Skelton Grange Power Station was the imposing landmark which will be remembered by generations of people who grew up in the city. Skelton Grange ‘A’ and Skelton Grange ‘B’ were the two now-demolished coal fired power stations that served Leeds and surrounding areas. The seven cooling towers in Stourton dominated the city’s skyline for decades. The power station closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1998. These memories, powered by the YEP archive and others published courtesy of photographic archive Leodis, which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service, chart its rise and fall. READ MORE: Memories of Kirkstall Power Station LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia
1. Skelton Grange
November 1989 and two 300ft towers at Skelton Grange 'A' were blown up during a controlled explosion. The two cooling towers, each weighing 4,000 tonnes were closed in October 1983. A group of schoolchildren from East End Park Special School were guests of honour. Photo: YPN
2. Skelton Grange
Five cooling towers are visible along with two smaller chimneys in this undated photo. The two towers to the right and the two chimneys belong to the "A" station which operated between the 1940s and the mid 1980s. The three towers to the left belong to the "B" station, built between 1955 and 1962. This originally had four towers but as only three appear to be visible here it would seem that this photo was taken after 1983-84 when the fourth cooling tower was demolished. Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
4. Skelton Grange
A bird's eye view of Skelton Grange power station in July 1966. Photo: YPN
5. Skelton Grange
City snowscape... looking across Temple Newsam golf course to the power station in December 1965. Photo: YPN
6. Skelton Grange
The cooling towers provided an industrial backdrop for these runners competing in the Blenheim Middle School sports day in July 1973. Photo: YPN