+ Hors f 0 rth Village Historical Society - h Horsforth Hcrlta.. Hika [Mop. for t "th enlarged maps Areas WI 01,6,7 (inside rear cover) Roads Foolpaths on tho hlka Signposts Pedestrian crossings Stiles Buildings Other foolpaths Places of interest Car Parle (start '" finish) Route at the hlka Green spaces The Hors f 0 rth Heritage Hike Public transport: 50 & 50a buses stop at the Green
Horsforth Heritage Hike This five mile walk is partly intended as an optional diversion from the West Leeds Green Gateways path along the towpath of the canal, and connecting it to the Leeds Country Way, but can also be a circular walk in its own right, which is how it is treated in this pamphlet. It attempts to take in many of the historical as well as scenic aspects of the town, as far as possible using footpaths and bridleways. We shall regard it simply as a clockwise circular walk, and choose the Fink Hill car park at the corner of Hall Lane, opposite the Green, which is Horsforth's historical hub, as a convenient starting point. 1. The Green (See map 1 inside rear cover) Taking the pedestrian crossing across Fink Hill, we encounter the former churchyard of The Bell Chapel now demolished. This was originally a chapel af ease" subservient to Guiseley Parish Church. It was erected by a consortium of the major landowners in the town, notably the Stanhopes, who lived at Horsforth Hall in Hall Park throughout most of the 18th century, and before that at Low Hall on Calverley Lane, which still stands and will be passed later in our walk. The church yard was converted to a ''garden of rest" by the Horsforth Civic Society, with an area paved with the levelled gravestones, some of which date back to the 17th century. Opposite the Garden of Rest are two adjoining 18th century houses, one of which is now the Horsforth Museum, run and maintained by volunteers. There are two pubs on the Green, one of which, the Old King's Arms, is Horsforth's oldest surviving hostelry. It is from the other one, the Black Bull, that we begin our circuit. We enter Back Lane below the pub, noting on our right the quaint old cottages of Temperance Court. 2.Stoney Lane and Feather Bank Fifty yards down Back Lane we turn left to descend Stoney Lane, a steep footpath, turning right at the bottom to reach the Leeds Ring Road. We follow this downhill for a short distance before using a pedestrian refuge to cross over to the top of Feather Bank Lane. Following this down, you r.;o.a:!!ii~~,::~::,:n~:.~~~~~==~g wi II see on you right Feather Bank School, Horsforth's oldest council school. On our left we pass the bottom of Stanhope Drive. This half-mile long residential avenue was created shortly after the first world war, and each of the 211 trees which line it commemorates the sacrifice of a Horsfordian who died in that dreadful conflict. Daffodils are planted around the trees. There is a war memorial near the top of Stanhope Drive. 3 Newlay We now reach the very busy A65 New Road Side. Fortunately there is a convenient pedestrian crossing, immediately below which there is a bridleway. We descend this forking left then immediately right heading between two posts to reach the banks of the River Aire.
open weekends and Wednesdays, where a variety of water birds and other wildlife can be seen. We soon pass beneath the Leeds Ring Road before we fork off on a descending path on our right signposted "Horsforth". 5. Calverley Bridge and Low Hall just below a weir which once supplied power to Newlay Mill, now demolished. We turn upstream before turning left to cross Newlay Brid e. This is one of the world's oldest iron bridges, built in 1819 by John Pollard, who lived at Newlay Hall. We cross the bridge, leaving Horsforth, and ascend Pollard Lane, over the Leeds Carlisle railway line. There was once a station here on the left. We pass the Abbey Inn and ignore the "towpath" sign on the left, continuing instead up to the canal bridge where we access the towpath of the canal, turning right under the bridge. 4.The leeds & liverpaol Canal. The Stanhope family helped to finance the building of the canal. We walk past the marina along the towpath for over a mile, passing a handsome Georgian House and several other buildings dating from the canal's construction in the 1760s. A gateway on the right leads down to the Rodley Nature Reserve, We pass the Railway Inn and continue downhill to reach an old stone bridge back across the River Aire. Here we encounter the beginnings of Horsforth's history, for this bridge was originally built by John Stanhope and Walter Calverley, major landowners on the two banks of the river, to replace the Horse Ford, the lowest point at which the river could be forded, too deep to cross on foot but traversable on horseback, from which Horsforth (originally Horseforde) almost certainly derives its name. We continue up Calverley Lane, passing the vast "Clariant" chemical complex above this we find the Tudor Low Hall on the left. The Hall built by the Greene family in the 16th century and bought by the Stanhopes, who lived there for most of the 17th century. This is possibly Horsforth's oldest surviving bul'lding,now used as offices. Beyond Low Hall, Calverley Lane veers to the right towards the ring road, but we continue straight on up the unmetalled Bar Lane to once again reach the A65, opposite the bottom of Hall Lane. Once again there is a convenient pedestrian crossing, and we can then walk up Hall Lane before turning right onto Park Drive.
6. Hall Park (See map inside rear cover) Near the bottom of Park Drive we enter Hall Park through a gateway on our left. We shortly leave the footpath and aim diagonally left towards a weeping willow beyond which there is a car park, where a sign board with a map will direct us up a path ascending on the right to the Millennium Garden and the JapaneSe Garden (see map), both worthy of a short diversion. We continue uphill through the Arboretum, where there are exotic trees including a sequoia, to pass the site of the now demolished Horsforth Hall, now a garden. The wall behind the garden formed the rear wall of the hall. The apse once housed the bust of Wilfred Walker, a former chairman of the Urban District Council and head of Featherbank School. A plaque records the gift in 1932 of the hall and park to the people of the township of Horsforth by William Mathieson who owned the factory in L.eeds where Raeburn stoves were made, and who lived in Horsforth. He bought the Hall especially for this purpose, as a mark of gratitude to the community which had made him so welcome in the town when he moved here from Falkirk The stables and coach house still stand, being used as a depot by the L.eeds City Councl'l Parks and Countryside Section. A now barely legible stone on the stable wall records the bul'lding of the stables in 1707, with the initials of John Stanhope. 7. The Hunger Hills (see map inside rear cover) Continuing up past the gates of the yard, we climb the drive, passing the playground on our left, before emerging onto Hall Lane which we cross to take a public footpath rising through a meadow towards the Hunger Hill woods. The derivation of this name is uncertain, but probably comes from an old English word Hangar meaning a wood on a steep slope. The path follows the line of a ditch which once carried drainage water from the former mine workings at the top of the woods to feed fish pands in the rk This accounts for the usually very muddy state of the path at the top of the meadow, where there was once a pando The paths climbs through brambles to emerge at the bottom of the woods. The official footpath bordering the backs of the houses on West End Drive can be muddy, but there is another, drier track a little higher up the hill, forking to the left. Walking along this path in May is the best way to See the masses of bluebells which caused the towns people to call this the "bluebell woods". Many of the trees were planted by the Stanhopes in the eighteenth century to form a "Riding", a scenic bridleway through woodland. A signpost pointing to the right takes you onto the Leeds Country Way, the path passing close to the wall along the edge of the woods, and affording a good view towards Ilkley Moor and the Dales. At the end of the woods we climb a stile, and quitting the Leeds Country Way, We go through a gap-stile on the left. Looking to the right we have a panoramic view towards Leeds and the lower Aire Valley.
There is evidence in fields on our left of the mine-workings, where the shallow northernmost edge of the Yorkshire coal field provided fuel for local use. The pits were "bell pits", just holes in the ground to reach the narrow coal seam, where coal was dug laterally forming a bell-shaped cavity. In 1842 a mine collapsed, resulting in the deaths of three miners including a young boy working there. 8. Lee Lane A footpath through meadows takes us to two stiles leading onto Lee Lane West. Here we turn right, Beyond Lee Lane Farm the road peters out into a narrow lane between steep banks. This section is commonly called "The Roman Road", but there is no evidence of its being so ancient. It was in fact the route along which coal was carried down to the town. The path emerges onto Lee Lane East, wh ich we follow past Horsforth School crossing St Margarets Avenue to the top of Long Row. A crossing takes US to the top of Broadgate Lane North, which we descend for 100 yards, until we See a " public footpath" sign on the right, which we follow between old stone cottages. 9. Golden Bank and Town Street This footpath continues across Broadgate Lane and passes above the surgery onto Golden Bank, where, behind the new housing on your left, was once a quarry, said to have been the Source of stone used to build Kirkstall Abbey. The colour of the exposed rock led to the name Golden Bank. Continue down the track to New Street before turning right along Kerry Hill to reach Town Street, which takes US back down to the Green, completing the walk. If you are walking at the weekend and have time to spare, visit the Museum where you can discover a great deal more about Horsforth's heritage. AdmiSSion is free. of the museum is a erected to commemthe 60th anniversary of sponsorship by the people Ha'rSI'or;th of HMS Aubretia subsequently played a role in the capture of an "Enigma" machine from a German Submarine. Text & photos: David Read Maps drawn by Trevor Calvert The outhor is grateful to CounCillors Down Collins and Geoff HudSDn fellow members of the Town CounCIl Environment Committee who joined him in planning and exploring the route. Printed by David Read 64 Hall Lane. LSI8 5JF
1 THE GREEN For further information on the historical aspects of this walk, the following booklets obtainable from the Horsforth Museum are recommended Horsforth History Guides No.2: The Inns, Taverns and Public Houses of Horsforth 6 HALL PARK No.5: The Green No 7 : A History of Hall Park 1700-2000. There is also pamphlet (no 2) on the history of mining in Horsforth 7 HUNGER HILLS HORSFORTH VILLAGE PUBLICATIONS HORSFORTH VILLAGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Registered Charity Number 517198