Stourton: the village that vanished

At the start of September, it was sad to see the demolition of the Queens Hotel in Stourton taking place.

Although it had been left unoccupied for some time, the Queens was a landmark in Stourton and was the last residential building left standing in this once thriving village which in the past had its own racecourse and a railway station.

The Queens Pub had an interesting history, when it was first built around 1900 on Wakefield Road, it was reputed to have been used as a mortuary as well, but this proved to be bad for business!

However, its main claim to fame was with older drinkers as it was outside Leeds Corporation authority and had pub closing time a half an hour later. This would involve drinkers from other nearby pubs in Thwaite Gate and Hunslet making a dash to the Queens on Wakefield Road or the Stourton Hotel on Pontefract Road to obtain extra pints.

This was because Stourton always came under Rothwell Urban District Council before being taken over by Leeds City Council in the 1970’s.

The Queens became the subject of the ‘fun’ or ‘themed’ pub craze that prevailed around the 1970’s and 80’s and became ‘Colonel Mustards’ in acknowledgement to the Waddington’s factory opposite who were the makers of ‘Cludeo’. This involved turning the tap room, lounge, and snug into the Library, the Dining Room, and the Kitchen, embellishing them with large cards of the Cluedo suspects and with replicas of their weapons dangling from the ceiling. The novelty eventually wore off and it reverted back to being known as the Queens.

Latterly unused, the building began to look derelict having the upstairs windows removed and finally a fire earlier this year badly damaged the roof leaving it looking in a very sorry state. Planning permission has now been granted to build a drive through coffee shop.

When the image of the Queens demolition was shared on Facebook, it attracted over 100 comments. These are just a few:

“It’s gone, Stourton has finally sunk beneath the waves.”

“The last remaining thing from my Stourton childhood, sad times”

“Oh, that’s caught in my throat a bit I’ve watched it decline and half hoped it would somehow be saved. That’s the last visible memory of my childhood about to take its last breath”

“A sad end to the last bastion of Stourton wiped from the face of the earth. A great little community destroyed”

“They can destroy our buildings but not our memories.”

“They have wiped Stourton off the map haven’t they. Incredible this was allowed to happen.”

“Probably the last building belonging to the proud old village of Stourton. This pub has a long history being the venue for many local groups along with the Buffs Lodge of old and the source of good times and memories for so many”

It is hard today with so many industrial buildings in the area to imagine there were rows of streets, shops and even a park. So, what was it about the village of Stourton that evokes so many happy memories of a community which gradually grew and thrived over many years but disappeared over 40 years ago.

Stourton began to grow as a community as far back as the Industrial Revolution until it had grown into a village that boasted over 3,000 house proud and hardworking residents by the 1920s. The village had a church, St Andrew’s; two chapels, Wakefield Road Methodist and Mayflower Street Methodist; two schools an infant and junior; a police station; a park; a library; a brass band; two pubs; and two clubs, Stourton Working Men’s Liberal Club on Pontefract Road and later Bateson Street Working Men’s Club.

There was plenty of opportunity for employment in Stourton and you could always walk to work. There was everything you needed there. Employment on your doorstep, all the shops you needed as there were shops at every street end, social clubs, pubs and good friends and neighbours. A definite plus in today’s carbon footprint era.

Stourton was a very tight knit community, people stayed together, and family and relatives all lived nearby.

Margaret Harper, formally Harvey, who lived in Ida View said,

“We all helped each other, the children had cousins to play with and the adults helped with babysitting duties when the children came home from school if their parents were on shift work. Neighbours also helped if anyone was ill, doing shopping or making meals. We all looked out for each other”

For the children, Stourton offered many places to play, and they generally made their own amusement. Boys built dams in the stream at the bottom of the Goslem, played football and cricket in the street drawing goal posts or wickets on the toilet yard doors or slid down the railway embankment on cardboard or corrugated sheets. Girls put on concerts in their backyards or played games together such as skipping.

Stourton had a lovely park, and it was beautifully kept with flower beds and a bowling green. Playing in the park was great fun, on the swings, the long boat, see saw and teapot lid.

The rhubarb fields were at the bottom of the Ida’s and when there was no money to be had for sweets there was always plenty of sticks of ‘tusky’.

For the adults, the two oldest and probably largest employers at the time in Stourton were Yorkshire Copper Works and John Waddington’s.

Yorkshire Copper Works had a 20-acre site off Pontefract Road. It had a workforce of approximately 2,000 and at one time had its own bus terminus to bring the workers in from outside Stourton.

It encouraged athletic competition between its workforces. It had its own cricket and football teams and sports days known as the annual ‘field day’.

John Waddington’s had established its headquarters on Wakefield Road in 1922. The company grew rapidly from 1931 producing posters, cartons and playing cards. In 1933 Jigsaws and Lexicon were produced and in 1935 Monopoly was printed.

Most families in Stourton had a member or knew someone who worked there producing millions of packs of playing cards and games. Like the Copper Works they had cricket and football teams and always had social events, dances, and annual sports days, having their own playing field and canteen. The crowning of the Gala Queen was always looked forward to by the young Stourton girls.

Stourton folk worked hard and played hard, always with a sense of fun and community spirit. There were three well-known community activities in the 1950s.

The annual Whit walk, the walking and drinking race, and the Stourton wheelbarrow race.

Margaret said:

“We were very happy during this time, and we didn’t really have any idea of what was going to happen but slowly Stourton began to change. Looking back, Stourton was beginning to change in the early 60s. When a big storm damaged housing in Teal Street in 1962, the houses were not repaired, and the street was demolished.”

There had been little further residential development since the 1950s the last houses being built in 1952, mainly because the village was complete, although companies were starting to realise the advantages the area could offer.

Land was developed for industry at the back of Queen Street and along Pontefract Road and more industries were being brought into Stourton. Whilst it was good for employment it was beginning to sit side by side with residential areas. Some residential demolitions took place in 1966 and by 1969 work had started on the M1 motorway providing an excellent means of moving goods quickly to outlying areas.

In 1966 everything except Teal Street was still standing, but by 1971 streets were ripped in half with industry taking over the land along the track of the railway, cutting through Stourton. As quickly as a house was vacated it seemed to disappear.

Scaffolding (GB) took the space between the Ida’s and the Infants school, and Cameron Iron Works took the land behind Queen Street. Also, there was Bidgood’s steel works, Arnold Lavers and Bisons. Even the rhubarb fields were given over to industry.

Margaret said:

“The residents all signed a petition which was sent to Rothwell Urban District Council asking them to do something so we could return to how things used to be. RUDC came back and said Stourton was in the process of being changed from a residential to an industrial centre.

“This was the first we had heard of this, so it seemed like the whole population of Stourton was crammed into the school hall for a meeting. They told us the council’s plans for clearing the area, as Stourton was designated an industrial zone. At last, after years of rumours and speculation the Council had revealed their hand.”

Apparently, this had been planned since 1948.

Margaret recalls,

“At first everyone agreed that they wanted to fight and stay, our houses were lovely. We formed the Stourton Community Association, and I was the secretary. I went to a lot of meetings and complained about the problems of derelict buildings and the mess in the area. We wanted the area cleaning and keeping tidy like it used to be. Rothwell Urban District Council was taken over by Leeds City Council and we all received compulsory purchase orders in 1976 which said Stourton was part of the ‘slum clearance’ project. What an insult, our houses were not slums, the owner occupiers kept their houses beautiful and were very proud of their houses.”

“I attended meeting after meeting to see what could be done but things got worse and the council did nothing, so people started saying they would be better off in a new house away from Stourton. We used to get everything we wanted at the local shops but slowly they all closed.”

The continuing demise of Stourton, once a tight knit community, was leading to a split between residents. Those who wanted to stay and those who wanted to move.

“We had been able to get a public inquiry into the compulsory purchase and demolition orders which meant nothing could be done until this had been heard.”

“We refused to accept the council’s ruling that our homes were unfit for human habitation. We went to the press, and I gave an interview on local radio. I told them, we’ve worked hard to make our homes nice and comfortable. We’re not going to sit back and let people call them slums. I told them I can understand people wanting to leave but I can remember a different Stourton, so we will fight on. We formed The Stourton Resident’s Association.”

“At the public inquiry, Cyril Richardson, chairman of the Stourton Resident’s Association opened his fight to save the area with an excellent speech which was reported in the paper under the headline ‘Rape of Stourton’. I also spoke at the public inquiry and put my opinions forward as strongly as I could. Unfortunately, the inquiry ruled in favour of the council.

“I moved in January 1980 after a long campaign to save the village of Stourton. As I said in one newspaper report, ‘It used to be a smashing little place.’”

Even now there is still a spirit of Stourton at work and this spirit refuses to die with the continued interest of its ex-residents.

Today with the demolition of the Queens, the only visible reminder of Stourton is the war memorial situated on Wakefield Road near the First Direct Building. This was originally sited near the entrance gates to St Andrew’s Church on Pontefract Road.

After the church was demolished, it was moved to this piece of land donated by Waddington’s who had been one of the area’s largest employers. This memorial contains the names of the men of Stourton who gave their lives in two World Wars, so that Stourton could be free.

They could beat the enemy abroad, but not the enemy within, ie the town planners.

The wall war memorials that were originally in Stourton Working Men’s Liberal Club and Bateson Street WMC are now both on display in the Hunslet Hub and Library.

If anyone is interested in reading more about the history of Stourton or recollections of life in Stourton, The Little Book Club in conjunction with Hunslet Carr Residents Association have produced four little books which are available to buy.
Enquire by email to thelbc2022@gmail.com or telephone 07919 550294 or see Facebook at Hunslet and Stourton Little Book Club.

 

This post was written by Andrew Price

 

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