Archaeological Building assessment of the Hill Top Works, Buslingthorpe Lane, Sheepscar, Leeds, West Yorkshire

ARCUS were commissioned by Under Construction Archaeology to undertake an archaeological buildings appraisal of the built structures that comprise the remains of the Hill Top Works, Buslingthorpe Lane, Sheepscar, Leeds, West Yorkshire (SE 3020 3540). The survey is intended to identify the buildings that survive on the site and their historic significance within a regional context to allow informed decisions to be made for the future development of the site. The fieldwork included a site visit and walk through of all the safe and accessible rooms. Archive research and an analysis of available map evidence was also undertaken to provide a historical context to the structures that survive today. No evidence has been identified relating to the site prior to the nineteenth century and approximately half of the former buildings have been removed since the 1950s, with extensive landscaping having been undertaken across the northwest-southwest areas. The first edition Ordnance Survey map, 1854, indicates that the site comprised two distinct areas. The western section was partially built up, with some of the buildings still extant today, whilst the eastern portion formed part of a series of allotments, gardens, fields leading down to the River in the valley below. The earliest buildings on the site appear to be a series of sandstone cottages and a warehouse adjacent to Stonegate at the western tip of the site. Development was rapid and a brick boiler house and chimney were built, closely followed by a large brick building alongside Buslingthorpe Road, with single storey sheds to the rear and associated tanks, pits associated with leather processing. The site continued in use as the Hill Top Leather Works, into the twentieth century, although by 1949, operations had reduced in size, with the core of the site used by B and J Wright and Sons as suppliers of hide and leather working machinery. A coach works was also in operation in the eastern part of the site, however by 1978 the site appears to be in steady decline with many of the buildings becoming redundant.