Description

LEEDS

SE2835NW CARDIGAN ROAD, Headingley
714-1/64/725 (East side)
05/08/76 The Old Bear Pit

II

Bear pit in the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Mid
C19, restored mid C20. Rock-faced rusticated masonry. 2
circular castellated turrets with round-arched entrance in
left and right returns, linked by a wall with Venetian-type
gateway, voussoirs to central round arch. On the E side the
circular bear pit is brick-lined and is linked to the turret
wall by 2 tunnels; on the W side a paved area and low
retaining wall, curved at ends.
The Gardens were opened in 1840, the designers were William
Billington, a Wakefield engineer, and Edward Davies, a
landscape gardener. The bears were viewed from the top of the
turrets. After several changes of ownership the Gardens were
divided into building plots and sold off from 1869. The
structure was measured and recorded in 1987.
(Thoresby Society Miscellany: Trowell, F: Speculative Housing
Development in the Suburb of Headingley: 54; Douglas, J
(Victorian Society) pers. comm.; West Yorkshire Archaeology
Unit: Measured drawing (plan, elevation, section), ref.
WYAS.87.ACS: 1987-).

Listing NGR: SE2803735517

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• The Old Bear Pit at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q26547250

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Care and Repair