Henley Crescent/View was a block of back-to-back houses in Bramley, writes Mark Stevenson.
They were demolished around the late 80’s due to subsidence.
The reason for this it was said, was due to a quarry – and that is the bit that intrigues me: why did it not affect any of the other houses?
In the 1840’s the land was owned by the Earl of Cardigan and rented to James Arundel and is marked down as fields.
They remained as fields until the early 1900’s when the Henleys were built.
That’s not to say there were no quarries in the area, there were at least four, three of which have been built on Westover Avenue/View/Road area, Rossefield Grove and the ambulance station with no subsidence.
The fourth which was the largest of them is still just a field on Railsfield Rise.
The subsidence I don’t doubt, but subsidence due to a quarry affecting just that one street? I find that puzzling.
My family used to live at Vickers Buildings back to back with Railsfield Mount. We faced onto hen runs and piggeries where the Ambulance Station is now. This area ran through to a dirt road/ track leading to Bath Lane near the Henly’s. Also army barracks for TA further along on Stanningley Rd.
I lived in Henley View and experienced the subsidence, as our front steps where moving away from the rest of the house. We are also aware of our neighbours who were filling gaps between the house wall and floor. We lived there about 2 years, before we had to leave under a compulsory purchase order. We could not understand when it was just our row of houses, when across the road and the street behind were fine and it looks like it is still a query on why one particular row of houses had to be pulled down.
I was born in vickers buildings next to the piggeries Doyle and flocktons at the top of the street and an outdoor toilet I wonder if I know the person who used to live there too it was a great place to grow up before having to move to the rose fields because of vickers buildings being demolished about 1974 wow such memories.