7:30 pm :at Rawdon Community Library: COLIN SPEAKMAN will talk about his love of walking in
THE YORKSHIRE WOLDS.
An Aireborough Civic Society Event
England had just won the World Cup when Colin Speakman sat down to write his first walking book. That was back in 1967 and since then another 50 books have followed.
On July 26th at Rawdon Library Colin & his wife Fleur talk about their latest book ‘The Yorkshire Wolds – A Journey of Discovery’ and give some fascinating cameos about some key Wolds people and the delights of walking in a lesser known landscape. This is the wonderful landscape that inspired artist David Hockney in recent years.
Admission: ACS Members Free
Non-members £4.00 (or join on the night for free entry).
The Friday evening walks were started in 1993 by the late Albert Shutt, then Chairman of the Aireborough Civic Society. His plan was to explore the Aireborough area, visiting places even local residents hadn’t been to, and ensuring footpaths were kept in use.
Meet at Chevin Surprise Car Park. Further details below.
Unless stated the walks are normally between 3 and 4 miles in length. The pace is as fast as the slowest walker.
As the walks cover a variety of terrain, sturdy footwear is strongly advised, along with weatherproof clothing. Most of the walks involve gradients, hills and stiles.
If you have any questions about a particular walk please contact the walk leader at the telephone number given.
The traditional end of season meal will be held on Friday 7th December 2018 at Rawdon Golf Club. A meal will also be held in February 2019 when the walks programme for 2019 will be arranged.
ABOUT THE CIVIC SOCIETY
The Aireborough Civic Society was established for the public benefit for the following purposes in the area formally known as Aireborough, which includes the wards of Guiseley, Rawdon and Yeadon in the Metropolitan District of Leeds.
To promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area
To educate the public in geography, history and natural history and architecture in the area.
To secure the preservation, development and improvement of features of historic or public interest in the area.
The Society’s website includes contact details, forthcoming events and information about the area.
Aireborough Civic Society holds its meetings on the last Thursday of the month at
7:30pm at Rawdon Community Library, Micklefield Park, Rawdon.
Everyone is welcome.
Aireborough Civic Society Walks List – 2018
Please note:- All walks will commence promptly at the times noted. Also please make sure that you bring protective outdoor clothing with you on all walks. Walkers who are not members of the Civic Society will be asked to contribute £2 for ACS funds.
Date and time
Details
Leader(s)
Friday 20st April
6.00pm
“Two Pubs & a Sewage Works”
Meet at George and Dragon PH side of River Aire, Apperley Bridge
Bill Mason
Tel: 01943 872 714
Friday 4th May
6.00pm
“The Burger Walk”
Meet at McDonald’s, on retail park Guiseley
Angela, Colleen and Tyler
Tel 0113 250 7594 (Angela)
Friday 18th May
6.30pm
Hawkesworth
Meet Hawkesworth Lane / Thorpe Lane junction
Ken Elliott
Tel: 0113 31899850
Friday 1st June
6.30pm
“Chuffin Old Railway”
Meet Station Gardens car park on Linton Road, Wetherby
Sue and Roy Dixon
Tel 0113 250 6858
Friday 15th June
6.30pm
Lindley Wood
Meet at Lindley Bridge, nr trout farm
Bill Mason
Tel: 01943 872 714
Friday 29th June
6.30pm
“Chapel, Banks and Possible Surprise”
Meet at Yeadon Methodist Church Car Park, South View Road
We meet on the last Thursday of each month – 7:30 pm, Rawdon Community Library – next to Rawdon Crossroads Telephone: 0113 3910440
PROGRAMME 2018 – continued
May 31st Notorious Prisoners
Veronica Bird OBE, former Governor of Armley Prison, recounts her experiences when dealing with notorious inmates in various prison establishments across the country. Details of her life in prison are recounted in her recently published book “Veronica’s Bird”. (Available for purchase on the night.)
June 28th Community Meeting (all welcome):
To discuss local issues e.g. congestion, Green Belt, public transport, litter, ‘In Bloom’, blue plaques, pollution, parks and any other matters of interest to ACS members and non-members alike
July 26th The Yorkshire Wolds – An Undiscovered Region
Colin Speakman and his wife Fleur talk about their latest book on the Yorkshire Wolds and give some fascinating cameos about some key Wolds people and the area in an interesting and informative presentation. (Book available on the night at discounted price.)
August 30th Community Meeting (all welcome):To discuss local issues (as above)
September 27th Nostalgia
Keith Barber looks back and recalls some interesting events, objects and people from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s. This is a very humorous, enjoyable and nostalgic, illustrated reminiscence. Highly recommended – expect to participate.
October 25th Community Meeting (all welcome): To discuss local issues (as above)
November 29th Annual General Meeting plus Guest Speaker, Local historian and author, John Davies, gives a fascinating presentation on “The End of the Great War and its Aftermath”.
Membership is £10 per annum by payment at any Meeting. Members of ACS are entitled to free admission to ALL talks. Admission for non-members £4 for talks, community meetings are free.
A Guided Walk Around the Nether Yeadon & Little London (Rawdon) Conservation Areas led by Andy Graham, Urban Designer and former Conservation Officer for Leeds City Council
Aireborough has eight Conservation Areas. Find out what makes 2 of them special and how our heritage is protected from unsuitable change.We are fortunate in having a wonderful variety of historic buildings in many separate settlements combined with beautiful Pennine countryside. Our Conservation Areas are there to protect and improve these places for the future.
Cost
£3 – goes towards the Aireborough Civic Society fund for new Blue Plaques.
Booking
To book your place and find out the starting place, please telephone 0113 2503580
About Aireborough Conservation Areas
Aireborough has eight Conservation Areas. Find out what makes 2 of them special on Civic Day, 17th June, this year with the Aireborough Civic Society Civic Day Guided Walk around Nether Yeadon & Little London. It is remarkable that these 2 areas of character are so near each other, but so very different. It is our responsibility to protect this heritage from unsuitable change.
Ancient barn and
farm buildings.
Little London, Rawdon in 1906 : Ordnance Survey Map
Micklefield House: uncertain future – due to be sold by Leeds City Council.
All the original sash windows in this row of terraced houses in a Conservation Area have been replaced with an assortment of modern plastic window and doors that are out of character. The original windows would have been similar to those in the Coop picture.
Rural Nether Yeadon: Unchanged for centuries –proposals for more housebuilding here.
Original matching sash windows in this former Coop store building in Rawdon.
Terraced houses, Little London, Rawdon
Find out how Conservation Areas give limited protection. It is 50 years since the government recognised the importance of ‘areas of special character’ and the need to protect them. Conservation Areas were introduced in 1967. Before that anyone owning a building in these areas could demolish it at whim, irrespective of its attractiveness and history.
This part of Leeds is fortunate in having a wonderful variety of historic buildings in many separate settlements combined with beautiful Pennine countryside. Aireborough has eight Conservation Areas. Nether Yeadon is hidden away and still surprisingly rural, and Little London is a close knit community of former weavers’ cottages.
More information about Nether Yeadon
Nether Yeadon is a rare survivor of pre-industrial Aireborough. It has excellent examples of early Yeomen’s houses and agricultural buildings, 10 of them grade II listed, all set within an historic, agricultural landscape setting. Of particular note is Low Hall, which has remnants of Esholt Priory in its fabric. These types of buildings do survive in other areas in Aireborough, but their all important surroundings have gone, many swallowed up by recent housing developments.
Clive Woods, Chairman of Aireborough Civic Society said, ‘We are very pleased that Leeds has recognised the distinctiveness of Aireborough by increasing the size and number of our Conservation Areas. It helps our communities to keep the best of our heritage and should mean that our Green Belt has greater protection. New buildings should be of high quality. However even with Conservation Area protection we still have to persuade planners and developers that some less obvious Heritage buildings should be converted and not demolished, in particular our industrial heritage. Leeds has done a great job of creating new Conservation Areas but has been less successful in protecting important details like original windows and doors. An even bigger challenge is the threat to build yet more new homes in these areas as part of the Leeds Core Strategy and now in the controversial Site Allocations Plan.’
Conservation Areas
Conservation areas were introduced in England, Wales and Scotland in the Civic Amenities Act 1967 through a private members bill led by Lord Duncan Sandys. When conservation areas legislation was introduced there was widespread public concern over the pace of redevelopment in our historic towns and cities. Today there are over 10,000 conservation areas in the UK (approximately 9,300 in England, 500 in Wales, 650 in Scotland and 60 in Northern Ireland) reflecting the popularity of this legislative tool in identifying and protecting our most valued historic places.
Conservation area designation essentially controls the demolition of unlisted buildings over a certain size and works to protect trees, restricts permitted development rights on dwelling houses and tightens regulations on advertising. It also places a statutory duty on local planning authorities to pay special attention to preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of conservation areas while undertaking their planning duties.
A team of budding self-confessed technologists, working in the Leeds digital media industry have developed an innovative project as part of the Leeds digital media festival. Project ‘Check In Check Off’ is a group of media professionals wanting to promote historic hidden areas of Leeds which normally go unnoticed.
Using the latest technology including Social Media, QR codes, mobile phones, the internet and virtual reality the digital treasure hunt will allow small teams of four or five to follow cryptic clues on a journey around Leeds. Starting at the beautiful Corn Exchange building in the heart of the city centre, participants will be encouraged to notice the beautiful historic architecture by following pub quiz like questions to obtain points. The teams will then be led around some of the most unique buildings and structures in England, ending at a top secret well known famous landmark for a theatrical series of quests using a mix of history, drama and digital trickery.
The objective of the project is to raise awareness of the amazing beauty of Leeds which we take for granted every day. Creative producer Matt Gardner explains: “By making people socially and digitally engage with the environment around them, more people can appreciate just how lucky we are to live in a rich city such as Leeds.”
The event organiser Amanda Kouwenhoven has achieved the almost impossible task of getting private landlords, businesses and Leeds City Council to come together in a celebration of the history of the rich history of Leeds for the digital generation. “Since I moved to Leeds from Australia I have been in awe of the beautiful buildings and history of Leeds.”… “Working in the Digital Industry it only seemed apt that we held an event to celebrate both the history and the digital industry which has blossomed in Leeds.”
This is certainly an ambitious event; the technologies being used for the event on Sunday 20th November have never been used for this purpose before. Each task has been custom coded by Rick Harrison, the team’s developer, to allow maximum flexibility for the narrative of the event.
If you are free this Sunday and would like to get involved there are still one or two tickets available if you’re quick. Visit the website for more details.
Not surprisingly all the members of this one off event are so grateful to everyone that has helped support the event, both in resources and in giving their precious time. Amanda “We would like to thank our event sponsors Network Marketing Jobs Leeds for all their support, hopefully next Sunday will be a very special
event.”
Having listened to tonight’s weather forecast (more of the same until Friday) and looked out the window to see that it’s snowing again, I have decided to postpone tomorrow night’s AGM until Thursday January 27th which would be the date of our next meeting.
at Rawdon Community Library: COLIN SPEAKMAN will talk about his love of walking in
