Murray Memorial And Enclosure Railings

The Murray Memorial and enclosure railings, located on St Matthew's Street in Holbeck, Leeds, date from around 1830. This memorial commemorates Matthew and Mary Murray and features a railed enclosure made of cast iron and stone. The rectangular enclosure has a low chamfered stone wall that supports pointed-finialed bars, with stone flags inside.

At the center stands an obelisk on a four-step stone and iron podium. The iron plinth block has raised stone panels framed by iron architraves that bear inscriptions. The south panel reads: 'IN A VAULT UNDERNEATH/ ARE DEPOSITED THE REMAINS OF/ MATTHEW MURRAY/ CIVIL ENGINEER OF HOLBECK/ WHO DIED THE XX OF FEBRUARY/ MDCCCXXVI, AGED LX YEARS/ ALSO OF MARY HIS WIFE/ WHO DIED THE XVIII/ OF DECEMBER MDCCCXXXVI/ AGED LXXII YEARS.' The north and west panels honor other members of the Murray family, including a grandson, William Murray Jackson, who died around 1882, and a great grandson, Matthew Murray Jackson, both of whom were also engineers.

Historically, Matthew Murray was significant as a designer and builder of stationary and locomotive engines. He supplied the Middleton tramway with four locomotives in 1812-13, well before the opening of Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 and the construction of his 'Rocket' in 1829. Murray's foundry was located nearby on Water Lane, now No. 99.