A solitary red telephone box stands on the run-down Quarry Hill estate in Leeds; elsewhere in the city, two women pose outside the Tivoli Cinema… and Eric the dripping-refinery worker looks out from his doorstep.
Meanwhile, the owners of Hudson’s newsagents can only hope customers are not put off by the fact the side of their half-collapsed premises is propped up by a ladder.
These haunting images from the 1970s form part of a set taken by Peter Mitchell, a lorry driver who took the photos as he journeyed around Yorkshire.
Now, they serve as a reminder of a bygone age: Quarry Hill, once heralded as the future of housing, proved disastrous as a result of poor construction and vandalism - and were demolished in 1978, a year after the picture was taken
Some great photos, Iam still quite a young chap, but ever since a teenager I’ve always taken a snap of any interesting building in my local area which has been earmarked for demolition. I love showing them to my mates when Iam back home,They are always interested, and then the, do you remember tales start
Some other facts about that location. AKA: Queenie’s Castle…
When it was pulled down, the land was used as a lorry park for quite a while.
The resulting demolition rubble was thrown into an abandoned railway cutting at the end of Kitson Street, Tingley… close to Jnt: 28 - M62. Tingley roundabout area.
At the end of Kitson Street, there are now modern houses built over it all. And, I lost my cherry in that old railway cutting in 1976.
Another load of hypocritical bs from the Daily Mail.Everything that caused the decline of Britain’s industry was supported by the Mail and it’s barmy army of tory fathful.While it’s no surprise that the idea of so called ‘affordable housing’ just results in high density housing estates where no one with any sense wants to live when they’ve built it.The difference being that down south most of those zb ‘affordable’ housing estates,of one form or another,which wrecked the character of many of the the small towns and the countryside in the home counties around London,still remain with all the political Parties calling for yet more to be built.
Very atmospheric photos, I used to live in Leeds ,recognise both of the cafes pictured, the Dewsbury road one was run by a bloke as I remember in late 70’s
Quarry Hill flats weren’t as bad as people made out I had mates who lived there in 60’s it wasn’t all squalor and vandalism.
Jim
We’ve moved on. I see when the fun-fair picture was taken, girls covered in tattoos were classed as “strange”, i.e “beautiful, odd and repulsive”.
Bernard
albion1938:
We’ve moved on. I see when the fun-fair picture was taken, girls covered in tattoos were classed as “strange”, i.e “beautiful, odd and repulsive”.
Bernard
