Origins Of Burley Five

Thursday 3rd June. A dreadful accident happened on the viaduct on Kirkstall Road. A beam on the gantry gave way throwing six men 38 feet to the ground. The stone being lifted only weighed one and a half tons. On other parts of the gantry four and a half tons had been lifted. It was found that the beam internally was not sound although externally it appeared to be so. The beam was judged to be not of correct strength and contractors promised to be more careful.

Yesterday (Friday 4th) another accident happened near the same place to a man who was tunnelling beneath Burley Road for the purpose of making a tramway into an adjacent quarry. Owing to the inefficiency of supports part of the earth gave way and fell upon him. Whereby he was so severely injured as to cause his removal to the Infirmary to be necessary.

From the Leeds Mercury of June 5th 1847

By the 1850's the population of the area was about 2,000. An Act of Parliament of 1849 had enabled proper provision for the spiritual and pastoral care. The first vicar, Thomas Sturgeon, after two years of services in the school building, presided over the building of Burley St Matthias Church, which was consecrated in 1854.

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