Hundreds turned out as the DFS Furniture Centre on Queen Street was opened by actress Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street. And new pub on the block The Arkle opened its doors for the first time. A competition among the general public was held to choose a name for the pub, named after the great steeplechaser. This was Morley in 1968, a year which also featured the end of 200 years of worship at a chapel after it was turned into a carpet warehouse. These images are published courtesy of the David Atkinson Archive, a collection housed on Leodis, which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service. READ MORE: Fabulous colour photos celebrate life in Morley during the 1960s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook
7. Morley in 1968
The newly-built Arkle public house on Springfield Avenue pictured in June 1968. It had been constructed in the late 1960s by Cameron's brewery - the first they had in Morley. A competition among the general public was held to choose a name for the pub. That favoured by the competition organisers was 'The Arkle'. This was to commemorate the enormous success that the great steeplechaser attained during the 1960s. (The horse itself was named after a mountain in Northern Scotland called Ben Arkle). Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries
8. Morley in 1968
Morley Hall showing Scarth gardens in April 1968. At this time the hall was being used as a maternity home, having been given to the town for this purpose in 1917 by Sir Charles Scarth, who also gave the gardens in front named after him. The maternity home closed in 1972 but the Hall, now a listed building, still stands. Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries
9. Morley in 1968
Photograph taken from an area of the Croft House estate, still being built by Lindley Bros., across to Tingley gasworks on the horizon in May 1968. The route of Station Road is below the roofs of the bungalows. Albert Road which runs much higher is shown across the middle of the rest of the photo. The bumpy spoil heap of Morley Main Colliery (closed 1909) is being flattened out by infilling with extra soil so that the land can be reclaimed. Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries
10. Morley in 1968
St. Mary's Square, next to the gateway into St. Mary's-in-the-Wood Church, had been an area of rented housing for elderly people reasonably close to the town centre for quite a while. Pictured in April 1968. Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries
11. Morley in 1968
Auty Square off High Street in May 1968. Like many other squares in the centre of Morley the houses were long back-to-back terraces with no gardens, awkward step access and poor amenities at the back of the yard. The corner building on the left of Auty Square was quite a high class grocers, Stricklands, then Briers, then Firths. With the advent of the supermarkets it closed down and changed to selling spare parts for cars. Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries
12. Morley in 1968
South Queen Street taken from opposite the new DFS Furniture Store on Queen Street in March 1968. Note that films are still being shown at the Pavilion Cinema (Scaramouche and Rio Bravo), that the wooden shops between the Pavilion and South Queen Street Working Men's Club have disappeared. Photo: David Atkinson Archive, Leeds Libraries