Gateway And Flanking Walls To Former Railway Foundry

The gateway and flanking walls to the former Railway Foundry in Hunslet, Leeds, were likely built between 1846 and 1850 for EB Wilson's Railway Foundry. The structure features an ashlar arch with cast-iron corner plates and red brick flanking walls. The arch is wide and has a basket shape, with chamfered rustication, impost blocks, massive voussoirs, and a moulded cornice with an entablature.

The flanking walls were originally the outer walls of the north courtyard range of the works, extending approximately 50 meters overall and running parallel to the south range. They are two storeys high but have been reduced to one, featuring segmental-arched blocked windows with stone sills.

Historically, Charles Todd established the Railway Foundry in a former mill in 1838, which later became the south range. The company became EB Wilson and Co in 1846, and by 1847, the yard and railway tracks were shown on maps leading through the gateway, across Pearson Street, and looping around the area south of Dow Beck where additional buildings were located. Wilson's firm pioneered the production line for standardised locomotive classes, notably producing the 0-6-0 inside cylinder double frame goods engine, with 160 units built. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, the firm was the leading locomotive builder in Britain, and at its closure in 1858, it was the most advanced locomotive works in the country. The estate was later acquired by Hudswell Clarke and Co, continuing locomotive production, which eventually became the Hunslet Engine Company.