Armley

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View of Armley Town Street

Armley is an area in the west of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts 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 mentioned in 1086 Domesday Book as Ermelai.

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 beginning 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's 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 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. Armley also has picturesque views over the rest of Leeds from certain vantage points.

From the 1870s until 1956, Armley was home to the J W Roberts asbestos mattress and boiler lining factory. This facility exposed local residents to fibres of asbestos and resulted in a mesothelioma cancer cluster in the area which persists to this day. One of the victims of the disease, June Hancock launched a court action in 1993 against the company that owned the J W Roberts' factory. Although the court case was successful, corporate restructuring has avoided the case being settled to this day.

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. The tank scene in the 1963 movie Billy Liar was filmed in Wellington Road, Armley, and local residents were used as extras. 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. Schulze'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.

A street in Armley- St Ives Mount won the accolade of Friendliest Street in Britain As reported by the Daily Mirror in by the listeners of BBC Radio 5 Live at the end of 2006 with over 56% of the vote. Radio Five Live

Legend has it that a pedlar called Charlie, used to rest and water his pony and trap in Whingate Park in the nineteenth century. He apparently sold spicy shortbread to the citizens of Upper Armley for 1d a piece. Today the triangular shaped park is known by all as Charlie or Charley Cake Park.

[edit] Location grid

[edit] External links

• The Ancient Parish of Leeds. GENUKI. Historical and genealogical resource for area including Armley