Sponsored by
Cross Gates in the early 19th century
One family are almost entirely responsible for helping Cross Gates become the highly populated area it is today.
The Wauds from York built virtually every amenity in the village and their legacy is still with felt in 2007.
Samuel Wilkes Waud opened a number of pits near Shippen Hall near Manston in 1811.
This led to a signifiant number of miners moving into Manston from outside the area and Waud, as a responsible employer, had some cottages built to accommodate them.
These were in and around Church Lane and also along what would now become Station Road; one row survives today as shops, another was demolished to make way for the Arndale Shopping Centre in 1967.
By 1822 Waud's early Manston pits were experiencing difficulties after working through to bad coal.
But in 1827 Waud sank a new shaft into the Beeston coal seam at nearby Cross Gates - at the side of the current Crossgates Shopping Centre, behind the Station Hotel - and shorty after two more pits were sunkat the top of Church Lane.
Waud decided to retire from the coal business and control passed over into the hands of his son Edward who was fortunate that it coincided with the opening of the Leeds-Selby railway which passed through Cross Gates.
The Age Of Steam
If there was on thing to transform the village of Cross Gates then the invention of the railway was definitely it.
The 20 mile Leeds Selby route was opened for passenger traffic in September 1834 and when the first train left Marsh Lane some 20,000 people were lining the route up to Halton.
But bad weather meant that, much to the crowd's dismay and derision, the train of nine coaches took 70 minutes to get to Cross Gates.
Here is an interesting point to consider - did Waud know the exact route of this railway when he sank his Cross Gates pit in 1827?
In 1834 the pit lay next to the railway line, and Edward Waud was to have a spur line built to connect them, evidence of which still survives today.
In addtion he also had a waggonway connection built to his pits in Church Lane, which were named Victoria, Sandbed and Prince Of Wales.
The value of the additional link is highlighted by the fact that in 1850, a total of 110,848 tons of coal were being carried from the Cross Gates and Manston pits by either the railway or the Aire-Calder Navigation to stations on newly built York and North Midlands systems supplying coal to places as far afield as Scarborough, Whitby and Hull.
* For more information on ELHAS log on at www.elhas.org.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- Simon Grayson sacked: Whites keeping managerial options open LATEST
- January 2012 Premier League and Championship transfer round up
- Leeds United: We wouldn’t have got Alan Smith for £2,500 a week! - Grayson UPDATED
- Web poll: Who should be Leeds United’s next manager? VOTE HERE
- Leeds United: Celtic star set for Whites loan move?
- Simon Grayson sacked: Whites keeping managerial options open LATEST
- Leeds United: A fresh start is just what we need - Lorimer
- Web poll: Who should be Leeds United’s next manager? VOTE HERE
- Are you satisfied with Leeds United’s dealings in the January transfer window? VOTE HERE
- Match report: Leeds United v Birmingham City
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
