
via a network of ‘daughter houses’.
After the Conquest William gave Kippax to Ilbert de Lacy as part of a vast manorial holding called the
honour of Pontefract. The importance of Kippax in pre-Conquest times led the de Lacys to establish
the castle at Kippax to act as the administrative centre for that part of the honour. It continued to
perform this function until the late 12th century when the role was transferred to Barwick in Elmet.
The most visible survival of the castle today is a circular earthwork known locally as “Cheney Basin”.
This is all that remains of the shell keep established on the site. There are antiquarian reports of
stonework being visible under the embankments but a recent geophysical survey failed to identify
any such remains. It therefore seems likely that the keep was originally a wooden structure and was
never rebuilt in stone.

ADDENDUM TO THE 'LOCKDOWN MISCELLANY', JUNE 2020.
An additional contribution to the Miscellany from Chris L.
Manor Farm Experimental Agricultural College, Garforth.
Background
The farm is situated about a mile north of Garforth railway station along the Barwick
Road and can be identified as the Manor House on the OS map.
The industrial revolution in England in the 18th and 19th centuries affected many parts
of the country and Leeds participated fully. This was initially in the textile industry,
mainly wool and flax production, processing and marketing. These were quickly
followed by engineering, iron foundries, mining expansion etc.
The rapid increase in industrial employment opportunities led to a corresponding
population increase. The population of Leeds in 1800 is quoted as 30,000, this
more than tripled to 101,000 by 1850 and to over 160,000 at the 1881 census.
Increased food production was central to feeding the increased population.
The agricultural revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries paved the way for the
industrial revolution with the increase in both population numbers and health. In the
nineteenth century agricultural production was improved by enclosing the land, to
give greater management opportunities and possibly tenancy security. Other
innovations included land tillage, manuring and fertilization of land, plant and animal
breeding, crop rotation, mechanisation etc.
Not least among the food improvement innovations introduced was the recognition of
the importance of agricultural education and training. This had to improve beyond its
existing “sitting-with-Nellie”, i.e. often poor quality on the job training which had
sufficed for centuries, to more formal institutional training.
Agricultural training in Leeds
The first agricultural training institute in England was the Royal Agricultural College
in Cirencester (Gloucestershire) which started training students in 1845. It catered
largely for the sons of the gentry and did not have formal links to a full university.
The Yorkshire College of Science was formed in Leeds in 1871 mainly to support the
wool and textile trade and to meet the technological demands of the fast-changing
city. This undertook teaching and scientific research with no bar to students’
religious or class affiliation. In 1884 this joined with the Leeds School of Medicine
and other institutions to form the Yorkshire College which in turn became Leeds
University in 1904. Women were admitted to Leeds College but not initially to the
University.
In 1891 a department of agriculture was inaugurated as one of the technical sections
of Yorkshire College. As well academic training in agriculture from the city-based
college, a farm was required to provide the practical training and demonstrations in
agriculture. There was also a developing awareness of the need for field based
agricultural research.
:
Manor Farm, on the Parlington Estate near Garforth, was eventually identified to
provide these functions. In 1898, the East and West Riding County Councils took
out a 30-year lease on this farm on behalf of the College. Colonel Frederick R T
Trench -Gascoigne had inherited the estate in 1893 and the family’s interest in and
desire to support public services including agriculture is well known. It is reasonable
to assume that they took a personal interest in facilitating the tenancy
The farm is situated about a mile north of Garforth railway station along the Barwick
Road and can be identified as the Manor House on the OS map.
Work was started immediately to adapt and add to the existing farm buildings. The
farm consisted of 312 acres divided as two thirds arable land, and the rest grassland.
Some of the land adjoining the educational building, erected in 1901, was set out in
plots. These plots were similar to those used for evening classes, in the area, and
teachers briefed in their use. The scheme was funded by the three Yorkshire Ridings
The educational building itself was designed by a firm of Leeds architects and built
by a Barwick in Elmet contractor. It was officially opened by The Earl Spencer,
Chancellor of the Leeds Victoria University, on the 28th June 1901. The federal
Victoria University (combining higher education in Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool)
eventually combined with the Yorkshire College to form Leeds University.
A Leeds University booklet published in 1908 describes the Manor Farm buildings
as simple in design and carried out in pressed brick with a few stone dressings.
There were two separate blocks comprising the farmhouse together with barns and
outhouses plus another block which housed the education department. The
education department comprised lecture rooms, laboratories, a seed room,
bacteriological room, and separate sitting rooms for men and women students.
Students were taught practical agricultural skills and given experience in a proper
working farm environment. Agricultural training was offered at purely vocational
non certificated levels such as dairy technology up to part of the BSc degree.
Research trial programmes listed in 1926 included potato variety trials, further
experiments with human food crops such as cereals and potatoes and animal food
crops like mangelwurzels. Fertilizer trials included basic slag and limestone soil
dressings and manure treatment of grass leys.
A fuller list of training and research programmes is given on line as extensively
archived at Leeds University.
The lease expired in 1928 and was not renewed as the area was considered
unsuitable due to the acid atmosphere. The work was transferred to other sites
including Askham Bryan Agricultural College near York and the three farms on the
Headley Hall estate near Bramham Park.
The farm and land were returned to the Parlington Estate and sold at auction,
together with six other farms, on October 2nd 1964.
https://www.parlington.co.uk/outlying_houses_h13.html.
The buildings were demolished in 1970.
Information regarding the purchase and operation of the farm is taken from various
publications by the Barwick in Elmet Historical society plus photographs and further
information from the Leeds photographic collection. The websites are as follows:
Barwick in Elmet Historical Society
http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/5032.html.
and the Leeds photographic collection
http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?id=201021_170194
http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?id=2004318_54226321
In summary these references describe the purchase of Manor Farm and its
subsequent operation and show some photographs of the land and buildings.