I was involved in the refurbishment of the John Lewis, as it was being remodelled all sorts of pulleys were found behind the scenes, the stairs had to be changed because they no longer met modern standards, being designed for ladies in large gowns to float down elegantly. The amount of high quality marble in the back stairs was something to behold.
Lewis's and John Lewis are ( were) separate companies, I worked in the Lewis's building, and you are right, there was, and probably still is, a lot of hidden rooms, structures and machinery, such as an entrie joiners workshop, an electrical and mechanical workshop with a large 20 foot lathe and access to a transformer room under Dortmund square, where the sub-basement of Lewis's was some 70 feet or more underground.
Wonderful! I did a short stint as a bus driver in 1979 and was often part of the traffic carnage on Briggate! Please keep up the great work! Thank you.
wow. what a loss for the inner ring road. I had no idea that the Rothwell's buildings were ever there. they look like they were really beautiful feats of architecture. such a shame. at least, as you noted, we can hold some optimism that nowadays such destructions of the city's histories wouldn't get consented.
Love these videos. 👍🏽 A couple of additional facts about John Harrison. The street opposite the entrance to the church (which runs down the side of the old Plaza cinema), is named Harrison Street after him. There is also a statue of John Harrison in City Square.
What he didn't say was that the Plaza Cinema showed 'blue movies' for decades. My bus stop to Roundhay was outside Lewis's in the late sixties. I sneaked across as a 10-year-old and saw my first pics of topless girls outside there. Heh heh. Next to Lewis's in that wedge-shaped building was a sweet shop called the candy corner.
The Grand Arcade was very busy until the bus station on Vicar Lane closed. the Arcade had the famous Pet shop ( with puppies in the window) the trophy shop in the Grand Arcade opened in 1969 and only closed last year 2021 Hutchinson general goods store Waldens beds was at the top. Kendall & Watson fishing tackle was 5 Grand Arcade
The building shown near the end of the video is the old Leeds Chest Clinic. The dispensary was at the other side of what is now the inner ring road. It's on North Street and is now known as Centenary House.
Thanks for commenting Derek. The building became the Leeds Chest Clinic but originally it was a dispensary. The building you mentioned on North St was built in 1904 and was a dispensary, replacing other dispensaries in the locality, including the building at the junction of Vicar Lane and New Briggate. Incidentally, the building that was the dispensary/chest clinic used to be bigger, but it was carefully reduced in size when Vicar Lane was widened. Thus, it lacks some of its original symmetry.
I think your comments about the old disspensary are slightly wrong . when the dispensary moved over to the new building at the top of north street the building became Leeds chest clinic and operated for quite some years before moving to Leeds general infirmary the building is now Richer Sounds.
Hi Allen, you are correct it was used as a chest clinic later in life, but initially it was a dispensary. It has been Richer Sounds since 2009 with flats above since 2011.
I seem to recall the Public Dispensary once being diagonally opposite the Chest Clinic, alongside the Inner Ring Road, now called Centenary House on Hartley Hill? But it seems to have moved around over the years.
Still miss the Christmas displays in Lewis's ground floor windows, they rivalled any that you could see in London.
I agree Stephen. I also remember the smell of biscuits in the lower ground floor. It was a brilliant store.
I was involved in the refurbishment of the John Lewis, as it was being remodelled all sorts of pulleys were found behind the scenes, the stairs had to be changed because they no longer met modern standards, being designed for ladies in large gowns to float down elegantly. The amount of high quality marble in the back stairs was something to behold.
Thank you for sharing that
Lewis's and John Lewis are ( were) separate companies, I worked in the Lewis's building, and you are right, there was, and probably still is, a lot of hidden rooms, structures and machinery, such as an entrie joiners workshop, an electrical and mechanical workshop with a large 20 foot lathe and access to a transformer room under Dortmund square, where the sub-basement of Lewis's was some 70 feet or more underground.
Wonderful! I did a short stint as a bus driver in 1979 and was often part of the traffic carnage on Briggate! Please keep up the great work! Thank you.
Thank you
Thanks for this. Very informative. I walk this rout from my home on a fairly regular basis.
wow. what a loss for the inner ring road. I had no idea that the Rothwell's buildings were ever there. they look like they were really beautiful feats of architecture. such a shame. at least, as you noted, we can hold some optimism that nowadays such destructions of the city's histories wouldn't get consented.
Why can't we simply rebuild these noteable features?
A short street, but big on history. Really enjoyed the video.
Thanks Paul
Love these videos. 👍🏽 A couple of additional facts about John Harrison. The street opposite the entrance to the church (which runs down the side of the old Plaza cinema), is named Harrison Street after him. There is also a statue of John Harrison in City Square.
Thank you for adding that.
What he didn't say was that the Plaza Cinema showed 'blue movies' for decades. My bus stop to Roundhay was outside Lewis's in the late sixties. I sneaked across as a 10-year-old and saw my first pics of topless girls outside there. Heh heh. Next to Lewis's in that wedge-shaped building was a sweet shop called the candy corner.
I'm sure the Odean had a Wurltzer organ that came up 'out of the floor'. It wasn't played very often.
The Grand Arcade was very busy until the bus station on Vicar Lane closed.
the Arcade had the famous Pet shop ( with puppies in the window)
the trophy shop in the Grand Arcade
opened in 1969 and only closed last year 2021
Hutchinson general goods store
Waldens beds was at the top.
Kendall & Watson fishing tackle was 5 Grand Arcade
Brills. North Street ....a great story...he and another guy won the Irish Sweep....
I remember the old painted brickwork on Merrion Street saying 'tower' I never knew it was cinema great stuff
The building shown near the end of the video is the old Leeds Chest Clinic. The dispensary was at the other side of what is now the inner ring road. It's on North Street and is now known as Centenary House.
Thanks for commenting Derek. The building became the Leeds Chest Clinic but originally it was a dispensary. The building you mentioned on North St was built in 1904 and was a dispensary, replacing other dispensaries in the locality, including the building at the junction of Vicar Lane and New Briggate.
Incidentally, the building that was the dispensary/chest clinic used to be bigger, but it was carefully reduced in size when Vicar Lane was widened. Thus, it lacks some of its original symmetry.
Thanks very interesting
Thank you
Another great watch
Thank you Gavin
What was 62 New Briggate back in the day, now Liv bar, was a, travel agent before that, the building with Victoria on the roof
I think your comments about the old disspensary are slightly wrong . when the dispensary moved over to the new building at the top of north street the building became Leeds chest clinic and operated for quite some years before moving to Leeds general infirmary the building is now Richer Sounds.
Hi Allen, you are correct it was used as a chest clinic later in life, but initially it was a dispensary. It has been Richer Sounds since 2009 with flats above since 2011.
I seem to recall the Public Dispensary once being diagonally opposite the Chest Clinic, alongside the Inner Ring Road, now called Centenary House on Hartley Hill? But it seems to have moved around over the years.
Great video again!
Thanks Dan