# The Ladywell beck tunnels, Leeds



## phill.d

I set myself a little project last year to see if I could plot the exact course of the Meanwood/Sheepscar and Lady beck tunnels as they journey under the City of Leeds. It's a pretty complex, and hidden piece of engineering. It twists and turns out of sight mainly, It's pretty hard to work out where you are in relation to the streets above, with the use of old maps, and archive photos, it is possible to plot it's exact course under the City. I'll never be able to fit the whole thing here, so i'll add the link to the full story at the end of this report if anyone wants to go into it in detail.






The City of Leeds was expanding fast during the industrial revolution, heavy industry was being built alongside it's watercourses. Factories and mills now stood on once open countryside. The evolution of Meanwood beck started in 1866 when a 'Sub Becks Committee' was inaugurated to improve Leeds main industrial watercourse. It was decided to canalise the beck from Buslingthorpe to the City. The beck was dished out and paved with stone sets and channels to maximise effeciency, the work to canalise the culvert was complete by 1872. By 1900 the beck was heavily polluted, It was decided to hide much of the culvert underground in tunnels. Work on tunnel construction started in earnest in 1913, by 1939 the whole section from Mabgate to the river Aire was underground.




The Meanwood beck rises at Breary Marsh near Golden Acre Park, it then travels through Adel, and the North suburbs of Leeds to Meanwood. The engineered culvert starts under the Buslingthorpe Lane bridge at Meanwood. This old disused footbridge used to form part of a pathway that extended from Meanwood Road to Buslingthorpe Lane. Today the bridge is fenced off, the path at the back of Springwell works is so overgrown you can't even see it.




The entrance to the first 1970/80's concrete built tunnel you come to. 




This section of culvert takes you underneath the Penraevon Industrial Estate. The next time you catch a glimpse of the beck is 530 yards away from the Barrack Street bridge.




Out into the fresh air we get this view of the tunnel portal underneath Barrack Street.




The next underground section is where some very old girders and props support the remains of an old tannery, nothing remains above ground of the old building here today. Once under the tannery you can see this substantial rotting timber beam along the walkway. 




The next subterranean section down you can see this very old buried bridge, it was built to carry North Street across the beck. A later addition brick tunnel butts up to the far end of the bridge. This bridge has been buried for so long it only appears on the 1850 map marked as 'Sheepscar bridge'




Back out into the open and this archive photo shows a double decker bus which had plunged 20 feet from Sheepscar Street South into the Beck in January 1956. The West Yorkshire Road Car bus was on its way to Harrogate with 50 passengers when it hit a bollard and veered off the road, thankfully there was no fatalities. For the record the West Yorkshire bus in the accident was DX14. It was only a few months old at the time and therefore avoided scrapping, being returned to Bristol and Eastern Coachworks for extensive repairs. Thanks to Blakey for the bus info.




The 2011 view minus the double decker bus!




Archive shots from 1929 showing one of the many bridges under construction, note the angled concrete kicking blocks to form the skew of the brickwork. I think it almost resembles a huge Toblerone. Four course of bricks formed the tunnel roof, a layer of concrete spread on top to bind, and waterproof it. The tunnels were very well built, there is no signs of any bad water ingress in any of the tunnels.




Underneath the same bridge you can see the angled kicking blocks close at hand. I was somewhat surprised to see that under here was someones home on my last visit. A sleeping bag was lying along the walkway, clothes were draped along a makeshift washing line. I was glad the resident wasn't home at the time. 




The beck next travels underneath this 57 yard long tunnel. The Empire Shoe works stood above here according to old maps. The works was extended and straddled the beck sometime in the 1930's. The shoe factory above has since been demolished and is used as a car park these days.




Getting nearer to the City we come to the Old City of Mabgate. Underneath Mabgate is without a doubt one of the oldest parts of Victorian Leeds.




Here an old disused mill goit rejoined Lady beck. The outfall has been blocked off with a low concrete wall. 




Just behind the Mabgate pub the beck can be seen for the last time. Here it travels underground for 0.6 miles through twisting tunnels. The next time we will see daylight is at the river Aire opposite the Royal Armouries, Clarence Dock. The stonework above this tunnel looks positively ancient, note the angled bricks built into the stonework from an even earlier era. 




In the Victorian era the Lady beck was known as the 'Ganges of Lady lane' The beck was notorious for the waste and effluent that was discharged into it from the factories, markets, abbatoirs, and the human waste from areas of housing which had no proper sanitation. Quarry Hill and Mabgate being amongst the worst. It was later known that this had contributed to the deadly outbreaks of Typhoid and Cholera that ravaged these areas periodically. 




Another place you can catch a glimpse of the underside of the City infrastructure is under the New York Road flyover. This huge pipe makes for an unusual view bursting into the tunnel. The top of the tunnel under Eastgate is the shallowest part of the culvert, the top of the tunnel is only 400mm below ground level.




These old overflow chutes are to be found just before the Arthur Aaron roundabout near Eastgate. They don't look to be be operational these days judging by the bolt fixings in the floor. I have to admit i find this last tunnel a pretty bleak place to be.




The tunnel travels right underneath Millgarth Police station no less 

You can clearly see the odd design of Millgarth, daylight is clearly visible in the middle section. Millgarth has a limited ground floor footprint because it straddles the Lady beck. In effect the upper floors over the beck is like a bridge supported by two pillars.





Millgarth was home to the Yorkshire Ripper incident room in the 1970's. The six year investigation generated so much paperwork the floor had to be reinforced because of fears it might collapse. I used to find this puzzling for such a new structure. It isn't until you find out about the tunnel underneath that you realise why. Chief Superintendent Jim Hobson head of the Ripper squad in the incident room. Former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Ronald Gregory, admitted after Sutcliffe was jailed: "We were buried under an avalanche of paperwork." 




These architect plans show the exact location of the tunnel.




Were now underneath the Police station looking back towards Mabgate. This concrete section was built circa 1968-70 prior to Millgarth opening in 1976. The course of the beck has been altered in this area over the years. You can usually tell which areas have been diverted, the brick lined channel replacing the older stone channel is a good clue that this is a later diversion.




Archive shots from 1937 showing beck covering work going under the railway viaduct. 




The exact course of the tunnel as it journeys under the central bus station, and railway viaduct.




Were now stood on the Parish church side of the Leeds-York railway line. This barrel shaped brick structure is the biggest part of the tunnel system, it travels directly under the railway embankment. Once under here you can feel the tunnel vibrate, the noise of trains rumble loud over head. A noise that can be a little unsettling until you realise what it is.




The last part of the tunnels on it's way to the outfall at the River Aire.





The whole story can be seen in more detail with maps, and archive shots here
http://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=2958

Thanks for looking!


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## KingLewis92

Amazing Work... & Nice Pic's


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## Scaramanger

Fantastic level of detail and investigation


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## Walrus75

Fascinating history, fantastic pictures, wonderful report, very well done sir!

Look at that lovely stone pathway, either side of the beck nearly all the way along, it must have taken years to cut and lay that, beautiful it tis. And the brickwork is stunning too.
I'm guessing that the building by where the bus crashed is now gone?


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## phill.d

Thanks, glad you guys like it 



Walrus75 said:


> Fascinating history, fantastic pictures, wonderful report, very well done sir!
> 
> Look at that lovely stone pathway, either side of the beck nearly all the way along, it must have taken years to cut and lay that, beautiful it tis. And the brickwork is stunning too.
> I'm guessing that the building by where the bus crashed is now gone?



Hi Walrus 75.

Yes I like this place for an explore, especially the overgrown outdoor sections, it is rather photogenic in places, although the downside is of course the used syringes and Rats you don't see on the photos. Yes those buildings where the bus crashed are demolished now.
Here's the Google street view look of the same scene today for a comparison
http://snipurl.com/27olhq

And if you want to see many more photos, what was there, and how it has changed over the years, then the full story is far better for that here
http://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=2958

Cheers!


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## night crawler

Phill I loved following these photo's on Flickr and now you put it all together hers it is no less brilliant, you set a standard that others will find hard to follow. Superb


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## sYnc_below

Top notch & well researched


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## Bunk3r

Nice work, this beck was my first "head underground and take photos experience a few years back", I will hopefully revisit it sometime this year Ive been itching to get back ever since i learned how to use a camera properly (although I was pleased with my pics at the time).


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## hamishsfriend

Thanks for the fantastic shots and excellent history, I am finding this absolutely fascinating!


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## manof2worlds

What a great report!!! Cool info and fab pics. Makes me want to pursue drains evenmore


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## losttom

Great report and pics. 

Dont really do many culverts myself - for the reason you put- all the syringes!! 

Did you find any mobile phones/ bank cards/ keys?- theres quite a few in the culverts under Leicester!


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## phill.d

Thanks for the great feedback guys 



losttom said:


> Great report and pics.
> 
> Dont really do many culverts myself - for the reason you put- all the syringes!!
> 
> Did you find any mobile phones/ bank cards/ keys?- theres quite a few in the culverts under Leicester!



I've found allsorts down that culvert in the past, everything from shopping trolleys, a shopping mall sign in Essex, and a sex aid of some considerable size lol 

It wasn't as bad as finding the dead body an urbex friend did in 2009. Some grafitti artists found another one a few months later. I've put more about those finds on the full story if you want to read more about them here
http://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=2958

It's probably a good time to point out these can be dangerous places to anyone who hasn't done them before, the flow may only look shallow, but it is enough to take you off your feet no bother. You don't want to be down these places if your caught out by a sudden down pour, the water levels rise rapidly. 

Leeds has two of these Victorian culverts, the one across the City a mile away claimed another life a few weeks ago. He fell into the Hol beck culvert after a night out, his body was washed a quarter of a mile into the River Aire. 
The story about that is here
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/action_over_leeds_river_aire_deaths_1_3162864


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## terrier

Fantastic report, as a regular visitor to Leeds, i never knew these tunnels excisted.

Does this go anywhere near the Grannary wharf/Dark arches? used to love going down there it had a distinct foisty smell about it.

Never knew Millgate police station was built like that, must take more notice next time.

Thanks for sharing.

Terrier.


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## phill.d

terrier said:


> Fantastic report, as a regular visitor to Leeds, i never knew these tunnels excisted.
> 
> Does this go anywhere near the Grannary wharf/Dark arches? used to love going down there it had a distinct foisty smell about it.
> 
> Never knew Millgate police station was built like that, must take more notice next time.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Terrier.



No the outfall of this culvert is down by the Royal Armouries at Crown point. You can see exactly where on the last two photos. The Holbeck culvert enters the river Aire near the dark arches. It runs along Water Lane in Holbeck. I've posted some shots from that place on this report I did last year
[ame]http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=16681[/ame]


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## terrier

Yeah just looked back and got my bearings and seeing it runs under the bus station i can now see its no where near the dark arches,


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## ThenewMendoza

This is interesting, I have a similar set of maps myself.  A Good read that, Phill, I don't feel the need to visit myself now.






M


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## RichardH

I've reflected long and hard on this report, attempting to formulate a suitable response. I have settled on...


Wow. :swoon:


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## kevsy21

Great work and good pics


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## Em_Ux

Very interesting!

Thanks


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## borntobemild

excellent work as usual


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## Foxylady

Stunning tour and pics, Phil. Always such a lot of hard work put into your reports, and they're always so interesting. Great stuff, as always.


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## chris

Superb pictures and report


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## Andymacg

quite possibly one of the best tunnel/underground reports ive seen in a long while
great research and equally fantastic pictures, nice work phil


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## djrich

Fantastic report and great pics! Thanks


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## stuck247

What more can I say that hasn't been said already? Astonishingly good report A+++

Can't wait for your next explore.


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## gazfromwigan

great pictures very interesting  amazing what lies beneath towns and citys i have heard we have a network of tunnels underneath wigan town center wouldnt mind taking a look wouldnt know were to start though


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## professor frink

If Carlsberg did U/E reports........

Nice report fella, some good info here. Loving the bus pictures too.


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## ImmortalShadow

I always enjoy reading your reports and admiring your photographs, and this one's no different.

Superb work


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## Badoosh

Excellent report as always Phill. Top work & some fantastic photography to boot!


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## hnmisty

Wow, I've been living in Leeds for four and a half years now and had no idea about this!

Absolutely fascinating, but you couldn't get me down there, so thanks for such an ace report!


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## John_D

Totally stunning research and report, well done


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