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 ·
Garforth Selby Road
date
30th March 2019
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1133px · 1.0M
Garforth Selby Road

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 ·
Garforth Bridge
date
4th April 2020
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1180px · 1.7M
Garforth Bridge

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
Garforth Selby Road
date
31st May 2021
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1237px · 2.0M
 
 
Garforth Selby Road

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
Garforth Mercury Motor Inn
date
31st May 2021
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1194px · 1.8M
 
 
Garforth Mercury Motor Inn

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].

date
Unknown
copyright
Unknown
resolution
1574x935px · 1.0M ·
date
Unknown
copyright
Unknown
resolution
1487x916px · 619.6K ·

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 ·
Garforth Brookfield House
date
30th March 2021
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1230px · 1.9M
Garforth Brookfield House

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
Garforth Bridge
date
29th March 2019
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1255px · 1.4M
 
 
Garforth Bridge

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
Garforth The Old George
date
31st May 2021
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1216px · 1.7M
Garforth The Old George
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.

date
c.1905
copyright
Hobbies
resolution
338x215px · 34.5K
postcard
Hobbies NN01

1930s Onward

date
c.1965
copyright
Unknown
resolution
500x307px · 42.9K ·
Garforth Bridge
date
30th March 2019
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1229px · 1.4M
Garforth Bridge
date
Unknown
copyright
Unknown
resolution
500x333px · 65.4K ·
date
c.1930s
copyright
Milton
resolution
2000x1276px · 1.2M
postcard
Milton NN03

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].

date
Before 1958
copyright
Unknown
resolution
786x576px · 253.5K ·
date
Before 1958
copyright
Unknown
resolution
686x447px · 205.5K ·

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
792x462px · 216.4K ·
date
Unknown
copyright
Unknown
resolution
790x510px · 229.0K

Mr. Henry Stringer who was the foreman at West Garforth Farm until 1940. He is shown here with his horse team which he used to enjoy driving down Main Street [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
Garforth The Gaping Goose
date
5th August 2007
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1332px · 1.7M - reshoot
Garforth The Gaping Goose

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
Garforth Gaping Goose
date
13th April 2020
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1348px · 1.5M
 
 
Garforth Gaping Goose

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
Garforth The Gaping Goose
date
30th March 2019
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1281px · 1.1M - reshoot
Garforth The Gaping Goose
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
Garforth West Garforth
date
13th April 2020
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1167px · 1.4M
 
 
Garforth West Garforth

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 ·
Garforth Selby Road
date
30th March 2019
copyright
Ian Atkinson
resolution
2000x1226px · 1.4M - reshoot
Garforth Selby Road

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 ·
Garforth Hawkshaw House
date
March 2004
copyright
David Foster
resolution
500x295px · 70.2K
Garforth Hawkshaw House

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.