Hunslet and Riverside Ward Councillors have announced their plans to commission historical lecterns to remember the residential past of Stourton – ensuring a physical reminder is in the area for future generations.
Cllr Elizabeth Nash said of the project:
“Many former residents of Stourton – many who moved to the Hunslet – have long commented about their sadness at the loss of Stourton as a residential area in the 1970s but also that there is no physical record of its history in the area itself. Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, Cllr Paul Wray and I know how proud local people are of their history and therefore we have decided to commission this work to ensure there is a physical reminder of this areas past.”
Initial proposals, subject to the landowner’s approval, are to have a series of lecterns (examples of which can be seen at the Bile Beans sign on Balm Road/Belle Isle Road) placed around the area of the Stourton War Memorial at Thwaite Gate.
Once the location for the lecterns are confirmed, Councillors will commission a historian to capture the memories of former residents and other details from various sources – which will then feed into the design of the lecterns.
This post is based on a press release issued by Hunslet & Riverside Councillors
This is an excellent idea. Many younger generation cannot visualise the fact that there was a community at Stourton as there is no evidence of streets of houses. All they see are industrial units .
At long last, the forgotten people of Stourton will be remembered. The War Memorial on Wakefield Road has been hidden away for a long time. I think First Direct Bank keep it tidy. They lay a remembrance wreath too. It has been many years since any official remembrance service was held there. Why would you put the cross at the side of a main road? The rest of Stourton is just a mish mash of warehouses, even Cameron Ironworks is just a shell of its former glories. They served the oil industry with distinction. Anyway it`s a good idea to pass on the memories to the young. I await the results.
I think its a great idea I look forward to this as my fathers name is on the Cenotaph.