Lofthouse Park
LOFTHOUSE PARK: Flying Ground and Public Park
Later named as YORKSHIRE AERODROME
NOTES: In his excellent book British Built Aircraft Vol.5 Ron Smith states that before WW1, (in 1913 at any rate), Blackburn were using LOFTHOUSE PARK which is located about 1.5 to 2nm SSE of Leeds city centre, W of the A61 and just SSE the M1/M62 junction. This area now appears to be part of Wakefield?
Ron Smith states that the first Blackburn Type 1 flew here on the 14th August 1913. The first successful Blackburn aircraft were built at FILEY SANDS and it appears the company moved to premises in Leeds, at the ‘Olympia Works’ either late in 1912 or early in 1913. It now appears quite possible that Blackburn used this site until late 1916, possibly 1917, until moving operations to ROUNDHAY PARK.
AN AIR RACE
From an article by Mike Hallett in the Winter 2011 edition of Prop-Swing magazine; "The high-water mark for both Harold and Robert Balckburn (My note: They were not related) in air racing came on the 2 October 1913 when Harold and Dr Christie won the 'Wars of the Roses' trophy presented by the Yorkshire Evening News for a race between the Yorkshire-built Type 1 monoplane and the Lancashire-built Avro 504 biplane piloted by F P Raynham with A V Roe as a passenger.
The race was closely fought over a 100-mile circuit starting and finishing at Leeds, with checkpoints at York, Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley. In deteriorating conditions, Raynham became lost and Harold used his superior local knowledge to complete the course.
In this article it was also stated that the Blackburn company, short of funds, often augmented their income source by staging 'Joy-Ride' events. A subject I love to learn more about. If anybody knows of any sites not listed in this 'Guide', and there are many, I would much welcome this advice.
MORE INFORMATION
In June 2025 I was kindly contacted by Steven Langfield who sent these two items. He tells us that the 'aerodrome' was opened on the 3rd June 1908, so I assume that it was used for balloon ascents as powered fixed-wing flying did not even start in the UK until 1909. It appears that Harold Blackburn based his monoplane here from March 1913, and, Steven adds, no regular flying took place here before that. The coupon is from the Wakefield Advertiser and Gazette.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for investigating what is available to illustrate this article plus adding the maps.
The Article/Notice was published in the Leeds Mercury on the 12th November 1909. Advert One was placed in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer on the 23rd July 1910.
The Short article One was published in Flight magazine on the 13th August 1910.
EXCERPTS AND PICTURES
These are from Blackburn Aircraft since 1909 by A J Jackson.
SOME MORE ITEMS
The Notice One was published in the Leeds Mercury on the 8th July 1911. Advert Two was placed in the Wakefield Express on the 5th August 1911.
The Short article Two was published in Flight magazine on the 31st August 1912.
Notice Two was published in Flight magazine on the 12th April 1913. The very short excerpt was published in Aeroplane magazine in May 1914.
A TOTAL TRANSFORMATION DURING WORLD WAR ONE
The picture was obtained from the Imperial War Museum.
Lofthouse Park was originally designed as an amusement park by the main tram line between Leeds and Wakefield and built by the tram company in 1908. At the beginning of WWI its communal buildings, holiday chalets and open spaces were converted into an internment camp for people living in Britain but from German descent.
Community event explores why time stood still for over 1,000 Germans and Austrians in a Yorkshire village during the First World War
People from South Leeds, Rothwell, Lofthouse, Outwood and Wakefield are invited to discover what went on in the now vanished Lofthouse Park between 1900 and 1919. Historical documents and a guided neighbourhood walk will reveal why and how the park was turned from an aerodrome and place of popular entertainment to an internment and prisoner-of-war camp for German and Austrian civilians and officers in World War One.
These two pictures are from my Google Earth© derived database.
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