Leeds nostalgia: '˜Stop Fountains Abbey restoration' petition in 1946

A petition with 10,000 signatures was handed in at 10 Downing Street, with a pledge from the prime minister that he would give it his personal attention.

The names objecting to the plans were collected by the Protestant Alliance, whose leader, O T Talyor, said: “We consider that this plan is a further effort to undermine the Protestant character of the nation and to undo the work of the Reformation. This monastery was dissolved at the Reformation and we feel that is should remain as a monument to the system from which England was delivered.”

As reported previously, the estate had at the time been bought by a consortium which had indicated it wanted to fully restore the ruin and turn it once again into a working monastery.

In other news, a Leeds motorist who gave two men a lift in his car was later beaten up and robbed by the pair.

Leonard Summers stopped to pick the pair up in Sheepscar, giving them a lift to New Wortley.

The kind hearted mechanic, of Greenthorpe Lane, Bramley, who had been living in Leeds for about four months, having been demobbed from the Royal Navy, said: “About midnight, I was passing Sheepscar Street when a couple of men asked me if I could give them a lift to Armley. I said ‘hop in’ and took them just past the Leeds Bridge’, when one said: ‘Ok, Jack, this will do’. Then the one sitting behind grabbed my arms from behind and held me while the other struck my chin.” They stole £4 10s and 70 clothing and fuel coupons.