Leeds in Pictures
Kirkstall Forge
From about 1600 a forge had existed at Kirkstall. In 1779 John Butler and George Beecroft leased it from the Earl of Cardigan. By the 19th Century it was producing some of the finest axles in Britain. In the 20th Century it moved from manufacturing cart and railway axles to producing axles for motor vehicles. In the 1930s it was claimed that almost every bus and lorry in the country had a Kirkstall back axle casing.