Pudsey Beck

Pudsey Beck is a little river in the West Riding of Yorkshire which runs by the villages of Fulneck and Tong, forming the southern and eastern boundary of the area of Pudsey town, after which it is named, and continues as Farnley Beck along the northern edge of Farnley.

Course

Pudsey Beck originates from the confluence of Tyersal Beck and Holme Beck near the bridge of Keeper Lane, between Pudsey and the eastern parts of Tong, at the eastern end of Park Woods. The stream runs east past Fulneck Golf Club and is joined near Union Bridge at Roker Lane Bottom by Tong Beck. There it turns north and runs past Troydale. About 500 yards north of Troydale it turns north-west, and then north-east, running beneath Post Hill. Upon entering the area of Farnley, approximately 700 yards south-west of the bridge of Wood Lane, it changes its name to Farnley Beck, continues from Wood Lane in a southeastern direction, passes under the Ring Road, continues between the latter and Pudsey Road, passes under Butt Lane and flows into Farnley Balancing Reservoir.

A walking route known as the 'Leeds Country Way' runs beside Pudsey Beck between Keeper Lane bridge and Roker Lane Bottom.^[1] A footpath also accompanies the stream from Roker Lane Bottom until Farnley.

Use

Pudsey Beck was used to power several mills, and in particular as a source of water for the Troydale Mill of Lister & Sons Ltd. (now closed), a producer of finished cloth, who in the late 1970s consumed approximately 250,000 gallons of water a day.^[2]

When the Pudsey loop line railway was built in the late 19th century, the crossing of Tyersal Beck, Pudsey Beck's northern contributor, required the building of a high embankment which was said to have been the largest man-made embankment in Britain at that time.^[3]