Holbeck

Inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
the area of Leeds

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. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal also runs through Holbeck.

The Hol Beck is the name of a stream running from the south west into the River Aire. It was the deposition of silt by the Hol Beck and nearby the Sheepscar Beck from the north that led to a fording place and a small community which eventually grew into the town of Leeds. The place name Holbeck is first attested in the 12th century in forms such as Holebec and Holesbec, from hol 'a hollow' and beck 'a stream' (an Old Norse loanword, from bekkr, reflecting Scandinavian influence in Yorkshire during the Viking Age), thus 'stream in the hollow'. The old manor belonged to the priory of the Holy Trinity at York and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries passed to the Darcy and Ingram families. In the 18th century Holbeck was still a village outside Leeds, and expanded with the development of hand weaving. At this time, Holbeck was known for its spa water, which resembled that of Harrogate, and was carried into Leeds for sale. The supply diminished when numerous wells were sunk to supply the mills and works in the area and the water, which previously rose to the surface, could only be obtained by pumping from a considerable depth. Holbeck railway station (now demolished) was built during the century. It was notable because it was a two tier station with a low line and a high line; the railway viaduct, built in 1869, was thought to be one of the engineering marvels of the Victorian age. In 1877, the Holbeck Working Men's Club opened, one of the first in the country.

Holbeck has suffered significant decline since the 19th century; in 1921, its population was around 38,152, but in 2010 was 4,470. Further slum clearance took place in the 1930s, and a workhouse, built by around 1870, was at this time converted into a hostel for the destitute, before being demolished in the 1970s and replaced with a school. Many of the industrial buildings and warehouses have been demolished or fallen into disrepair. Holbeck is nevertheless home to 33 listed buildings and many other important architectural structures. Some of the most notable of these are: The Dark Arches, the Hol Beck, Marshall's Mill, the Midland Mills, the Round Foundry, Temple Works, Tower Works and two railway roundhouses. The railway station has been demolished, but plans began to be developed in 2014 to convert the track bed (which is currently overgrown with trees and shrubs) into a raised walkway leading directly into Leeds city centre. In the 1960s, Leeds sought to become a 'motorway city', and 1972–75 saw the completion of the M621, which runs through Holbeck, and the A643, creating a new boundary on Holbeck's west side. From 1956 to 2004 Kays Catalogues was the largest employer in Holbeck, acquiring Samuel Driver Ltd in 1956 and taking over Temple Works on Marshall Street, expanding the site in the 1950s and again in 1981. Part of the Kay's premises is a listed building.

In 2003 Kays was bought by the Barclay Brothers, and within a year the Holbeck distribution centre had been closed down. The 1981 distribution centre was soon demolished, the 1952 building became derelict, and in December 2008 Temple Works suffered a structural failure.

The name Holbeck derives its name from the brook on which it is situated. Since industrialisation the beck, a natural watercourse, has been canalised with stone set floor and stone walls. It is crossed by several bridges giving access from Water Lane. Holbeck is on the flood plain on the south side of the River Aire of which the Hol Beck is a tributary.</blockquote>

Confusingly, for example, Holbeck Cemetery, founded in the mid 1850s, is to the south of Holbeck, in Beeston.

Over recent years efforts have been made to regenerate the Holbeck area. The most notable scheme is the Holbeck Urban Village, which is expected to attract investment of around £800 million and create around 5,000 jobs. However, the area surrounding the 'Village' is deprived and run down. From 2007, Leeds City Council began vacating the back to back housing and in 2010 began demolition. The main area of demolition during the regeneration was the Jenkinson Estate. Many low rise flat blocks were demolished and the remaining housing received new UPVC windows, new roofing & external covering. The land where the low rise flat blocks were has been used for brand new social housing including four bedroom family homes to two bedroom apartments. Three rows of back to back terraced homes on Brown Lane West and Top Moor Side have been demolished and made way for some more social housing, built by Keepmoat. In July 2017, residents had noticed some of the council owned back to back terraced homes are being renovated with new windows and roofing.

Holbeck Conservation Area includes several industrial archaeological sites and Listed buildings. Holbeck is unique in Leeds as an area where many early to mid 19th century industrial buildings survive in an unaltered group within the original street pattern. The buildings are utilitarian two or three storey brick structures with some larger complexes such as Temple Mill and the brick terracotta towers of Tower Works. Railway viaducts cut through the area, notably that of the Leeds and Bradford Railway of 1846 and the London and North Western Railway's extension line of 1882. Holbeck Public Library is built in red brick and terracotta. The 1877 Holbeck Working Men's Club is the oldest surviving working men's club in the UK. After a review in 2016 it was announced that this was to continue indefinitely. However, the managed zone policy was ended in March 2020 following a local public campaign. The activities there were featured in the 2016–17 BBC documentary series Sex, Drugs & Murder: Life in the Red Light Zone.