(All images by Jonathon Tattersall, reproduced with permission)
The former site of the Eastmoor Community Home in Leeds has sat abandoned for nine years to date, littered with debris from its many uses over the years. In 1857, the site functioned as the Leeds Reformatory School for Boys, housing many young offenders who were sometimes sent to the local Armley Gaol as soon as they were old enough to be transferred.
In 1933, the site became known as Eastmoor Approved School, and then as the Eastmoor CHE (community home with education) in the 1970s. At one time, the CHE had around 200 admissions of young offenders a year, including high profile names such as child murderer Jon Venables. The secure unit, adjacent to the abandoned site, is still in use today.
After the closure of the CHE, the Eastmoor site was briefly used as accommodation for Leeds University students, until the opening of a new campus in 2003. Today, the abandoned site holds a great deal of history within its walls: the fully-functioning village, including staff housing, laundry rooms and education blocks, remains largely intact, despite fire damage and decay. Leeds City Council intend to sell the site to make way for a new housing development, but until then, the fascinating past of Eastmoor can still be seen in its striking remains.
Images by Jonathon Tattersall. See more of his work at http://mrbeady.wordpress.com.
