The Calls is an area and street by the River Aire in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. This district falls within the City and Hunslet ward of the City of Leeds Council. Formerly an area of industry in Leeds, it has now been regenerated with a mixture of uses: primarily offices, residential and leisure.
The first evidence for the existence of the place-name The Calls is the street-name Call Lane, first attested in 1557, but presumably referring to The Calls. The place-name The Calls is first attested in its own right in 1668, with the French definite article le, as Le Calls. The place first appears on maps from John Cossins' 1726 Plan of Leeds, which shows a street labelled "Calls" running from the Leeds Bridge to Leeds Parish Church. [1] The old street sign also shows it as "Calls", without "the".
The origin of the name Calls is uncertain. Recent local history books frequently give the etymology as the Latin word callis ('a stony footway, foot-path'). [2] [3] [4] However, this word is not found elsewhere in English usage or place-names, making it an unlikely origin for The Calls. Rather, the usual authority on English place-names, the English Place-Name Society, concluded that the name was 'probably' from the Northern English dialect word caul, meaning 'weir' (whose origin is itself obscure). [5] At the time of the publication of the Society's volumes on West Yorkshire, [6] the Oxford English Dictionary listed the earliest attestation of this word as 1805, [7] but other research showed the word in use already in the sixteenth century. [8] [5] Another possibility, however, is that the name comes from the Northern English dialect word call 'place where cows are driven'. [5]
It is thought that in Roman times there was a ford over the River Aire near the present Leeds Bridge. [2] [3] "The Calls" was originally an open space mainly of orchards, but is now a built up area. [3] The Calls area along with neighbouring Clarence Dock served as docks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Aire and Calder Navigation throughout the industrial revolution and the early 20th century.
The area's decline began in the early 20th century when Leeds' industry moved away from the centre out towards Hunslet, Holbeck, Armley and Kirkstall. From 1985 to 1995 Leeds Corporation carried out a major regeneration with careful conversion of listed building warehouses and new build in sympathetic style for a mixed use area. This includes the historic Fletlands Corn Mills into a boutique hotel, 42 The Calls Hotel, in 1991. The Centenary Footbridge by Ove Arup & Partners across the river to Brewery Wharf was opened in 1993. A silver ball fountain was installed to commemorate this work. [9]
There are many pubs and bars around the area. The pub The New Penny on Call Lane was awarded a blue plaque by Leeds Civic Trust on 19 October 2016, "for providing a safe venue for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." [10] The plaque states that the pub is "one of the longest continually running LGB & T* venues in the UK, having been so since 1953". The area is also the setting for the post parade street party and stalls at Leeds Pride. [11]
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, 148 kilometres (92 mi) in length. The Handbook for Leeds and Airedale (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is 58 miles (93 km) direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to 90 miles (140 km). Between Malham Tarn and Airmyn, the river drops 400 metres (1,300 ft). Part of the river below Leeds is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation.
Guiseley is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than 1 mile (1.6 km) from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills. Armley is predominantly and historically a largely working class area of the city, still retains many smaller industrial businesses, and has many rows of back-to-back terraced houses.
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth-busiest railway station in the UK outside London. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the foot of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel. It is one of 20 stations managed by Network Rail.
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64. It sits in the Gipton & Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency, between Burmantofts and Gipton, and adjacent to Chapeltown.
Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past.
Beeston is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) south of the city centre.
Barwick-in-Elmet is a village in West Yorkshire, 7 miles (11 km) east of Leeds city centre. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Romano-British kingdom of Elmet, the others being Scholes-in-Elmet and Sherburn-in-Elmet.
Allerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the south-east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,717. The village itself is 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Castleford, with neighbouring villages Kippax and Great Preston all providing local amenities. St Aidan's Nature reserve borders the village attracting many visitors with its beauty and charm. Additionally "The Lines Way" bridle path which runs from Garforth through to Allerton following the old train track provides a pleasant route for walkers, joggers and cyclists alike. The River Aire flows through the village to the south-west.
Quarry Hill is an area of central Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road in the east and north and the Leeds – York / Hull railway in the south. The area falls within the City and Hunslet ward of Leeds City Council.
Swillington is a village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) east from Leeds city centre, north of the River Aire, and is surrounded by streams including Fleakingley Beck. In 2001, Swillington had a population of about 3,530, reducing to 3,381 at the 2011 Census.
Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since the end of the M1 moved to Hook Moor near Aberford. Since large parts of Holbeck have been vacated in preparation for the regeneration of the area, the district has in large parts suffered from a population exodus. Holbeck had a population of 5,505 in 2011. The district currently falls within the Beeston and Holbeck ward of Leeds City Council.
Cottingley is a suburban village within the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England between Shipley and Bingley. It is known for the Cottingley Fairies, which appeared in a series of photographs taken there during the early 20th century.
Leeds Bridge is a historic river crossing in Leeds, England. The present cast iron road bridge over the River Aire dates from 1870. It is Grade II listed.
Kirk Smeaton is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the southern end of the county close to South Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. Historically the village was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.
The architecture of Leeds, a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, encompasses a wide range of architectural styles and notable buildings. As with most northern industrial centres, much of Leeds' prominent architecture is of the Victorian era. However, the City of Leeds also contains buildings from as early as the Middle Ages such as Kirkstall Abbey, one of Britain's best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries, as well as examples of 20th century industrial architecture, particularly in the districts of Hunslet and Holbeck.
Tetley's Brewery(Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd) was an English regional brewery founded in 1822 by Joshua Tetley in Hunslet, now a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The beer was originally produced at the Leeds Brewery, which was later renamed the Leeds Tetley Brewery to avoid confusion with a microbrewery of the same name.
42 The Calls Hotel is a Grade II listed 4-star boutique hotel with 41 rooms. The hotel is located on The Calls in Leeds opposite Leeds Parish Church and near to Leeds Corn Exchange. A former corn mill, the 18th century Fletland Mill was bought by hotelier Jonathan Wix in 1991 and renovated at a cost of £19.5 million.
Aire Park is a planned new public open space in Hunslet, south of the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Being developed by the international real estate organisation Vastint, it will mostly occupy the abandoned brownfield site of the former Tetley's Brewery. It is named after the River Aire, which flows nearby.
Newlay is a suburb of Horsforth, in West Yorkshire, England. Originally a hamlet, it is now part of Horsforth parish in the City of Leeds District, and has its own conservation area. Newlay is situated on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, some 5 miles (8 km) north west of Leeds city centre.