Woodhouse Moor in the Past
Woodhouse Moor was originally just that - a high desolate moor, separating Leeds town and Headingley village. During the English Civil War, Parliamentary forces massed there before taking Leeds from the Royalists. The Moor was bought as Leeds’ first public park in 1857, and laid out in the 1870s, predominantly open grass land, with a bandstand, gardens and avenues of trees. As the park closest to the city centre, the Moor has continued to provide a venue for gatherings and feasts.
There is information on the Moor in Ian Harker, A History of Woodhouse Moor, Friends of Woodhouse Moor, 2008. For the Moor before the park, see Wild Woodhouse Moor.
Photographs by kind permission of Leeds Library and Information Service (LLIS), Leeds Civic Trust, Thoresby Society, Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds Arts University (image courtesy of Michael Westmoreland) and Helen Pickering. The photographs are subject to copyright and should not be reproduced without the owner's permission. Thanks to Bill McKinnon of Friends of Woodhouse Moor for his support and advice.
See also Woodhouse Moor now. For historic photos of other parks, go to Parks in the Past.
