The Spotted Cow Inn was once a thriving local pub. It's history stems back to the early 19th Century. Along with other public houses this is listed in White's Commercial directory from 1837 and shares some fantastic history of taverns in the area. Up until recently (2005), the pub was popular with football supporters and welcome everyone. Unfortunately, around this time the pub now an empty shell was left derelict. In 2008 the building caught fire and was abandoned. Now housing only wild buddelia and cooping pigeons, the pub was a shadow of it's former life. However, the figurehead of the 'cow' survived the flames and has remained intact.
At a publicity group meeting earlier in the year local resident Steve Peacock suggested the idea of saving the cow's head, as it held a lot of memories for a lot of people. We knew at the time there were plans to have the building demolished, but we didn't know when.
The idea surfaced so many times in various meetings. Discussions were around who to contact, where it would be stored and where it was going to be placed in the future. It was clear that saving the head of the spotted cow represented a big part of peoples lives, memories and especially the history of the community.
An article was written for the local news blog South Leeds Life by Lucy Potter (Secretary on the HNP Board). This included local residents stories linked to the pub and even managed to contact the last land lady of the pub, Maureen Spencer. The story was then followed up by the Yorkshire Evening Post (November 20 2014). They were keen to help the community promote the campaign and put Holbeck on the map.
As we are looking forward to the continuous regeneration of the locality, the head symbolises the community's heritage but is also a part of a hopeful future.
The question still remains, 'where will the head be placed now?'
Please contact us on the email below and get in touch with us about your ideas. We'd love to hear from you. Do you have any memories? tweet us! @TalkingHolbeck
At a publicity group meeting earlier in the year local resident Steve Peacock suggested the idea of saving the cow's head, as it held a lot of memories for a lot of people. We knew at the time there were plans to have the building demolished, but we didn't know when.
The idea surfaced so many times in various meetings. Discussions were around who to contact, where it would be stored and where it was going to be placed in the future. It was clear that saving the head of the spotted cow represented a big part of peoples lives, memories and especially the history of the community.
An article was written for the local news blog South Leeds Life by Lucy Potter (Secretary on the HNP Board). This included local residents stories linked to the pub and even managed to contact the last land lady of the pub, Maureen Spencer. The story was then followed up by the Yorkshire Evening Post (November 20 2014). They were keen to help the community promote the campaign and put Holbeck on the map.
As we are looking forward to the continuous regeneration of the locality, the head symbolises the community's heritage but is also a part of a hopeful future.
The question still remains, 'where will the head be placed now?'
Please contact us on the email below and get in touch with us about your ideas. We'd love to hear from you. Do you have any memories? tweet us! @TalkingHolbeck
