Huddersfield to Leeds

April 28, 2022

an architectural tour

Up at 7:00, I'm one of the first to sample the hotel breakfast, which is a nice array of traditional English fare - most of it fried: mushrooms, egg, bacon, tomatoes, sausages etc. It'll certainly get me down the road.

Outside it's cloudy and cool again, and wrapped up in a few layers I make my way north of the Cambridge Hotel to explore the nearby neighborhoods of Birkby and Lindley. It's there that little known English architect Edgar Wood worked on various homes around the end of the 19th century. The buildings seem to be well worth a look.

Old warehouse door not far from the hotel

Edgar Wood's buildings are in the Arts and Crafts style, or British Art Nouveau, and he was commissioned to design quite a few in Huddersfield. The first one I reach is a two-floor, bay-windowed extension that got added to a large detached residence (Birkby Lodge) before getting to Azo House at the top of the street. It feels a bit weird taking shots of someone's home, but I stay on the street and the mothers walking their children to school don't take much notice of me.

A few minutes' ride away is a building with a Wood-designed interior called Rose Hill. When I did the research, this was a tearoom that opens at 9:30, but it's all locked up when I get there, with a sign saying the business is now by appointment only. I peer through the french doors and guess that COVID restrictions made running the business too hard. It certainly would have been great to have sat inside the elegant room and had a warm drink and a wedge of cake.

A mansion called Banney Royd is, like most exclusive properties, well hidden from public view. Trees and shrubs form an impenetrable barrier and a pair of large metal gates are locked, with a security camera pointing to where I stand. It seems pointless trying to gain access, so I pedal a short distance to another Edgar Wood gem - the Clock Tower. It's regarded as one of his most important works.

As I get my camera ready to take a few snaps, a man strikes up a conversation. His name is Barry and he's retired and appears to have ample time on his hands. The topic soon veers into music and he tells me about the shenanigans of Dave Clark Five, a pop band that had hits in the 1960s. Barry is a bit of a vinyl junkie, but knows nothing of Edgar Wood, although he admires the tower. The tall structure features carved stone figures around the door and elegant metalwork designs, typical of the Art Nouveau style.

Just up the road are three homes that Wood designed in 1898 and after taking some snaps, I spot a charity shop and pop in. Who should be in there, asking staff about vinyl, but Barry.

Door furniture to the Clock Tower (1902) - designed by Edgar Wood

13 Lidget Street - one of three houses designed by Edgar Wood in 1898

Edgar Wood also did some work on a nearby church, but the door is locked and there's not very much to see outside, so I make my way up a hill to a gatehouse to a long-gone estate.

The appropriately named Gatehouse is a wonderful building with an arched entrance. The large oak door is open and looks like it will never close. I walk up the short drive to get close-up shots of the front door, with its metal hinges and handle made in an understated Art Nouveau style.

Since I stopped on the bike, a women in her thirties across the road has been dusting her window sill and she's still at it when I get back on my bike ten minutes later. The sill is only a metre wide. I give her a wave and she smiles and returns the gesture.

Handle to the Gatehouse door on Low Hills Lane

It's all downhill back into town.

My chain has been squeaking for a couple of days and needs some oil, so I go in search of a bike shop and know there's one called Halfords somewhere. It ends up being near where I was last night, close to where I was enquiring about a room in the pricey Premier Inn.

I get a small container of lubricant and rummage in a bargain bin. There are various bits going cheap and I end up with a front LED light, a seat cover, a pair of bicycle clips (free!), and a few reflective wrap-around bands that have small magnets inside.

After a quick squirt of lubricant, the chain is running smoothly and I'm off to find a bite to eat back in the centre of town.

Indoor Market on Lord Street (1887-1889)

There's a tow path to ride along heading northeast to Mirfield

In town I call in at a cafe and have some veggie soup, accompanied with a coffee and followed by a cake made from Rolos and Mars Bar. Who knows what the calorie count is: it's not something that worries me.

Soon after I find and cross over the Turnbridge Lift Bridge, built back 1865, and get on the Broad Canal's narrow tow path with nothing between me and the cold, murky water but a couple of feet of grass. The bridge I pass under are especially risky, with just a narrow section to ride along.

It's very quiet and only a couple of dog-walkers pass by as I ride northeast. Maybe it's the chilly temperature that's keeping most people inside. It's all flat and easy.

Crossing the Turnbridge Lift Bridge on Broad Canal

Leaving Huddersfield beside Broad Canal, which opened in 1776

The path leads to Mirfield, where it dwindles out and I end up on a road that cuts under the railway line. The station is up some steps and there's a train heading to Leeds at 3:40 and as the road onwards to the big city doesn't seem like it'll be a whole lot of fun, it occurs to me to get to Leeds sooner rather than later.

Leeds

I have some sights to see in historic Leeds and as it's still relatively early in the day, there's enough time for me to tick them off. Close to the back of the train station is the Temple Works.

The Temple Works (1840) had the world's largest room

Entrance to the office building at the Temple Works

Built in 1840, there's a clear Egyptian theme to the front of the smaller building. The former mill is cordoned off as the Grade 1 building is undergoing renovation work and will become a library. The adjacent factory once boasted the world's largest room - a place where over 2,500 workers manned machines producing flax.

I ride north, over the canal, and make my way through the city towards the university complex.

The university's Victorian-era Great Hall has a wonderful staircase clad with tiles made by local maker Burmantofts, while a few buildings to the south is the futuristic Roger Stevens Building, with it's external tubes and exposed stairs.

I pop into one hotel on my way back through town, but it's too expensive and when the guy at Ibis Budget quotes me £60, I look no further.

Staircase in the Great Hall at Leeds University - tilework by local maker Burmantofts

Roger Stevens Building at Leeds University (1970)

Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 150 km (93 miles)

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