The collection contains 130 black and white photographs, 1 drawing and 5 negatives of Quarry Hill, Leeds, West Yorkshire.
The Quarry Hill housing estate was designed in 1934 by R A H Livett, Director of Housing and later City Architect for Leeds. The design was influenced by modernist buildings in Europe, and at the time of its construction it was the largest social housing complex in England. The Quarry Hill Flats were demolished in 1978, and the area has since been the subject of regeneration.
The photographs were taken between about 1900 and 1970 and show: terrace housing, including images of residents, that was demolished to make way for the Quarry Hill housing estate (16 photographs); construction and completed views of Quarry Hill Flats, a housing estate taking the form of blocks of flats completed in 1938 and demolished in 1978 (86 photographs); drawings of the flats (13 photographs); and interior views and a drawing of a factory where, presumably, components for the flats are being manufactured (14 photographs).
The photographs were taken by a number of different photographers, including the Yorkshire Post, the City of Leeds Housing Department, the Yorkshire Observer, and Charles Pickard. Some were used in the published volume: 'Model Estate: Planned Housing at Quarry Hill, Leeds', by Alison Ravetz.
The collection also contains a 1:1250 scale map of the Quarry Hill area after construction of the housing estate.
The negatives in the collection show the Quarry Hill estate as: a model, construction framework, and a completed building.
A handlist is available.
The collection was acquired by the NMR before 2009.
© Historic England Archive
Contact Historic England Archive
© Charles Richard Hattersley Pickard
Mid 20th Century Housing Estate
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