Rachael Unsworth

@leedstours

Urban geographer & walking tour guide in Leeds 🌍 - local, in a global setting Researcher, writer ('Leeds: Cradle of Innovation'), presenter, Leeds Phil & Lit, musician 🎻 European Professional chat posts only

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Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 7d

I have to share a boisterous spray of roses on the climber by my door that’s grown up from a wee shoot inside 8 weeks. Now over 5ft - I know cos the scrumptious scent of that central bloom is at the level of my nose. Do you know its name? Plant ID on iPhone no good 😔

Climbing rose with deep salmon buds that open to salmon mousse and lighten to lychee colour. But I don’t know the name.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 16d

A recent trip to Goole, the port on the River Ouse close to The Humber estuary, which opened in July 1826. Coal and goods came along the Aire & Calder Navigation and Dutch River - canalised River Don. Looking N close to Aire St Bridge with St John’s spire beyond a general cargo boat in Aldam Dock.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 16d

I do occasionally escape from Leeds. Here’s a sea-sculpted piece at Spurn Point, the long spit of sand that curves from the Holderness coast into the Humber estuary. Marine erosion mimicking Barbara #Hepworth.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 16d

From @leedscivictrust.bsky.social volunteers’ summer party at Moda, Quarry Hill. With much background chatter, here’s a quick summary of the succession of Tallest Buildings of Leeds. Old Leeds Parish Church had been the tallest structure for centuries. The new one was soon overtopped, and then …

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 17d

‘Grade slip’: Old M&S skirt size 12, measuring 28”. (Note St Michael label - branding that was dropped in 2000.) Recent skirt supposedly size 8, yet the waist is 35” - that’s 25% bigger.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 17d

GOAD Insurance Plan of Leeds 1886, showing details of building structures & uses – major elements of fire risk. Sheet 7 includes the eastern end of Wellington St and Thirsk Row, location of the Hepworth warehouse. Available to view in Leeds Central Library. www.mylearning.org/stories/the-... 3/3

GOAD Insurance Plan 1886 - key with 11 patches in yellow, blue or pink showing which sheet covers which area.
Also the detailed Sheet 7, including the eastern end of Wellington St and Thirsk Row - location of the Hepworth warehouse.
The Fourth White Cloth Hall was still in existence when this fire insurance plan was made. It lasted only 30 years from when the Third White Cloth Hall was chopped in half by the railway viaduct. The site was then cleared and the Metropole Hotel opened in 1899.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 17d

Hepworths’ warehouse was close to 3 stations. The premises were rebuilt & occupied by the firm until the 1920s. Hepworths started retailing in 1890 and had >140 shops by 1906. Firm lasted until 1980. Retail side survives as ‘Next’. 2019-20:: building refurbished & opened as Tailors’ Corner. 2/3

Excerpt from 1920 OS map showing the location of Hepworths’ warehouse. From 1920, their main premises were on Claypit Lane. The building is still there, opposite the First Direct Arena.

Also a photo of the premises built in the early 20th century to replace the 1881 building that had been destroyed by fire. By 2020, when this photo was taken, the building had been refitted as modern offices and relaunched as ‘Tailors Corner’ (with no apostrophe after Tailors, much to my disappointment.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 17d

OTD 1906, fire destroyed the warehouse of tailoring entrepreneur Joseph Hepworth (1834-1911), who started manufacturing clothing in Leeds in 1864. The neighbouring hotel was also badly damaged. 3 firemen were injured that day. 1/3

ALT: A print of Hepworths’ 1881 warehouse - showing mainly the Thirsk Row frontage, and the shorter side on Wellington St.
Also a drawing of the blazing building - made into a postcard.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 22d

Coal was exported through Goole docks from coalfields of W & S Yorkshire until 1986. Powered tugs pulled a ‘train’ of coal barges. From 1865, the hoist lifted Tom Pudding containers & tipped coal into a ship’s hold. Peak 1953: >2.45m tonnes exported – over 90% of Goole’s activity at the time. 3/3

Photo taken July 2026 west towards the Knottingley & Goole Canal (the eastern end of the Aire & Calder Navigation) showing the coal hoist used to unload barges into sea-going vessels. Coal was the main commodity handled by the port until 1986.
Historic photo of 'Tom Puddings', the specially designed coal barges with containers that coudl be lifted out so the coal could be tipped into a shop.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 22d

Goole had only 2 docks in 1826, just before the railway era began. By 1912, 6 more docks had been added. Though traffic still comes through the port, trade has declined because it can't accommodate larger sea-going vessels. 2/3

Part of Ordnance Survey map 1892 showing the port of Goole after more than 60 years of development.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 22d

OTD 1826 the port of Goole opened. Built to scale up & speed up trans-shipment of waterways cargo heading to & from the North Sea (c.80km away), this became England’s biggest inland port. From Goole, it’s 13.5km downstream on the River Ouse to the Humber estuary. 1/3

Part of Ordnance Survey map first edition 1853 showing Goole's development since the new port opened on the right bank of the River Ouse in 1826. The eastern end of the Aire & Calder Navigation - this part known as the Knottingley & Goole Canal, a completely new channel to avoid the meanders of the River Aire - comes in from the west. It's parallel with the 'Dutch River' - a new course for the lower reaches of the River Don.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· 29d

OTD 1626 Leeds Borough Charter was granted. The Borough boundary was widened to be same as parish: 32.8 square miles. Powers to: 🦉 Create Corporation – later LCC – headed by Alderman John Savile, whose family crest had 3 owls 🦉 Manage cloth trade 🦉 Hold courts and enforce local laws

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 28

OTD 1866 the Leeds Improvement Act 1866 came into effect. At last, this was reasonably effective local legislation leading to improved public health & municipal infrastructure. Building bye-laws + measures to clean up the dangerously polluted industrial town. Link to two v useful PhD theses in ALT

20th century aerial photograph above an area of back-to-back housing in Leeds showing ‘bye-law’ housing: blocks of 8 with gaps between where toilet blocks used to stand before houses were fitted with bathrooms.
Before 1866, terraces were typically much longer.

From Patrick Nuttgens’ 1973 film ‘In search of the city’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msp47VGdgyw
SEE:
Joanne Harrison’s 2022 thesis: 'Back-to-back houses and their communities in twenty-first century Leeds'. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/32589/
Brian Barber’s 1975 thesis: 'Leeds Corporation, 1835-1905: a history of its environmental, social and administrative services'. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/26088/

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 25

Seen recently near the Pacific in San Francisco. Until then, I had no idea what an aeonium flower looks like. I don't think norhehrn England is their preferred domain.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 18

These hybrid colours were a great delight in 2021:

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 18

My 'triffids' in 2023 - self-seeded descendants of 2 seedlings given to me in 2018. Yhey mostly grow in cracks in broken concrete in the courtyard of a former stable & coach house, converted into a dwelling in late C20.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 15

Wonderful recently created park partly on 'tunnel tops' over the main approach to That Bridge in the background. (Little one amused/outraged that it isn't golden.) At the bottom of the slope is a super playground,. Many happy hours here.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 15

I recently met up with my American daughter & family in California. (Such flowers, fabulous array of street trees in San F and mighty sequoias in Sierra Nevada. 3-year old granddaughter loves flowers 😇). I returned to north Leeds to find June in full swing. #GardensHour

Graham Thomas climber
Glorious purply-blue campanula (that came from Mum's garden nearly 20 years ago and have seeded freely in my courtyard)
Self-seeded foxgloves
Magenta lychnis with its soft grey-green foliage - a filtched seedling that was outside the boundary of a local garden.
Unknown climber (that has terrible black spot but produces wonderful blooms anyway)

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 14

This time next week I’ll already have done a v early walking tour on the theme of ‘TIME’: Pace & pulse, continuity & change, minutes & millennia, geology & fashion, founding & dissolution, speeding up & slowing down, starting & finishing, memory & imagination. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/time-in-le...

The clock on the east side of the Civic Hall photographed at 06:15, midsummer 2022. The sunlight catching the gold leaf shines onto the Portland stone and creates an extra glow.
The clocks on each side of the 1933 building were supplied not by Potts of Leeds, who were no longer as dominant as they had been for some decades up to 1905. These clocks were made by Synchronome, established in 1895 by Frank Hope-Jones to make electric clocks.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 12

OTD 1826: John Marshall, pioneer flax spinner of Leeds, was nominated Whig candidate for the Yorkshire constituency & went on to serve as MP till 1830. The 1st mill owner to represent Yorkshire. He campaigned against the Corn Laws & for the abolition of slavery. www.thoresby.org.uk/leeds-histor...

Portrait of John Marshall (1765-1845) by John Russell, dated 1805.
University of Leeds Art Collection.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 9

Featured on ‘Poetry Please’ from Hay Festival 2026 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Written by Roger McGough after visiting an exhibition in Liverpool of Ukrainian photographers capturing life in Ukraine. 🌎 🌍 🌏 (Unpublished. I've guessed at line breaks.)

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· Jun 4

I respectfully suggest that we have more owls in Leeds, and older ones too. Our owls date back 400 years. #Leeds400 🦉🐏🦉 A small sample:

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 20

The forecast suggested a high risk of rain yesterday and today. But apart from some minor showers, #UKREiiF, the huge property sector conference in Leeds, has not given much opportunity for marketing via huge brollies.

View upstream from Centenary Bridge showing former warehouses beside the Aire & Calder Navigation in central Leeds.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 17

Hemlock water drop-wort on the River Aire in Leeds city centre. Luscious, but poisonous. #WildflowerHour

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 14

Final moments of heavenly spotlight over Briggate before another squall. Fortunately, made it to shelter before this hit.

Sun on buildings in Briggate and student towers beyond, with huge black clouds behind to the north.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 4

Great to see that more street trees are to be added to Leeds city centre and green/blue roof features on these new buildings – planting and water management. See ALT for links to documents. 6/6

The huge deposit of documents relating to the development include plans for the immediately surrounding streets and Garnet Exchange rooftops. More street trees are to be planted and green/blue roof features – planting and water management.
These are the relevant links:
https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/files/E16BC8789D03E9343E295A8167DECD43/pdf/23_05271_FU-REV_.TREE_PLANTING_PLAN-5607202.pdf
https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/files/BE841AEA279E6166E8BA9CAA7B5D0810/pdf/23_05271_FU-ADD_._PROPOSED_BLUE___BLUE-GREEN_ROOF_LAYOUT-5186740.pdf

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 4

How the buildings will look from the east side – Land’s Lane. From the designs submitted to Leeds City Council by architects Corstophine & Wright. publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-appli... 5/6

The building elevations on the east side – Land’s Lane – from the designs submitted to Leeds City Council by architects Corstophine & Wright.
https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/files/C13F1F7623A0D258FB262ECBD5E4246A/pdf/23_05271_FU-REV_._PROPOSED_RENDERED_STREET_SCENE_ELEVATION-_LANDS_LANE-5186268.pdf

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 4

This is where the site of Garnet Exchange fits on the pre-Schofields map – the OS of 1891. The Red Hall, built in 1628, still stood on the NW part of the site. Its name came from the novelty of its being built of brick. There were two theatres at the south side of the site. 4/6

Part of the 1891 OS map of Leeds showing the site that eventually became The Core and where Garnet Exchange is to be developed.
The Red Hall, built in 1628, still stood on the NW part of the site. Its name came from the novelty of its being built of brick.
There were two theatres at the south side of the site.

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 4

You can look at all the planning documents here: publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-appli... Search for 23/05271/FU 3/6

ALT: Excerpt from the interactive development map of Leeds picking out the site where Garnet Exchange is to be built, replacing The Core shopping centre.
Details here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer

Rachael Unsworth@leedstours· May 4

Photos of demolition taken 31 March 2026 2/6