On the 24th April 1974 our founder members in West Yorkshire created a regional group of the Victorian Society to champion and protect their local endangered Victorian and Edwardian heritage.
The foundation of our West Yorkshire Group followed the formation of the initial regional groups in Liverpool and Manchester as it was clear the great Victorian cities were under as much, if not greater, threat than the capital. The Group carried out casework and mounted their own campaigns.
The group came together when there were multiple threats to historic buildings in Leeds. Just days before the 1860s Holy Trinity Church in Bingley was demolished on 7th April 1974 which gave the Society a graphic image of a shocking church demolition to use in their material to recruit new members. One of the West Yorkshire Group’s first events was a lecture at Leeds Town Hall by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, one of the 30 founders of the Victorian Society.
The West Yorkshire Group continues to hold regular events and to campaign to save buildings at risk across the local area. Congratulations to all in the Group and we wish them well for the next 50 years. Follow them on Twitter here and Instagram here.
