Steander 📖 Wikipedia

Steander
The Gateway complex, sat on the site of the old Steander area
Steander Show map of Leeds Steander Location within West Yorkshire Show map of West Yorkshire
OS grid reference	SE 30889 33228
• London	168.75 mi (271.58 km)
Metropolitan borough	Leeds
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEEDS
Postcode district	LS9
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Leeds South
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53°47′39″N 1°31′56″W / 53.794289°N 1.532303°W / 53.794289; -1.532303

Steander was a small inner city area of the city of Leeds, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, located on the eastern edge of Leeds city centre, between The Calls, York Road (A64 road), the River Aire, and the district of Richmond Hill. The appropriate City of Leeds ward is Hunslet and Riverside. The area was a primarily industrial part of the city, exporting iron, wool, and timber via the directly adjacent Leeds Dock. The area eventually fell into disrepair in the 20th century due to de-industrialisation, with the final industrial unit being demolished in the early 2000s.^[1] Most of the old roads in the area were demolished in the 1970s to make way for the Leeds Inner Ring Road. Much of the area around Steander is now home to The Gateway, a mixed-use development constructed in 2006. The most recent developments in the area are the Phoenix and Altitude towers, constructed in 2024^[2], and the upcoming Flax Place development scheduled for completion in late 2026.^[3]

While the area was primarily industrial, the area did see some habitation, with a census of the city in 1891 recording 423 residents in the area.^[4]

The name Steander is believed to mean "stony place", likely stemming from the Old Norse steinn. The name likely refers to the more stony or gravelled banks of the River Aire within the area.^[5][6] Based on the perceived Norse origins of the term, it could directly mean "[the/those] stones there", as that translates to "sten der" in modern Danish.

The area between Timble Beck and the River Aire is referred to as Fearn's Island, named after the Fearn family that owned the Nether Mills that occupied the area.^[7][8]

Nowadays, Fearn's Island (typically rendered as Fearns Island, without the apostrophe) is more often used as the name of a small island in between the north bank of Steander and Leeds Dock.^[9][10] The island is the centre point of Leeds Locks, a core lock in the Aire and Calder Navigation, and is managed by the Canal & River Trust. The island is also referred to as Far Steander Island and also sparingly Leeds Dam Island.^[1][11]

The Gateway is sizeable development sat in a large traffic island between Crown Point Road, East Street, and Marsh Lane. The complex covers 800,000 square feet, and contains apartments, office space, and an Ibis budget hotel.^[12][13] The development was constructed by Leeds-based property developers Scotfield, and was intended to be developed in three phases. The first phase was completed in 2006, followed by the second phase in 2009. The third phase was never completed following the 2008 financial crisis, and remained mothballed until early 2023.^[14]

The Gateway sits on the site of an old sawmill, previously owned by Howarth Timber, as well as the sites of the now demolished Steander Lane, Steander Row, and Steander Bow.

Following a downturn in the property market, The Gateway (Leeds) Ltd went into administration in 2013, followed by full liquidation in 2019. The site is now handled by a mix of landlords and owner-occupiers, though control over the site is now handled by Leeds-based real estate agents TBET Developments.^[15]

Following the Homes Cladding Safety Scheme in 2023, the external facades of the development were refurbished.^[16] As of 2026, construction and refurbishment work at the site of the original third phase of development is still ongoing, handled by Wetherby-based Construction firm Caddick.

Fearn's Island is a small area of former industrial sites between East Street and the River Aire. Formerly an area populated by dye works and timber wharves, many of the industrial sites have become grade-listed buildings and have been refurbished into offices and apartments. Restoration in the area, particularly at Fearn's Island Mills, has been successful, having won various architectural awards in 2005 and 2006, with a stone plaque on the building recognising these achievements.^[17]

The principal wharves in the area are Fearn's Wharf^[18], Merchant's Quay^[19], and Rose Wharf.^[20] Despite regeneration in the area, the usage of the name Fearn's Island for the area has fallen out of use.

Far Steander Island, also known historically as Leeds Dam Island, is a river island in the middle of the River Aire, between the banks of Leeds Dock and Fearn's Island. The island was once home to small mills and other industrial sites, as well as the western edge of Leeds Dam and Leeds Locks.^[21] The northern half of the island is a nature reserve, home to multiple beehives, as well as small communities of otters and herons. As of 2026, there are proposals from the Canal & River Trust to turn part of the area into a community space, though this has received backlash from local councillors in Hunslet.^[22]

At some point, the name Fearns Island came to refer to the river island, rather than the series of wharves.^[23] The Canal & River Trust typically refer to the island as Fearns Island, often without the apostrophe.^[21]

Saxton Gardens is an estate directly east of Quarry Hill, initially built as a council estate in the 1950s to replace Victorian row housing in the Bank area.

Two of the apartment buildings eventually fell into disrepair, though have since been redeveloped by property developers Urban Splash. Completed in 2008, the development is now known simply as Saxton.^[24] The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has also pledged to develop 204 apartments in the area.^[25] Despite this, the area still experiences widespread neglect and poverty, with residents referring to the area as "the Forgotten Estate."^[26] Nowadays, Saxton Gardens is more associated with the Richmond Hill area.

The area between Saxton Gardens and York Road has historically been referred to as Bank referring to its steep, sloping landscape. For most of its inhabited history, the area was dominated by Marsh Lane railway station, Leeds' first railway station, and its large goods yard.^[27] Historically home to a large space of row-housing, the area was once home to a large Irish immigrant population, though many moved out following demolition in the 1950s and 1960s.^[28][29] The area has since seen regeneration in the 21st century, with the former railway bridge becoming home to breweries and coffee shops, as well as the construction of the Phoenix and Altitude towers.^[2] The old goods yard is currently undergoing redevelopment into the Leeds Urban Village, a mixed-use development.^[30]

Penny Pocket Park, historically called Marsh Lane Recreation Ground, has historically been associated with the Bank Area.^[31]

Before the city's expansion during the Industrial Revolution, much of the land that would become Steander was open land separated from Leeds by an old route of Timble Beck, though industrial activity in the area is first documented in the area in 1636 around the site of Leeds Dam.^[32][33]

Maps of the early 19th century show rapid expansion 1815 and 1840, likely in part due to opening of the Leeds and Selby Railway, and their newly built station at Marsh Lane.^[34][35] The names Steander and Fearn's Island begin to appear on maps around the year 1821.

By the end of the 19th century, the district had grown to become a burgeoning industrial community in the South Ward of the County Borough of Leeds, with residents of a wide variety of occupations, from servants to scholars. The area was also home to people from far outside Leeds, from places as far as the United States and Prussia. Residential housing was mainly found along the streets of Marsh Lane and East Street, as well as the now removed streets of Steander Row, Steander Bow (sometimes written as Steander Bau), and Dew Lane.^[4] The street of Steander was entirely industrial and contained little housing, if any at all.^[36] The houses in the area were slum housing of poor quality, very similar to the ones found at nearby Quarry Hill. The main industrial sites found within the area were iron foundries, woollen and flax mills, and most notably various lumber sawmills, of which three different sawmills were present in the area.^[1][29] A small power station could be found at Fearn's Island, to the west of Crown Point Bridge.^[1] Other businesses include a concrete works, a bottling plant, and an ice cream factory.^[36]

Following the decline of industry in the United Kingdom, the area followed the same trend as much of the rest of south Leeds, with the manufacturing industry sharply declining.^[37] As the industries that propped up the local area began to either close down or move out, the residents too moved out of the area or fell into poverty. Much of the area's slum housing and industrial sites were scheduled for demolition following the East Street Improvement Programme in 1905.^[38] Following the Improvement Scheme, the population never returned to the area. By 1921, the whole site of Steander Bow and Steander Row had been demolished and entirely replaced with a sawmill.^[1]

The Saxton Gardens housing estate was built over much of the north-eastern part old area in the late 1950s, replacing the old Victorian slum clearance housing with 20th century low-rise flats.^[39] In September 1958, Marsh Lane railway station was closed by British Rail, leaving the remaining industry in the area without any local rail connections. Despite this, signs of community life still clung on in the area around East Street and Marsh Lane. A public house was present on East Street and a beer house was present on nearby Cotton Street, next to the Saxton Gardens estate. A Post Office could be found on Marsh Lane, and an electrical substation existed on the site until the full demolition of the street in 2006.^[36]

In the 1970s, following industrial decline, Leeds City Council sought to rebrand Leeds as the "Motorway City of the Seventies". Part of this rebranding was the construction of the Inner Ring Road. East Street and Marsh Lane, two of the principal roads in Steander, were converted from regular city streets to a leg of the A61 road. Additionally, nearby Crown Point Road was also widened, creating a junction to feed traffic into the city centre. Due to this road widening, most of the non-listed buildings in the area were demolished to make way for the new road junction, including the nearby Quarry Hill Flats.

On 2 April 1970, Fredk. Dyson & Sons Ltd, the owners of Steander Foundry for over one hundred years, went into liquidation.^[40] The company's ironwork can still be found all over Leeds, principally in Dyson's home area of Roundhay.^[41] Much of that ironwork is engraved with "Steander Foundry, East Street Leeds."^[42][43] Despite decline and demolition, Fearn's Island would remain a label on road maps into the 1990s, and Steander would remain labeled as a street (incorrectly referred to on A-Z maps as Steander Lane).^[44]

The final industrial site in Steander, the Howarth Timber sawmill, was demolished some time between 2003 and 2005 to make way for The Gateway, a mixed-use development with apartments, offices, and an Ibis budget hotel. Many of the old mills and factories in the Fearn's Island area are now listed buildings, and have been refurblished and redeveloped into offices and apartments.^[45][46] Long-abandoned brownfield land on nearby Flax Place is undergoing redevelopment by Canadian developers Starlight Investments, scheduled to be completed in late 2026.^[3]

The Fearn's Island Mills were restored in 2003 after being vacant since the 1960s. The restoration has since won various architectural awards in 2005 and 2006, with a stone plaque on the building recognising these achievements.^[17] Leeds Dock, directly adjacent from Fearn's Island, saw refurbishment in the 1990s, beginning with the opening of the Royal Armouries Museum in 1996 and continuing to this day, most recently with the Leeds Creative District initiative.^[47]

In 2010, an initiative to turn an old industrial site on the northern half of Far Steander Island into a nature reserve began to gain traction.^[48] In 2016, the final buildings on the island, previously owned by the Sea Scouts and likely abandoned long before, were torn down. The area is now a nature reserve maintained by the Canal & River Trust.

The northern area of Steander around the former Marsh Lane station has too seen regeneration, with the former railway platform now hosting cafés and bars and the construction of the Phoenix tower and the complex around it.^[2] In February 2020, Leeds City Council told local media that the reopening of Marsh Lane station should be seriously considered, following its gentrification.^[49] The old goods yard north of the old Marsh Lane station is being developed into the Leeds Urban Village, a mixed-use development.^[30]

Bridge panels from the old Timble Beck bridge remain on a traffic island between East Street and Marsh Lane. The panels were manufactures at the nearby iron foundry in the area and bear the name Steander Foundry.^[50]

Most of the Steander area has vanished in the modern day, with the streets bearing its name having been demolished in the 1970s. While the name Fearn's Island can be found sparingly throughout the area, Steander has all but vanished. The name cannot be found anywhere locally, with the exception of an embossed metal map at Leeds Dock showing the area as it was in the 1930s, and a panel on the Timble Beck bridge crediting the once nearby Steander Foundry.^[51]

In 1957, a short documentary named Men of Iron was filmed and directed at Steander Foundry by Jack E. Dyson, son of Frederick Dyson. The film follows the old process of making an iron piece of machinery using a hamdmade mould, specifically foregoing modern iron founding techniques. The film is freely accessible at both the British Film Institute and the Yorkshire Film Archive.^[52][53]

Leeds City Council's street register recognises the existence of Steander, Steander Row, Steander Lane, and Steander Bow, considered by the City Council to be part of the area of Hunslet.^[54] Out of the four streets, only Steander is considered to be still around, though drastically reduced in size. The street was altered from its original position and shortened further with the construction of the Gateway in 2006. An article from The London Gazette refers to the reshaped street as "Steander (part), Leeds: an irregular shaped area of highway commencing 2 metres north of its junction with East Street and having an area of approximately 56 square metres."^[55] The street now serves as the principal access road for cars to access The Gateway's ground level, as well as the entrance to underground parking.

The modern area is limited in its amenities, though is well connected to Leeds City Centre. Leeds Bus Station is 300 metres north-west, and the train station is a kilometre directly west. The Royal Armouries Museum is directly south, and is accessible via a footbridge from Fearn's Island. Recent nearby developments have also opened up new nearby amenities, such as the recently redeveloped Aire Park in Hunslet, and the burgeoning businesses under the old Marsh Lane railway station platform. Leeds Central Ambulance Station is located within the old Steander area next to the Saxton Gardens estate. St. Saviour Church and Leeds Minster are the closest religious buildings, in nearby Richmond Hill and The Calls respectively.

The nearest eating establishments are The Palace pub in The Calls, and a Mumtaz restaurant at Leeds Dock. Fearns restaurant at Leeds Dock is named after Fearn's Island.^[56]

• 
  The bridge panels of Timble Bridge.
• 
  Leeds Central Ambulance Station, located next to Saxton Gardens.
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  Sign at Leeds Dock, referring to the lock island as Fearns Island.
• 
  Metal map at Leeds Dock, showing the location of Steander in the 1930s.
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  Steander Foundry engraving on Timble Bridge, cast at the foundry by Fred Dyson & Sons Ltd.
• 
  Fearn's Island Mills plaque, commemorating its restoration in 2003.
• 
  The outflow where Timble Beck meets the River Aire.
• 
  A lone ghost sign at East Street Mills, advertising tailoring of blouses.
• 
  Phoenix and Altitude towers, near the old Marsh Lane railway station.