Leeds Dock is an interesting area. Originally Victorian docks and warehouses, it marks the point where the Leeds-Liverpool Canal terminates and joins with the Aire and Calder Navigation. Goods and commodities were shipped in and out of Leeds and coal was brought in to supply the industries of the 19th and early 20th centuries. By the second half of the 20th century the docks were in decline. Most of the buildings were derelict and have been demolished, to be replaced by contemporary residential and office developments. One of the first buildings to be constructed was the Royal Armouries Museum (top right in the photo above), opened in 1996, which holds the national collection of arms and armour - and is more interesting than it sounds! Its rather alarming figurehead is in the picture below.
The area has failed to take off as a retail centre but some businesses have settled there and the dock itself is used as a marina for canal boats.
Looking back towards Leeds city centre, the tower of the parish church is now dwarfed by skyscrapers.
The Armouries Museum's figurehead is just perfect for its location on a canal joining Yorkshire and Lancashire, looking as it does like a cross between Fred Dibnah and a Swaledale sheep!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful day for photos. What do those canal-side banners say?
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad all the old buildings have disappeared. They tend to have more character.
ReplyDeleteQuite a history there.
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