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Kirkstall Brewery is a complex of Grade II listed buildings built in the 19th century on either side of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. [1]
The complex started as maltings, and the first buildings were erected at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. They were later converted into a brewery and added to on several occasions between 1833 and 1954 for the various owners before its eventual conversion. [1]
| From | To | Owners | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1793 | 1814 | Henry Cooper and Joseph Musgrave | Leased the area from Sir James Graham |
| 1814 | 1832 | Ephraim Elsworth | Operated the maltings |
| 1833 | 1844 | Thomas Walker | Conversion into brewery |
| 1844 | 1869 | Benjamin Dawson & Co | Bought from Simeon Musgrave after Walker's bankruptcy |
| 1869 | 1954 | Kirkstall Brewery Company | Had the tower brewery built |
| 1936 | 1954 | Duttons of Blackburn | Took over business of Kirkstall Brewery Company |
| 1954 | 1983 | Whitbreads | Bought the brewery and operated it until closure |
| 1994 | 2023 | Leeds Metropolitan University | Conversion into student village |
The Kirkstall Brewery Co. Ltd. was registered in 1871, and by 1898 was producing around 72,000 barrels of beer a year. The beer was sold in Leeds and Yorkshire. Kirkstall beers have also been recorded arriving in Australia and New Zealand.
In 1936, Dutton's Blackburn Brewery Ltd. purchased Kirkstall Brewery Co Ltd. and its subsidiaries, Albion Brewery (Leeds) Ltd. and Willow Brewery Co. Ltd. In 1938, the company was renamed Dutton's Lancashire & Yorkshire Brewery Corporation Ltd.
Duttons sold the brewery but not the associated pubs to Whibread in 1957. Kirkstall Brewery was re-equipped, and the production of bitter and mild went up to quarter of a million barrels a year. The brewery was closed in 1983. On a warehouse building on the west side of the canal, it is still possible to see the doors just above the water level that were used to load barrels of beer onto barges. [2]
Kirkstall Brewery stood empty and unused until in the late 1990s, when it became a student accommodation under the name of "Kirkstall Brewery Residences", part of Leeds Metropolitan University. [1] The conversion was carried out by Bowman Riley Architects. [3]
The development provides accommodation for over 800 students. [4] This number was initially over 1,000, but more than 140 places were lost in 2011 due to water-related subsidence to two residential buildings, which had to be demolished in 2012. [5] [6] [4]
A new brewery with the same name has been set up close to the original site. It has references to the old brewery crest and product names, [7] and taking inspiration for their flagship 5% beer, Dissolution Extra IPA, from an original export beer from the 1860s.
As part of the renovation project the springs and watercourses that provided the water used in the brewing process were diverted, [6] without damaging the ecosystem of a Site of Special Scientific Interest along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. [8] Remaining underground water flows, together with faulty draining, contributed to the damage to two residential blocks and the need for their demolition in 2012. [6]
During renovation it was discovered that a Second World War submarine engine was installed at the brewery as a power back-up facility. This engine was one of a pair built in 1943, but never actually installed in a submarine. It was sold in 1948 to the brewery for power generation. The engine was removed in 1994 and is now at the Anson Engine Museum in Poynton, Cheshire, where it underwent restoration. [9]
Kirkstall Brewery Student Village won the City of Leeds Award for Architecture in 1997.[ citation needed ]
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. The area sits in the Kirkstall ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds West parliamentary constituency, represented by Rachel Reeves. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,709.
Airedale is a valley, or dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the village of Malham. At Airton the valley widens and becomes Airedale proper. The river flows past Skipton on to Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Leeds.
Barnoldswick is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It is within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. Barnoldswick and the surrounding areas of West Craven have been administered since 1974 as part of the modern administrative county of Lancashire. This was when West Riding County Council and Barnoldswick Urban District Council were abolished and the town was transferred to the Borough of Pendle.
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley Stadium.
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The university's origins can be traced to 1824, with the foundation of the Leeds Mechanics Institute. Leeds Polytechnic was formed in 1970, and was part of the Leeds Local Education Authority until it became an independent Higher Education Corporation on 1 April 1989. In 1992, the institution gained university status. The current name was adopted in September 2014.
Webster's Brewery was a brewery founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster which operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter gained national distribution after the company was taken over by Watney Mann in 1972. Throughout the 1970s it was known for the advertising slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst".
The Abbey Light Railway was a 2 ft narrow gauge railway in Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Built by enthusiasts, the Railway ran from the nearby Bridge Road commercial area into the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey, operating most Sundays.
Headingley railway station is off Kirkstall Lane in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the Harrogate Line, 3 miles (5 km) north west of Leeds. The station was opened in 1849 by the Leeds & Thirsk Railway, later part of the Leeds Northern Railway to Northallerton.
The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The popular route covers Far Headingley, Headingley and Hyde Park areas and commonly continues towards Leeds City Centre.
Burley is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Leeds city centre, between the A65 Kirkstall Road at the south and Headingley at the north, in the Kirkstall ward.
The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills is a museum of industrial heritage located in Armley, near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, Northern England. The museum includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amongst others.
Beckett Park is a residential area and a large public park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council. It borders onto Headingley, West Park and Kirkstall. It is named after Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe.
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.
The Leeds Brewery is an independent brewery established in June 2007 in Leeds, UK by former local radio presenter Michael Brothwell. The company uses a 20 barrel brewing plant located in a trading estate on the outskirts of the city; it is capable of delivering 150,000 pints of beer a week, and produces five regular brands, including their flagship Leeds Pale Ale at 3.8%, a 4.3% best bitter Leeds Best and the award winning mild ale Midnight Bell. The company also produces a series of monthly specials. The company had seven pubs in Leeds, with a microbrewery upstairs at The Brewery Tap and two pubs in York but these were sold to Camerons Brewery in 2016. In January 2023, Leeds Brewery ceased trading and the Leeds Brewery brand was sold to Kirkstall Brewery.
Kirkstall Power Station was a coal-fired unit opened in 1930, serving the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Kirkstall is a historically important area of Leeds. Its history can be seen in its abbey, its industrial remains and its regeneration.
The City of Leeds Training College was a teacher training college established in 1907 at Beckett Park in Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After merging with the Carnegie College of Physical Education in 1968 it was renamed the City of Leeds and Carnegie College. It became one of the principal constituent institutions of Leeds Beckett University.
The Tetley is a contemporary art gallery in Leeds, England, located in the art deco headquarters of the former Tetley's Brewery. The gallery was opened on Friday 28 November 2013.
Kirkstall Road Viaduct is a Grade II listed railway viaduct carrying the Harrogate line over the A65 Kirkstall Road, the River Aire, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was built in 1849 by the engineer Thomas Grainger for the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. The viaduct, which is approximately 440 m (0.27 mi), is a significant local landmark due to the wide, shallow nature of the valley it crosses.
