Download Tithe to 2009 Trail - Tracks in Time, the Leeds Tithe Map ...

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DirectionsTo the best of its modern capability, this trail follows the tithe boundary betweenthe townships of Armley and Bramley, as they were laid out by the Tithe Commis-sion in 1846. The walk starts in MacDonald’s car-park in Kirkstall Road, in the 19thcentury township of Headingley-cumcum-Burley.We begin by going left across the car-park of Kirkstall Leisure Centre, behind Mac-Donalds, to cross the footbridge over the river Aire and ascend the steps into Ca-nal Road. We then turn right, passing in front of Armley Mills.Yorkshire Ladies’ Council of Education Diary,1876 (WYL5045/12)In crossing the river, we havepassed over the tithe boundary of19th century Headingley-cum-Burley and into the township ofArmley. Armley Mills appears onthe 1846 tithe map of the Armleyarea, as a complex belonging toJohn Gott, Esquire, eldest son ofthe late Benjamin. Benjamin Gott(1762 – 1840) was a prominentclothier, who built his first factory,Park Mill, at Bean Ing in 1792 (onthe site of the Yorkshire Post buildingin the west of Leeds city centre).Park Mill was the biggestwoollen cloth factory in Yorkshireand a huge enterprise at a time when there were fewer than 20 mills of any sort inLeeds. By 1797, Benjamin Gott was master of 1200 workers, and had amassed aconsiderable fortune. He purchased Armley Mills in 1800, in order to further hisbusiness, which he then passed to his eldest son at his death.Armley Mills however, has been around a lot longer than the Gott family. The earliestrecord of Armley Mills dates from the middle of the 16th century when localclothier Richard Booth leased ‘Armley Millnes’ from Henry Saville. A document of1707 provides the first description of the mill and fulling process carried out there.Fulling was the final stage in cloth production and involved pounding the cloth inlarge pits filled with water, urine, and fuller’s earth to matt the fibres together.Fulling was one of the first industrial processes to have purpose built premises.• The papers of the Gott family are held in Special Collections at the LeedsUniversity Library (MS193 - business papers and MS194 - family papers).• West Yorkshire Archive Service also holds several collections with affiliationto the Gott family, such as the Yorkshire Ladies’ Council of EducationMinutes (WYL5045) and the records of the Leeds Association for the Protectionand Care of Young Girls (WYL416).
Take the next right into Armley Park Road and follow the road to the entrance ofArmley Park. Take the right hand path and go down the steps, following the pathahead and keeping the Leeds Liverpool canal on your right.Both the railway you have just passed by and the Leeds Liverpool Canal are listedin the Armley tithe apportionment of 1846 as simply belonging to the Leeds andBradford Railway Company and to the Leeds Liverpool Canal Company respectively.The railway was not yet built in 1846 and is marked on the Armley tithe mapby an orange stripe, labelled ’land taken for railway’. However, the canal pre-datesthe tithe map. The Leeds Liverpool was the first of the Trans Pennine canals to bestarted, being proposed in 1765, and the last to be completed, in 1816. The lengthand complexity of the route meant the canal took 46 years to build at a cost of fivetimes the original budget.Plan of Armley , 1846, WYAS Leeds, RD/RT10Continuing on the path, you soon pass on your left, a Victorian folly of 156steps with an arch half way up, bearing the date 1893.Victorian Folly 1883These steps do not feature on the Armley tithe map, as theyhad not yet been constructed in 1846. Armley Park was notacquired by the Corporation for the people of Leeds until1892, and in 1846, still belonged to John Gott Esq. The landhere is listed in the tithe apportionment as being ’parkland,woods, and pleasure ground’ associated with Armley House.Armley House was the family home of Benjamin Gott, his wifeElizabeth, and their children, 3 sons and a daughter. In 1846,Benjamin’s widow still lived here, despite the property belongingto her eldest son, John, who resided at Wither Grange. OnElizabeth’s death, the 24 acres of parkland at Armley Housewere sold to the Leeds Corporation, and these steps were builtto create public access to the park up the steep slope from thecanal side.Carrying straight on ahead, you reach Redcote Bridge. The name Redcote is evidenton the Armley tithe map of 1846, which shows buildings here around bothends of the bridge. The buildings on the opposite side of the bridge to where weare standing now, belonged to Sir Sandford Graham Baronet, and were leased toJohn Tattersall as a house, cottages, mistals and a yard. These were the buildingsknown as Redcote. On this side of the bridge, in the woods to your right, were twocottages with gardens leased by John Gott, Esq., to Mary and John Walker.• The Leeds-Liverpool Canal is a Site of Special Scientific Interest owing to itscalcium-rich, clay lining, which encourages the growth of water plants. It isalso a favourite haunt for local anglers and otters due to an abundance of fish,including bream, roach, carp, and pike.• The records of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company (C299/16 andWYL7) and a list of subscribers to the Leeds and Bradford Railway(WYL13) are held by West Yorkshire Archive Service (WYAS).
Page 1: Headingley/Armley/Bramley‘Tithe t
Page 5 and 6: Most of the houses and farm buildin

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