Armley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- There is also a town in Saskatchewan called Armley.
Armley is an area of west Leeds, starting less than a mile from Leeds city centre. It is between the M621 motorway and Kirkstall Road, stretching from roughly the New Wortley roundabout (aka Armley Gyratory) to around the start of the Stanningley By-pass/Cockshott Lane where it merges into Bramley.
Armley is a predominantly and historically working class area, including many rows of back-to-back terrace houses. It is traditionally a strong Labour area, although current Labour policies, voter apathy and the creeping gentrification from Headingley (via Burley) is being to erode the landslide-style victories of yesteryear.
Armley Town Street includes a couple of high street names and charity shops as well as independent retailers typical of a suburban high street. There is especially good coverage of food retailers, plus excellent bus links into Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield. Armley Town Street has been praised for its large amount of free, off-road car parking, something unusual amongst inner-city and suburban high streets.
Other features of Armley include Armley (Gott's) Park, Armley Gaol, Gott's Park Golf Club and Armley Mills Leeds Industrial Museum, plus numerous former cinemas and churches. The most notable of the former churches is the old Methodist chapel which is now owned by Mike's Carpets, and is a familiar landmark to the people of West Leeds.
Armley is steeped in history. Armley Mills, now the Armley Mills Leeds Industrial Museum, was the World's largest Woollen Mill when it was built in 1788. In the 18th and 19th Centuries Armley was, through its mills, a major contributor to the economy of the city of Leeds. Many of the buildings still standing in and around Armley were built in the 1800s, including many of the churches, schools, shops and houses. Ledgard Way is named after the late Armley entrepreneur Samuel Ledgard.
Celebrities from Armley include author Barbara Taylor Bradford, playwright Alan Bennett and anarchist rock band Chumbawamba, who for some time lived in a communal household in the district. More historically, many of Yorkshire's great textile giants, such as Benjamin Gott, were born, lived, died and/or were buried in Armley.
The parish church, St. Bartholomew's, is home to one of the finest pipe organs in the UK, built by the German organbuilder, Edmund Schulze. Originally built for Meanwood Towers in 1866-9, it was opened by S.S. Wesley. It was moved to St Bartholomew's in 1879. Shculze's work, and this organ in particular, had enormous influence on the development of British organ building in the nineteenth century, bringing it back into the mainstream after a period of insularity. Both church and organ have recently been restored.
Armley has picturesque views over the rest of Leeds from certain vantage points.
[edit] The Armley Tourist Board
The Armley Tourist Board was set up in September of 2005 to promote community spirit in Armley, run and attended by residents of Armley's Scottish Streets (aka 'Little Scotland') and other Like Minded folk. Regular events are held in the back street of St. Ives Mount, close to the famous Charlie Cake Park. The Armley Tourist Board orginated as blog site to encourage community conversation and to share memories and pictures from the events happening in the neighbourhood. Headed by a fictional 'Lady Mayoress of Armley' and her cohort 'Jam Siren- PR agent' the Armley Tourist Board offers a tongue in cheek persepective on an area not generally associated with touristic qualities. Most recently the Armley Tourist Board initiated a rousing 'Charming Armley Calendar 2007' competition which united amateur and professional photographers alike. Over 150 Unique and personal Images of Armley were entered onto the social networking websites photo web host Flickr.com from people living and remembering Armley.
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