Selby Road and Garforth Bridge
On this page we follow Selby Road from Garforth Bridge up towards Garforth Cliff. Selby Road bounds the South side of Garforth and being a major and historical road has some of the oldest buildings still standing in Garforth.
Garforth Bridge
Garforth Bridge refers to the area around the Old George. When Wakefield Road and Selby Road formed a crossroads there was a bridge there which was built over Sheffield Beck. Of course, there is now a roundabout there and the beck flows through the middle of it (where the willow trees are).
- date
- c.1965
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 500x330px · 78.6K ·
- date
- 30th March 2019
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1133px · 1.0M
This is a view of Selby Road taken from Wakefield Road, showing the Old George on the left, Springfield Place centre frame and The Gaping Goose towards the right of the frame.
The land in the front of the frame (where the hotel now stands) was called Bowman’s Well Green Farm and later Lindley’s [3].
- date
- After 1920
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 787x463px · 212.4K ·
- date
- 4th April 2020
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1180px · 1.7M
Selby Road climbing towards Swillington Common. The large house on the left, now demolished, was owned by the manager of Naylor Pollard & Co. [2]. Hawthorn Terrace is recognisable in the centre frame of both photographs.
- date
- unknown
- copyright
- Richards
- resolution
- 2000x1267px · 1.0M ·
- postcard
- Richards 02-ALT
- date
- 31st May 2021
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1237px · 2.0M
The hotel in the 1970s when it was the Leeds Mercury Motor Inn. The comparison of the Holiday Inn today photo shows the exterior as in the top left frame.
- date
- c.1974
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 2000x1285px · 3.3M
- postcard
- Unknown NN01
- date
- 31st May 2021
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1194px · 1.8M
Naylor Pollard
These are images of Naylor Pollard & Co., a factory which made shirts and ‘Pilot’ overalls, employing large numbers of girls from Garforth. The factory no longer exists and the sorting office now stands on the same land.
Before becoming the shirt factory the site had also been a corn mill run by Horsefields, a glue factory run by Charles H. Robshaw and a tannery [2][3].
Brookfield House
Brookfield is an 18th century house situated on Selby Road near The Old George which has now been converted into offices. The house once belonged to John Clapham Bartle, a land auctioneer and estate agent who owned a cattle market behind the Brown Cow in Whitkirk [3].
Contemporary photograph taken with the kind permission of the owners.
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 788x486px · 264.5K ·
- date
- 30th March 2021
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1230px · 1.9M
Fitton's and Brooks' Garages
- date
- After 1920
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 1369x838px · 507.4K ·
Fitton’s Garage situated where Clark’s Garage now stands opposite The Old George. The Garage was built c.1920 from an old aircraft hangar and from it Fitton sold ROP (Russian Oil Products) petrol [2].
D.N. Brook's garage and service station which was built where Fitton's garage stood. This is the building which is still standing today.
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Richards
- resolution
- 500x313px · 39.2K ·
- postcard
- Richards 01A
- date
- 29th March 2019
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1255px · 1.4M
The Old George Pub
The George is one of the oldest pubs in Garforth and is mentioned in Baines’ Gazetteer for the County of York in 1822. Sadly the pub is now part of the Miller and Carter chain so lost its name despite having hundreds of years of history behind it.
There used to be stabling facilities at the George which would have made it a good place for people to stop who were travelling on the Leeds to Selby and Wakefield to Tadcaster turnpike roads [2].
The Old George was rebuilt in the 1930s so you can see two different buildings below. The older building which was more of a coaching inn and then the more modern pub which is the building we have today.
pre 1930s
Looking East towards Selby. The current pub can not be seen here other than the railings at the front which suggests the older pub was set a bit further forwards (the road would have been narrower at the time).
- date
- Before 1920
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 505x306px · 108.5K
- date
- 31st May 2021
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1216px · 1.7M
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Bramley
- resolution
- 1516x971px · 676.4K ·
- postcard
- Bramley B26
A similar view to the photo above, numbers 1-2 on Springfield Place can be see behind the pub.
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Lilywhite
- resolution
- 1039x618px · 405.0K ·
- postcard
- Lilywhite GFH-U01
Looking West towards Swillington Common and Leeds.
1930s Onward
- date
- c.1965
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 500x307px · 42.9K ·
- date
- 30th March 2019
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1229px · 1.4M
Garforth Old Hall
This Elizabethan hall was located opposite The Gaping Goose. The hall was demolished in 1958 when it was almost 600 years old in order to make space for a dual carriageway. However, the road was never built which means that sadly the house was demolished without cause [2].
West Garforth Farm
West Garforth Farm was situated on Selby Road close to The Gaping Goose. The farm was owned by Mr. Horner, whose main crop was rhubarb which he supplied to Covent Garden [3].
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 391x614px · 155.2K
Mr. Henry Stringer stood in front of land which is now Goosefields, Ringway and the Alandales.
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 784x555px · 249.7K
Mrs. Stringer feeding poultry at the farm.
The Gaping Goose Pub
The Gaping Goose is thought to be the oldest surviving pub in Garforth. Apparently in the great hall at Garforth Old Hall there was a plaster frieze of some flying cormorants; it is possible that Goose was named after these by someone who mistook the cormorants for Geese [2].
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 1148x824px · 572.7K
- date
- 5th August 2007
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1332px · 1.7M - reshoot
This image is a view towards Garforth Bridge with the Goose on the right.
- date
- c.1910
- copyright
- Bramley
- resolution
- 2000x1202px · 1.5M ·
- postcard
- Bramley B21
- date
- 13th April 2020
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1348px · 1.6M
The Goose when it sold Melbourne ales, which were brewed in Regent Street in Leeds [3]. The roof of Garforth Old Hall can just be seen in the right of the frame behind the tree giving a good reference for where it once stood.
- date
- 1930s
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 788x486px · 212.8K
- date
- 30th March 2019
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1281px · 1.1M - reshoot
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 787x545px · 249.3K ·
Billy Previll with geese in front of the pub.
Coldwell’s Corner
Looking from Coldwells Corner in the direction of Garforth Bridge. The white building seen at the end of the road is the Gaping Goose and on the right behind the wall was the council yard.
- date
- unknown
- copyright
- Lilywhite
- resolution
- 2000x1233px · 1.3M
- postcard
- Lilywhite GFH23
- date
- 13th April 2020
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1167px · 1.4M
Looking East along Selby Road at Coldwell’s Corner (the junction of Selby Road and Lidgett Lane) showing cottages which have now been demolished. Mrs. Tiffany’s sweet shop is in the centre left of the frame [2].
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 744x455px · 233.4K ·
- date
- 30th March 2019
- copyright
- Ian Atkinson
- resolution
- 2000x1226px · 1.4M - reshoot
Hawkshaw House
Hawkshaw House, later called Leyland House, was located in Selby Road just before Charlie Sweep’s Corner (opposite Garforth Community College playing fields). In the 19th century the house was a private boarding school for boys, and was later owned by T.B. Smith who had a shop on Main Street. The house often hosted NSPCC garden parties [3].
The name Hawkshaw House appears to have been for Fletcher Samuel Hawkshaw, listed of Hawkshaw House in Pigot’s Directory of 1834 for Aberford [6].
I have spent a lot of time at this house as my best friend lived there when we were at school. I remember being told that the house dates from the 17th century but I don’t have any references for that date.
Inside the house was very grand with a large, straight staircase in the middle of the house and a long, wide hall upstairs. On the end of the house, closest to Lidgett Lane, is where the school room was. The grounds of the house run all the way down to the old railway line.
The house was sadly demolished in 2006 to make way for several large new houses to be built. The comparison photo below was taken by Dave from the roof of the new house that they were building and shows the back of the old house.
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 790x456px · 267.8K ·
- date
- March 2004
- copyright
- David Foster
- resolution
- 500x295px · 70.2K
Long Meadows
- date
- Unknown
- copyright
- Unknown
- resolution
- 782x486px · 255.9K ·
Local women picking potatoes in the fields which are now the site ofthe Long Meadows estate, with Trench Pit in the background.