Two activities were organised in the summer 2011

Thursday evening 7th July Leeds City centre - walk led by Susan Wrathmell from Skipton Civic Society.

Some 20 members were taken on a guided walk by Susan Wrathmell who is author of an update of Pevsner's guide to Leeds. The first accurate plan of Leeds was John Cossins' map of 1726. Since then the city has changed beyond recognition into its modern vibrant commercial form.  Members were shown many fine merchents houses built at the time that Briggate was centre of the Leeds cloth trade. The principal designer of the houses was Thomas Ambler. Leeds Bridge was visited to view the wharves and warehouses which serviced the cloth trade following the development of the Aire-Calder Navigation linking the city with the Ouse near Selby. The warehouses have now been developed into luxury apartments, offices and commercial outlets.

Saturday afternnon 20th July Saltaire - guided walk by Maria Glot from the Saltaire History Society..

Twenty four members took part in the walk. Maria dressed in period costume as a mill worker from the 1850s and gave an entertaining account of the life of Sir Titus Salt. He had the unusual characteristics of being both an inventive genius and an entrepreneur who put self interest foremost. Although his workers benefitted from the better housing that he provided he was disliked because of his controlling nature and self interest. He paid rock bottom wages and ignored child labour regulations for instance. The tour started in the United Reformed Church built to the self aggrandisement of Sir Titus and then continued round the streets of the village where Maria explained the hierarchy of the housing. Different types of doors and windows indicated the rank of the workers. Saltaire became a conservation area in the 1960s and subsequently a World Heritage Site. Currently only 3 of the 800 houses have doors painted in the original brown colour. If Saltaire is to retain its status it will need to ensure that by 2015 all the doors are repainted in the original colour.  

Guided walks for the general public take place at 2.00 pm each Saturday. They are highly recommended.