Looking up Ackroyd Street from the doorway of Morley Friends' Adult School in November 1962. Cobblestones still cover the road surface and there appears to have been an accident up the street. An Army lorry that had been parked outside the Drill Hall alongside the pavement on the right has seen its brakes fail, run downhill, bumped into a car and then careered across the road into the wall of a house at the other side.placeholder image
Looking up Ackroyd Street from the doorway of Morley Friends' Adult School in November 1962. Cobblestones still cover the road surface and there appears to have been an accident up the street. An Army lorry that had been parked outside the Drill Hall alongside the pavement on the right has seen its brakes fail, run downhill, bumped into a car and then careered across the road into the wall of a house at the other side. | David Atkinson Archive

South Leeds: Moody photos take you back to Morley in the early 1960s

Andrew Hutchinson
By Andrew Hutchinson

Specialist Reporter

Published 27th May 2024, 16:30 GMT

These moody and evocative photos showcase a year in the life of Morley in the early 1960s.

They turn back the clock to 1962 and capture a fascinating slice of life around the town and beyond. The images are published courtesy of the David Atkinson Archive whose collection is housed on 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

April 1962 and this view looks towards Morley Town Hall from Scatcherd Park, showing scaffolding surrounding the dome of the Town Hall during rebuilding work following the fire in August 1961.

7. Morley in 1962

April 1962 and this view looks towards Morley Town Hall from Scatcherd Park, showing scaffolding surrounding the dome of the Town Hall during rebuilding work following the fire in August 1961. Photo: David Atkinson Archive

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A view overlooking Morley Bottoms taken from Troy Road in April 1962. The image shows how the valley slopes have been built on from Bank Street to Chapel Hill and to Station Road. Demolition has taken place, during the inter-war years, of shops on Chapel Hill (now replaced by rusty advertising hoardings), of housing around the steps from Chapel Hill to Station Road, and in Red Lion Yard in the foreground. Some of the buildings by the paper shop on Station Road disappeared shortly after this picture was taken, as did the Carrier's Arms and houses in Webster's Yard. The Prospect Mills (left) and St. Peter's Parish Church (right) break the horizon.

8. Morley in 1962

A view overlooking Morley Bottoms taken from Troy Road in April 1962. The image shows how the valley slopes have been built on from Bank Street to Chapel Hill and to Station Road. Demolition has taken place, during the inter-war years, of shops on Chapel Hill (now replaced by rusty advertising hoardings), of housing around the steps from Chapel Hill to Station Road, and in Red Lion Yard in the foreground. Some of the buildings by the paper shop on Station Road disappeared shortly after this picture was taken, as did the Carrier's Arms and houses in Webster's Yard. The Prospect Mills (left) and St. Peter's Parish Church (right) break the horizon. Photo: David Atkinson Archive

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This photograph shows the final stages of the demolition of the Queen's and Albert Mills, long situated behind Morley Town Hall. The timbers at the front of the image appear somewhat charred as these are from the Albert Mill, which, in August 1961, was the source of the fire which ultimately destroyed the dome of the Town Hall tower. Work on the restoration of the dome did not begin until May 1962 and took the rest of the year. The Town Hall did not lose its black, grimy appearance until late 1972 and early 1973 when several of Morley's public buildings were sandblasted before the local government merger with Leeds.

9. Morley in 1962

This photograph shows the final stages of the demolition of the Queen's and Albert Mills, long situated behind Morley Town Hall. The timbers at the front of the image appear somewhat charred as these are from the Albert Mill, which, in August 1961, was the source of the fire which ultimately destroyed the dome of the Town Hall tower. Work on the restoration of the dome did not begin until May 1962 and took the rest of the year. The Town Hall did not lose its black, grimy appearance until late 1972 and early 1973 when several of Morley's public buildings were sandblasted before the local government merger with Leeds. Photo: David Atkinson Archive

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Looking across Morley Bottoms from the escarpment along the edge of Troy Road. The escarpment looks to have been cut into and stone quarried from it. Some of the buildings in Morley Bottoms have then been built close to the escarpment. The buildings in the Bottoms date from about 1895-1900 or considerably earlier, especially the group between Chapel Hill and Station Road. Most of the mills shown are part of one mill - J. S. Rhodes' Prospect Mills whose front is on Victoria Road, not seen here, and whose back is off Bank Street at a level above the the roofs of Cheapside. The tall building on the right, the water tower, the mill chimney on the right and the brick building in the centre (formerly Providence Mill) all belong to Prospect Mills. The chimney on the left belongs to Victoria Mill (Benn and Webster's).

10. Morley in 1962

Looking across Morley Bottoms from the escarpment along the edge of Troy Road. The escarpment looks to have been cut into and stone quarried from it. Some of the buildings in Morley Bottoms have then been built close to the escarpment. The buildings in the Bottoms date from about 1895-1900 or considerably earlier, especially the group between Chapel Hill and Station Road. Most of the mills shown are part of one mill - J. S. Rhodes' Prospect Mills whose front is on Victoria Road, not seen here, and whose back is off Bank Street at a level above the the roofs of Cheapside. The tall building on the right, the water tower, the mill chimney on the right and the brick building in the centre (formerly Providence Mill) all belong to Prospect Mills. The chimney on the left belongs to Victoria Mill (Benn and Webster's). Photo: David Atkinson Archive

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