South Leeds: 17 nostalgic photos take you back to Morley at the end of the 1960s

By Andrew Hutchinson

Specialist Reporter

Published 15th Sep 2024, 16:30 GMT

These wonderful photos chart a year in the life of Morley at the end of the 1960s.

They focus on life in the town during 1969, and showcase an age of innocence as well as a year of social and economic change felt by residents in the Borough and beyond. The photos are published courtesy of the David Atkinson Archive and others from photographic archive Leodis, which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service. READ MORE: Memories of lost Leeds pubs in Morley, Gildersome, Churwell and Drighlington LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia

Morley Town Council decided to extend the scope of the library services in the Borough by purchasing a vehicle to cover a regular weekly pattern of routes. Here it is on its first run out at the junction of Springfield Avenue and Springfield Road.

1. Morley in 1969

Morley Town Council decided to extend the scope of the library services in the Borough by purchasing a vehicle to cover a regular weekly pattern of routes. Here it is on its first run out at the junction of Springfield Avenue and Springfield Road. | David Atkinson Archive Photo: David Atkinson Archive

Barker Square, terraced houses located off Commercial Street, washing hangs across the street and a group of children play on the unmade road. This photo is dated April 1969.

2. Morley in 1969

Barker Square, terraced houses located off Commercial Street, washing hangs across the street and a group of children play on the unmade road. This photo is dated April 1969. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

Football being played on what used to be lawn and flower beds in Lewisham Park. The original gates into the park can be seen by the left hand goal posts.

3. Morley in 1969

Football being played on what used to be lawn and flower beds in Lewisham Park. The original gates into the park can be seen by the left hand goal posts. | David Atkinson Archive Photo: David Atkinson Archive

Benn & Webster's Victoria Mills on Brunswick Street in April 1969 when still in operation as a textile factory. The mill was one of the last to close in the town. It was one of the oldest textile sites in Morley and was the third mill (after Highfield and Dean Hall) to be built along the Valley Stream as it wended its way from Bruntcliffe towards Topcliffe Beck by the Leeds-Dewsbury Road.

4. Morley in 1969

Benn & Webster's Victoria Mills on Brunswick Street in April 1969 when still in operation as a textile factory. The mill was one of the last to close in the town. It was one of the oldest textile sites in Morley and was the third mill (after Highfield and Dean Hall) to be built along the Valley Stream as it wended its way from Bruntcliffe towards Topcliffe Beck by the Leeds-Dewsbury Road. | David Atkinson Archive Photo: David Atkinson Archive

Terraced houseson Back Barker Square in April 1969. Children are playing on the unmade road and a pile of bricks and rubble are in the foreground.

5. Morley in 1969

Terraced houseson Back Barker Square in April 1969. Children are playing on the unmade road and a pile of bricks and rubble are in the foreground. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

Children sledging in the playground at the rear of Scatcherd Park in February 1969. This playground had been built in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

6. Morley in 1969

Children sledging in the playground at the rear of Scatcherd Park in February 1969. This playground had been built in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. | David Atkinson Archive Photo: David Atkinson Archive

Morley South Leeds 1960s

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