Stanningley

History

St Paul's Parish Church was constructed in 1853 and its register started in 1856. The last burial at the church took place in 1939 before it was closed in 1982 as the parish was merged with Pudsey's St Lawrence Parish. After the closure, the building was converted into an office space and used by companies like Rockstar Leeds, a video game developer. As of December 2018, the building is privately owned.

The distinctive 1920s Pavilion Picture House was opened in February 1920. It was designed by J. P. Crawford of Albion Place. The first film shown was Daddy-Long-Legs starring Mary Pickford. In 1970, the cinema closed and it was turned into a bingo hall, before becoming a business centre c. 2005 and private accommodation c. 2020.

F & T Kitchin and Co.

Stanningley was the home of the Bootie Folding Cycle. It was made by a local engineering firm, F & T Kitchin & Co, at their Vickersdale works as a sideline to their main business. Production of the Bootie bicycle began in 1965 and continued with only minor refinements until early 1973.

UK's first High Occupancy Vehicle Lane

A section of the A647 road Stanningley Road and Stanningley By-Pass became the UK's first High Occupancy Vehicle Lane in 1998. It began on a trial basis and was made permanent after proving successful.

This part of the route between Leeds and Bradford experienced high levels of traffic congestion and there were few public transport priority measures. The council originally wanted to install a bus lane, but found that bus service frequencies were too low to justify it.

The project was part of an EU research project called Increasing CAR Occupancy (ICARO). Its objectives were to increase car occupancy by encouraging car sharing and to demonstrate the feasibility of providing a lane for shared use by buses, other high occupancy vehicles, motorcycles and cycles.

Economy

Town Street and a section of Stanningley Road to the east are home to most of the district's shops, pubs and eateries. Amenities include a dry cleaners, butcher, newsagent, salon and car garage. There are 10 public houses in Stanningley, including The Jug & Barrel, Waggon & Horses and The Great Northern. The historic pub The Halfway House is on the corner of Broad Lane and Leeds and Bradford Road. A photo in the Leodis archive shows the pub in the 1950s.

Owlcotes Shopping Centre, in Stanningley, contains an Asda supermarket and a Marks & Spencer store, and B&M shop.

Sport

[[Stanningley SARLFC]]

Stanningley is home to Stanningley Sport and Amateur Rugby League Club. Formed in 1889 it is one of the oldest amateur rugby league clubs in the world and has provided numerous players to the professional ranks. These including England captain Jamie Peacock, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Tom Johnstone, Ryan Atkins, Ash Gibson, Jordan Lilley, Ashton Golding, Garreth Carvell, Michael Banks, Andy Bastow, Steve Nicholson, Mark Wilson and Roy Dickinson. Danika Priim represented England whilst at Stanningley.

Football

There are two Stanningley football clubs, despite neither actually playing in Stanningley. Stanningley Albion run junior and open age teams play on Woodhall in Pudsey and Stanningley Old Boys run open age teams play in Swinnow.

References and notes

References

1. {{NHLE
2. "Geograph:: South aisle window of St Thomas's church © Stephen Craven".
3. Mahall, John. (1874). "Annals of Yorkshire vol III". CH Johnson.
4. Stevenson, Mark. (8 December 2018). "Mark's History: The Stanningley church, Rockstar and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas".
5. "Stanningley Park, greenhouse".
6. "Pavilion Business Centre, Stanningley Road".
7. Tony Hadland and John Pinkerton (1996) ''It's in the bag! A history in outline of portable cycles in the UK''. Cheltenham: Quorum Press Ltd
8. "High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes evidence on performance".
9. "Lanes and Lines -- High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes".
10. "Pubs in Stanningley".
11. "Broad Lane, Half Way House, Rear View".
12. "Stanningley SARLC".
13. Norfolk, Nick. (2019). "The Stanningley Story 1889 to 2019". Stanningley SARLC.
14. (18 June 2015). "England Women triumphant in Tonneins against France". 4 The Love of Sport.