History
“Meanwood Hall is a grade II listed building. It was built about 1762 for Thomas Denison, extended in 1814 for Joseph Lees, and further developed in 1834 for Christopher Beckett. In 1919 it was bought by the city council to form the nucleus of Meanwood Park Hospital which accommodated men, women and children with learning disabilities. It served the city of Leeds and other areas of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and at its maximum extent in the 1960s had 841 beds. After the hospital closed in 1997, part of the hall was converted to housing, and further housing developments now fill the hospital grounds
In August 1989 Meanwood Park Hospital, Leeds, was the biggest hospital for mental handicap in the Yorkshire Health Region, set in parkland of 134 acres, which had been the hospital’s estate, and has existed for over 200 years,
Considered to be “Admirably situated for its purpose in a secluded position” with “land pleasantly wooded, slopes gently to the South and surrounded on all sides by a fine belt of trees affording both protection and privacy.” The great advantage of Meanwood Park Hospital (MPH) was its situation only four miles from the centre of Leeds. It always provided for the Leeds conurbation. In addition, at different times, it served Huddersfield and parts of West Yorkshire extending to the border with Lancashire. During the ’60s it was the main hospital for a population of 1,200,000.
The Woodlea estate was built in 1998, on land which previously housed the Meanwood Park Hospital. As part of the community contributions package, the circular pathway and surrounding woodland were to be maintained. However, the developer went into liquidation a few years later.”
