‘TheLungsofLeeds’TheContestedHistoryofWoodhouseMoorDAVIDCHURCHILL , SCHOOLOFLAW,UNIVERSITYOFLEEDS

AHRCgrantreferenceAH/N001788/1

Aims1. TooutlinetheoriginsofWoodhouseMoorasapublicpark

2. ToilluminatethedifferentvisionsforwhatkindofparktheMoorshouldbe

3. ToexploresomeofthevarieduseswhichpeoplehavemadeoftheMoor

TheFirstPublicParkinLeedsTHEORIGINSOFWOODHOUSEMOOR

‘Leeds’byJ.Bartholomew,publishedbyA.Fullarton&Co.inTheImperialGazetteerofEngland&Wales,1866.

OrdnanceSurvey(countyseries)mapofLeeds,1851

WoodhouseMoorbythe1850sAcustomaryspace:• Rightofpublicaccesssince‘timeimmemorial’• Presenceofcommonrights(grazingcows,donkeys,etc.)• Seeminglylaxmanorialcontrol

RightofPublicAccessFromtimeimmemorialtheinhabitantsofLeedshaveavailedthemselvesofaprivilegewhichtheydeemedincontestable– theyhavesaunteredandloungeduponWoodhouseMoor…Itiswithgreatregret,therefore,thatwehaveobservedadesireonthepartofthelordsofthemanortoencroachuponthetraditionalprivilegesofthepeopleofLeeds,byaproposedinclosure [sic]ofpartoftheMoor.They,ofcourse,foundtheirdemandorpretensionuponsomerightsrealorsupposed.(LeedsTimes,28October1854,p.5.)

TheMoorunderThreat• Longrecordof‘encroachment’upontheMoor(piecemeal)• ProposaltousepartoftheMoorasbaseforamilitiacamp(1854)createsurgentsensethattheMoorisunderthreatasanopenspace

Encroachment&PreservationEveryattempttoencroachupontheMoorhasbeenopposed,andtherightsoftheburgessestotheunrestricteduseoftheMoorhavebeenguardedwithjealouscare.(LeedsMercury,23June1855,p.5.)AnyencampmentoftheMilitary,howeverlimitedinnumber,establishedonWoodhouseMoor,wouldinterferewiththeenjoymentsandpublicrightsoftheInhabitantsoftheBorough.(Council,WoodhouseMoorSub-Committee,25June1855.)

TheAcquisitionProcess• 1854 Militiaencampmentfirstmooted

FirstpublicmeetingtocallforbringingtheMoorintoCouncilownership

• 1855 CouncilresolvetopurchasetheMoor

• 1857 PurchaseagreedbetweenCouncilandLordsoftheManor

WhatKindofPark?COMPETINGVISIONSOFWHATWOODHOUSEMOORSHOULDBEANDBECOME

A NewKindofPark• BesideswishtopreserveWoodhouseMoor,prominentcouncillorsandpublicfigureswantedtoimprovetheconditionoftheparktomakeitintoanimprovingspace• Victoriannotionofimprovementverybroad– referredtophysicalconditionofcities(sanitation,streetlighting,roadwidening,airpollution,slumclearance),butalsotosocial,politicalandmoralbetterment(educationalstandards,crimerates,publichealth,religiousattendance,respectabilityofpopularrecreations,etc.)

• AimtomakeWoodhouseMooranimprovingspace– particularly:1. Publichealth– providing‘ventilation’forthecity(linkwithmiasmictheoryof

disease)2. Socialmixing– encouragingmutualassociationofrichandpoor(linkwithconcern

regardingsocialsegregation– Disraeli’s‘TwoNations’)

Health&SocialMixingWeallofusrequirenowandthen,afterconfinementtoourdesksandfactories,aplacewithineasydistance,whichwecanreachwithoutexpense,wherewemaywalkorrun,orplayatcricket,andclearourbrainsandinvigorateourbodiesbywholesomeexerciseinthefreshair…NotonlyistheMoorusefulasaplayground,italsoactsasaventilatorofthetown,andshoulditbecoveredwithbuildings,itwouldbeentirelylostforthispurpose.(LeedsMercury,18August1855,p.4.)

Ourartizans [sic],ouroperatives,andthemembersofthegreattoilinghiveofLeeds…[wouldenjoy]thepleasureofassociatingwiththoseotherclassesofsocietywithwhichtheyonlyoccasionallycomeincontact.(LeedsTimes,7June1856,p.6.)

Bythisintercommunionandinterminglingofclasses,muchmutualbenefitandadvantagetoallpartieswillbeattained;therichandtheverypoorwillbegintounderstandeachother,andagreatstrideinthepoliticalcivilisationwillbetheresult.(LeedsTimes, 14June1856,p.2.)

ImprovingthePark•ManycouncillorsandotherpublicfiguresconcernedaboutpoorqualityoftheMoor:• Persistenceof‘encroachments’(commoners,donkeys,rubbish,etc.)•Wetandmuddyground

• Proposedimprovementsincluded:• Drainingtheland• Layingoutpaths• Plantingtreesandflowers• Erectingagymnasiumforsportingactivities

Resistance:AlternativeAttachmentstoWoodhouseMoor•However,therewasresistancetotheideathattheMoorshouldbeanimprovedandimprovingspace,asconcernswereexpressedabouthowtheseaspirationswouldrestrictusesandenjoymentoftheMoor• Concernparticularlywithregulationneededto‘improve’theMoor:1. Restrictingfreedomofuseandenjoyment,perhapsespeciallyforchildren2. Restrictingcertainactivities(e.g.sportsandgames)toparticularpartsofthe

Moor3. Prohibitingcertainactivitiesaltogether

• DesiresimplytopreservetheMoor,initstraditionalcondition,andtoregulateitaslittleaspossible

ThePeople’sPlayground(1)[IftheMoorwerepartitioned]Insteadofthepresentfreedomwhichmaybeenjoyedhere,apolicemanorapark-keepermustmeetoneateveryturn,tosayYoumustnotgohere,orYoumustnotgothere;Youmustnotdothis,orYoumustnotdothat;andtoenforcesuchrulesasmaybedeemedbytheauthoritiesandcuratorsnecessarytopreservethearrangementsandtoprotectthevariousprettinesses fromthoughtlessoraccidentalinjury.PerhapsnoticeswouldappearinconspicuouslettersatthegatesoftheElysium[Greekmyth– aperfectrestingplaceforfallenheroes]warningpeopleintheirworkingattirethatthebeautyoftheplacewasnottobemarredbythepresenceofuntidycostumes;andeverysagaciouspoodle,spaniel,orterriermayrunthatreadsthesternprohibition“NoDogsAdmitted.”(LeedsIntelligencer,13June1857,p.5.)

ThePeople’sPlayground(2)Wedon’twantanyRoundhayParkonWoodhouseMoor:wewantaclearandopenspacewhereourchildrencandanceandgambol,andjumpandplaytotheirhearts’content.Ifyoumakeitintoarecreationground,weshallhavetokeepatightholdoftheirhands,ortheywillbetreadingontheborders,ortouchingaflower,orgettingintosomescrapeorother,thesameastheydowhenwetakethemtoRoundhayPark…allthatit[theMoor]wantsislettingalone.(LeedsMercury,20April1877,p.6.)

OrdnanceSurvey(countyseries)mapofLeeds,1893

TheAvenue,WoodhouseMoor,c.1916.Artemis,Artforms,www.leodis.net

ChangingUsesoftheMoor

PublicLife&CivicCeremony• Electionnominations•Militarydrill,inspectionandparade• Publicvisits(e.g.QueenVictoria’svisitin1858)• Politicalmeetings,demonstrationsandindustrialdisputes

Sport&Games• Cricketveryprominent–withtimecameseparatecricketground)• ‘Knor andspell’–Yorkshirebatandballgame– highlycontentiousby1850s– restrictedtonorthsideoftheMoorby1859,andprohibitedby1870• Variousotherrecreations:runningraces,pigeonshooting

OtherUses•Walking,promenading,picknicking,etc.

• RestrictionsonwalkingintroducedasMoorwasimproved:nowalkingoverflowerbeds,borders,shrubberies,etc.,or‘uponanypartofany RecreationGroundwhereanoticeisplacedrequestingpersonsnottowalkuponsuchpartorforbiddingitsuse.’(Leedsbye-laws,parksandrecreationgrounds,1882)

•Music– theSundayconcertsofthe1850sonwards– highlycontentiousatfirstduetoSabbatarianconcerns,yetbecomingincreasinglyconsensualovertime

• Fairs– the‘WoodhouseFeast’,stillrunninginlivingmemory

• Allotments– firstestablishedin1917,andalwaysmeanttobetemporary,butstillpresent– strongargumentsovertheyearsthattheseimpingeduponpeople’sabilitytoenjoytheMoorasagreenspace

‘Children’sCorner’atWoodhouseMoor,1906:http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leeds/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8473000/8473379.stm

WoodhouseFeast,1955.LeedsLibrary&InformationServices,www.leodis.net

Discussion

Past,PresentandFutureWhatdoyoumakeofthishistoryoftheMoor?

Anysurprises?

Howmightitinformhowyouthinkaboutittodayandintothefuture?

SuggestionsforfurtherReadingOnVictoriancitiesandsociety:• Briggs,A.1968.Victoriancities.London:Penguin.• Hunt,T.2004.BuildingJerusalem:TheRiseandFalloftheVictorianCity.London:Weidenfeld &Nicholson.• Thompson,F.M.L.1988.TheRiseofRespectableSociety:ASocialHistoryofVictorianBritain,1830-1900.London:Fontana.

Onpublicparks:• Conway,H.1991.People’sParks:TheDesignandDevelopmentofVictorianParksinBritain.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.

Anyquestions?• Furtherinformationaboutourproject:https://leedsparksproject.wordpress.com/•Me:d.churchill@leeds.ac.uk