Members of the Friends of Stank Hall Barn attended the Council’s Inner South Area Committee last night (11 December 2013) to ask for help in their dealing’s with the Council’s City Development department.
Since forming in February at a meeting organised by South Leeds Life and holding a successful open day in July the group have produced a plan for a community grow space on the site, but negotiations for a licence to use the land have stalled. The project has been designed as an interim use of the site while long term plans for restoring and developing the site can be found. Councillors promised to look into the matter.
The barn dates from the 15th century and was featured on the BBC’s Restoring England’s Heritage last week. The barn is located off Dewsbury Road near to the White Rose shopping centre.
Stank Hall itself has been revealed to be even older than the barn. The timber-framed house is probably 14th or even 13th century making it the oldest standing building in Leeds. The stone chimney includes a “garderobe” where fine furs or silks would be stored with the fumes from the medieval toilet protecting the fabric from moths. This indicates that high status people built the hall and lived there. It is thought to be one of only two garderobes in Yorkshire.
The Friends group meet on the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm at the Tommy Wass pub.
