Historic West Headingley
West Headingley was one of the first and one of the last places to see expansion of Headingley village. Headingley House and Headingley Lodge were the first big houses to be built by the village, north of the lane to Kirkstall, at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. Soon after (1849), the railway skirted their western bounds. Then, at the end of the century, their grounds were developed as brick terraces along Ash Road. Meanwhile, in 1890, the Stadium was built in fields south of Kirkstall Lane. But the fields to the west remained open until The Turnways were built there from around 1932
For a brief general description of the area, go to Ash Road Area and The Turnways; there are a couple of Listed Buildings in the former. For further historical information, see the galleries for the Stadium and the Station. See also Beckett Park in the Past. Read more about the history of West Headingley in Chapter 9 of Eveleigh Bradford, Headingley, Northern Heritage Publications, 2008.
Acknowledgements: Leeds Library and Information Service (at www.Leodis.com); University of Leeds Library, Special Collections: Godfrey Bingley; The Thoresby Society; Leeds Transport Historical Society; Francis Frith and Company; Eveleigh Bradford; Helen Pickering.
Some photographs are copyright and should not be reproduced without the owner's permission. Every effort has been made to contact all copyright owners. We would be pleased to rectify at the earliest opportunity any omissions and errors brought to our notice.
Thanks to Malcolm Hindes for advice on transport.
For photos of the area now, go to the West Headingley gallery.
For other neighbourhoods in the past, see Historic Headingley.
