Chapel Allerton

This article is about the suburb of Leeds. For the village in Somerset, see Chapel Allerton, Somerset.
Chapel Allerton

Stainbeck Corner, the effective centre
Chapel Allerton
 Chapel Allerton shown within West Yorkshire
Population 23,536 (Ward. 2011)
OS grid referenceSE303378
Metropolitan boroughCity of Leeds
Metropolitan county West Yorkshire
RegionYorkshire and the Humber
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LEEDS
Postcode district LS7
Dialling code 0113
Police West Yorkshire
Fire West Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK ParliamentLeeds North East
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°50′09″N 1°32′24″W / 53.835888°N 1.540071°W / 53.835888; -1.540071

Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton – the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this. The ward population was given as 18,206 in the 2001 census,[1] increasing to 23,536 at the 2011 Census.[2]

Location

Central Chapel Allerton street map.

The region within the ward generally considered to be Chapel Allerton is bounded by Potternewton Lane to the south, Scott Hall Road to the west and Gledhow Valley Road to the northwest.[3]

Surrounding districts include Moortown, Meanwood, Roundhay, Gledhow, Chapeltown and Harehills. Chapel Allerton is on Harrogate Road, which, before the building of the A61 Scott Hall Road, was the main road from Leeds to Harrogate. The centre in terms of activity is Stainbeck Corner, at the junction of Stainbeck Lane, Harrogate Road and Town Street.[3]

History

Chapel Allerton is first attested as Alreton (probably from Old English alor 'alder' and tūn 'estate, farm', thus meaning Alder farm) in the Domesday Book,[4] then in 1240 a charter referred to land "which lies between the road which goes to the Chapel of Allerton and the bounds of Stainbeck".[5] The chapel was associated with Kirkstall Abbey and was demolished in the 18th century: however, the site remains between Harrogate Road and Church Street.[3] The name Chapel Allerton was reduced to Chapeltown (first attested in 1427), and from this time both names co-existed and were essentially interchangeable.[6][7] Ralph Thoresby, writing in 1715, records Chapel-Town as a common name for the township of Chapel Allerton, describing it as "well situated in pure Air, upon a pleasant Ascent, which affords a Prospect of the Country ten or twelve miles". The open space to its east and north of Potter-Newton was "a delicate Green commonly call'd Chapel-Town Moor"."[8]

In medieval times, the area was mostly small farms, but by the end of the 17th century, it had become a resort or second home for wealthy people from Leeds[3] and in 1767 was described as the Montpellier of Yorkshire by one visitor.[6]

Chapel Allerton was incorporated into Leeds administrative area in 1869, as a civil parish.

Historically, Chapel Allerton had a strong connection with the Irish, with many families in the area being Irish immigrants or of Irish descent.

Architecture

Chapel Allerton is a conservation area for the character and historical interest of its buildings, noted for a diversity of good quality domestic buildings from various periods.[3] The historic core is around Stainbeck Corner, particularly around Town Street and Well Lane, with 8 listed buildings. To the south and west of this is an area of grand detached houses with large gardens dating from the 18th and early 19th century.[3] The earlier buildings are of fine-grained sandstone derived from the quarries which were once on Stainbeck Lane. These include a number of small 19th century two-storey houses as well as grander buildings.[3] After 1890 brick terraced and back-to-back houses were built, but of better quality than workers' housing elsewhere in Leeds, as they were intended for artisans and the lower middle class.[3] The advent of the electric tram in 1901 made the area more accessible and further housing began to fill in empty spaces [6] though this was of varied types. It finally lost its village character in the 1920s and it joined the Leeds urban area.[3] Thus the area between King George Avenue and Montreal Avenue was filled in between 1920 and 1939 with bungalows and stucco-faced houses typical of Leeds of the time.[6] In Riviera Gardens, white rendered houses were built in the Modernistic style.[6]

Dominion Cinema

After the Second World War further building and rebuilding continued, mostly unremarkable, though with a few examples of good modern design.[6] The area was once home to an art deco cinema, the Dominion. Opened in 1934 and lasting only until 1967 when it operated as a bingo hall until the later part of the 1990, the cinema stood on Montreal Avenue. The residential street 'Dominion Close' is close to its former site.[9]

Houses

Allerton Hall from Wensley Drive
Allerton Hall from Stainbeck Lane

Allerton Hall was situated between Wensley Drive and Stainbeck Lane. In 1755 it was purchased by Josiah Oates, a merchant and an ancestor of Captain Laurence Edward Oates who perished in a blizzard at the age of 32 on the Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic led by Robert Falcon Scott in 1912.[10] A brass plaque commemorates him in Leeds Parish Church. Most of the 60 bed mansion has since been demolished. The remaining parts of Allerton Hall is a grade II listed building. In the 1950s, the building was used by Twentieth Century Fox for the distribution of films across the North of England.[11]

Clough House on Stainbeck Lane was converted to the Mustard Pot pub in 1979. It may date to 1653, and thus one of the oldest inhabited houses in Leeds, though most of the structure is from 1700 onwards.[12] On Wood Lane are Gothic style villas in sandstone dating from the second half of the 19th century for the middle classes.[12] Methley Place is an example of late 19th century terraces for the artisan class.[6] The Hawthorns are a set of terraces built in the early 1900s in an unusual Manorial style.[12]

Public buildings

On Stainbeck Corner are a pair of linked buildings, originally constructed as a police station and a fire station in 1900. The style is dressed sandstone with ashlar details. The main corner doorway is flanked by Tuscan columns supporting a segmental pedimented hood containing a cartouche, and above this is a moulded and painted coat of arms of Leeds. The Harrogate Road doorways are Tudor-arched with rectangular fanlights.[12] There is a bell turret and a clock. In 1904 the fire station was converted to a public library, with some amendments to the frontage style.[12] Further down Harrogate Road in the direction of Leeds is a brick and sandstone building bearing the sign "Leeds Board School 1878". This is still a school, Chapel Allerton Primary School. It is on the site of the Chapeltown Moor gallows.[12]

Inns

The public house the Nag's Head opened in 1772 as the Bay Horse Inn, a coaching inn, and according to local legend the original innkeepers were in league with 18th century highwaymen.[12] The Regent was completed in the first half of the 19th century, and its exterior is little changed from that time.[6] What is now called the Three Hulats was previously the Mexborough Arms. (The hulats are owls, of which there are three on the arms of the Earl of Mexborough[13]) The present building dates from 1911, replacing a 19th-century Mexborough Arms, a terminus for the horse tram service from Leeds, itself replacing the 17th century Bowling Green Tavern.[6] The Mustard Pot was converted from a house built in 1653 into a pub in 1979 (see 'Houses' section above).

Churches

The area is home to a gothic stone church, St Matthew's Church, built in 1900, the architect being George Frederick Bodley. It replaced the old church set in the churchyard on Harrogate Road. By 1935 the old church had become so unsafe it was demolished.[14] A Methodist church was built in 1877 on Town Street. It was replaced in 1983 by a smaller Methodist church and shops facing onto Harrogate Road.[15] The Methodist Sunday School opposite, built in 1878, survives as a community centre.

Amenities

Restaurants in Chapel Allerton

The area has an established local centre, which is situated around the junction of Stainbeck Lane and Harrogate Road. This consists of a Co-op supermarket,[16][17] a post office, several banks, several restaurants as well as many pubs and bars. There is also a large Caffe Nero.[18] There is a large Lidl store on Harrogate Road.

The former police station is now a Thai restaurant,[19] with the new police station further down Stainbeck Lane on the junction with Scott Hall Road. Originally called Chapeltown Police Station, it was renamed due to its misleading name to Stainbeck Police Station following the merger of two former divisions in 2006.[20] Officially opened on 16 November 1998, Stainbeck Police Station was the divisional headquarters for the former North East Leeds division - this division has now been absorbed into the city wide policing district but continues to be one of the many police stations in the Leeds District.

There are also many takeaways, a library, a petrol station and many other independent shops. The council have allowed many cafés, bars and restaurants to utilise pavement space creating a pavement café culture in the area. Many of the shops are chains, such as Greggs (formerly Thurstons), Pizza Hut and Caffe Nero.

Chapel Allerton has two arts centres: Inkwell Arts on Potternewton Lane and Seven Arts on Harrogate Road. Both provide concerts and community events and performances.

The Chapel Allerton Arts Festival is held the week following August Bank Holiday each year, based around Regent Street. It attracts thousands of people, assisted by volunteers from the local community. The festival offers community stalls, food and drink, arts events and a music stage that features local bands on Friday and Saturday and jazz, salsa and blues on Sunday. The local churches combine to run a worship event in the open air in Regent Street on the Sunday morning.

Bars and restaurants on Stainbeck Lane

Sport

Chapel Allerton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club is at the back of the square, behind the Mustard Pot pub.[21]

Chapel Allerton Running Club has been established since 1992. Members compete in a range of individual and team road, cross-country and fell races. There is also an annual club championship.[22]

Transport

The Leeds Tramway once ran through Chapel Allerton, but was dismantled in 1959.[23] Chapel Allerton was also once on the main road to Harrogate but the building of the A61 Scott Hall Road effectively bypassed Chapel Allerton, along with Chapeltown and Moortown. First Leeds provide the main bus service in Chapel Allerton, the 'Red Line', (No. 2, 3 and 3A). Another routes in the area include 48, 91 to Halton Moor or Bramley, and 91a to St James Hospital, part of the 'Leeds Overground' network of buses. The 'Red Line' links Chapel Allerton with Roundhay, Gledhow, Moortown, Chapeltown, Leeds city centre, Hunslet, Beeston, Middleton and the White Rose Centre.[24] Harrogate Bus Company also run route 36 route through Chapel Allerton, linking it with Leeds city centre (central bus station), Moortown, Alwoodley, Harewood, Pannal, Harrogate, Killinghall, Ripley and Ripon. The nearest railway station to Chapel Allerton is Headingley, from where services run to Leeds, Burley, Horsforth, Starbeck, Knaresborough, Cattal, Kirk Hammerton, Poppleton and York.

Hospital

Chapel Allerton Hospital

Chapel Allerton Hospital is an NHS hospital which includes the Chapel Allerton Orthopaedic Centre. It was established in 1926[25] in the building and grounds of Gledhow Grove mansion, a Grade II listed building which has now been converted to housing. The hospital now occupies buildings which were opened in 1994, across Harehills Lane from its original site.[26]

Norfolk Gardens

Location grid


 Moortown
Meanwood Roundhay
   Chapel Allerton  
Chapeltown

References

  1. ↑ Office for National Statistics
  2. ↑ "Leeds City Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chapel Allerton Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan Archived 9 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Leeds City Council 22 October 2008
  4. ↑ A. H. Smith, The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire, English Place-Names Society, 30–37, 8 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961–63), iv, 137–38
  5. ↑ Holy Rosary Church Leeds Silver Jubilee 1937–1962
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R. Faulkner (1995) From Village to Suburb – A History of Chapel Allerton (Chapel Allerton Residents Association)
  7. ↑ William White (1853) Directory and Gazetteer of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield and the whole of the clothing districts of the West Riding of Yorkshire (reprinted 1969 Clarke Doble & Brendon Ltd)
  8. ↑ Ralph Thoresby (1715) Ducatus Leodiensis: or, the topography of the ancient and populous town and parish of Leedes,and parts adjacent in the West Riding of York, pages 113, 124. A. H. Smith, The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire, English Place-Names Society, 30–37, 8 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961–63), iv, 138.
  9. ↑ Leodis – a photographic archive of Leeds – Display
  10. ↑ "Leodis- A Photographic Archive of Leeds". Leodis. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "a photographic archive of Leeds – Display". Leodis. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 J. R. Tucker Chapel Allerton Historical and Architectural Trail (1987) Manpower Services Commission
  13. ↑ Rotherham Web Genealogy Savile of Mexborough
  14. ↑ Leodis – a photographic archive of Leeds – Display
  15. ↑ Leodis – a photographic archive of Leeds – Display
  16. ↑ Archived 23 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5245/is_/ai_n29376404
  18. ↑ "Caffe Nero – Chapel Allerton, 8 Stainbeck Lane, Chapel allerton, England, LS7 3, GB – JiWire Global Wi-Fi Finder". Jiwire.com. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "a photographic archive of Leeds – Display". Leodis. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  21. ↑ Archived 3 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ "Chapel Allerton Running Club". Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "a photographic archive of Leeds – Display". Leodis. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  24. ↑ "Maps | Leeds | FirstGroup plc" (PDF). Firstgroup.com. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  25. ↑ "Share your secrets, share your city". SecretLeeds. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  26. ↑ "a photographic archive of Leeds – Display". Leodis. 31 May 1938. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  27. ↑ Internet Movie Database with link to Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) TV series.
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