Mother of the Revolution is an Arts Council England funded folk musical telling the story of Leeds Industrialist Betty Beecroft, Kirkstall Forge and it’s people. Betty Beecroft, was an extraordinary women born in Otley who in the 1770’s convinced her family to take on the lease for the then ailing Kirkstall Forge. Betty became it’s …
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Becketts Park is the largest green space serving the Headingley area and is well used for leisure, sport and play and also for parking for various events. There have been many concerns and suggestions for improvements regarding Becketts Park over the last few years. When visiting other parks in the area we see that they …
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The secrets, mystery and intrigue of a 12th century abbey in Leeds are set to be revealed as part of a special ‘Twitter tour’ taking place next week. In what promises to be a unique experience, fans of the abbey will be able to join a virtual tour on Twitter on Friday 18 July around …
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Abbey House Museum have just opened a small single case display of items relating to the 150th Anniversary of the first rugby game ever played in Leeds. This is in partnership with the Leeds Rugby Foundation Heritage Committee and most of the items are loans from their members, plus a couple of items from our …
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A sizeable group of attendees came along to Kirkstall Cenotaph to mark Remembrance Sunday, led by Rev Stephen Kaye. Here’s some photos of the service taken by Val Crompton.
The Abbey Churches Together Remembrance Service will be held at 2.30pm on Sunday 10th November 2013 at Kirkstall Cenotaph on Bridge Road, and will be led by Revd Stephen Kaye of Kirkstall St Stephen’s. The cenotaph has just had four new planters installed by Kirkstall In Bloom, just in time for the service. We hope …
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Mike Harwood, a local historian whose work we have published in past issues of Kirkstall Matters, has again provided us with an insight into local history. This time Mike delves into the suposed local legend of the popular ballad “Mary the Maid of the Inn”, trying to establish whether this was in fact based in …
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Come and take part in Kirkstall Abbey’s photography trail (photo trail), discovering how the Abbey looked in 1888 and contribute your own pictures of the Abbey today to their Flickr page. Feel free to use your own imagination to interpret Leeds industrialist Godfrey Bingley’s beautiful photos (see the example opposite and see more on the Flickr …
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Local writer Dave Foxton, who lives on Kirkstall Avenue has recently published a biography charting the life of another local man Cyril James during WWII. Born and raised in Burmantofts, Cyril James is a fascinating character whose story illustrates some key times in both Leeds and European History. The story of Cyril, who now lives on Cockshott Drive, follows his childhood growing up in the …
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The KVCA has been provided with some excellent, nostalgic images from the Abbey Light Railway, enjoy!
The Horse Boating Society is using a horse to tow a barge along the canal this week: Horseboat Elland on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal • Wed April 10: Leeds to Armley Mills Museum • Thurs April 11: Armley Mills Museum to Rodley (near Pudsey) • Friday April 12: Rodley (near Pudsey) …
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As mentioned in KM112, amateur historian Mike Harwood has been researching Kirkstall’s stately home, Crooked Acres. The full article is actually the full historical work that Mike has put together. As it is large I will be publishing it online as it came to me, in three parts. You can read a synopsis below, these …
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