'It's inspiring': Meet the couple who live in Leeds literary icon Barbara Taylor Bradford's childhood home

After purchasing the three-bedroom, centuries-old, solid-stone Town Street home at auction for a now-unimaginable £38,000 in 1988, their neighbour popped by with a welcome card and some quite jaw-dropping information: that they were now living in the childhood home of Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Already a huge fan of the literary juggernaut, Moira was “thrilled” at the discovery and the couple still have to pinch themselves on occasion.

Moira said: “I’m very proud of it and I’m proud that we’ve kept it going. It’s cost a fortune but it’s worth it in the end. I hope it’s here for another 300 years.”

The husband and wife, who have been married for 52 years, attended the blue plaque unveiling at Armley Library last week in tribute to the ‘A Woman Of Substance’ author after hearing that it was being placed there the day before.

Taylor Bradford spent countless hours at the nearby library and was a “voracious reader”: so much so that she acquired two library cards to double the number of books she could take out.

She attended nearby Christ Church Primary School, where she was a student at the same time as fellow Armley-born writing star Alan Bennett, and went to work at the Yorkshire Evening Post at 16 before taking on the literary world.

At the time of her death in November 2024 she had sold a staggering 92 million books, but her story started at the Town House property that has been lovingly maintained by Leeds-through-and-through couple Chris and Moira, aged 73 and 72.

The couple showed us around the thought-to-be 250-year-old house, which still maintains a beautiful, marble fireplace from Taylor Bradford’s time there with her parents; by which you can picture her devouring her books.

Moira keeps the tradition going to this day, with four bookcases scattered around the home and plenty of Taylor Bradford’s novels in situ.

She said that she is a huge fan of Taylor Bradford’s fiction and is now a member of the fan club, saying: “I read the first book, A Woman Of Substance, years ago and I just thought ‘crikey’. I couldn’t put it down.”

The house also features a well in the basement and an “immaculate” iron range in the kitchen from Barbara’s time and the property itself is thought to be around 250 years old, having originally been the only building alongside a farm opposite for “miles around”.

“It’s ancient”, said Moira.

But, Chris said: “We don’t know the actual age of the house and the solicitors can’t find the original deeds but it’s very, very old.”

Born into humble beginnings, Taylor Bradford’s magnificent story of achievement and perseverance is one that is reflected in her novels, and her experiences and encounters around Armley are also documented.

Chris said: “I think it had quite an influence on her. So, in A Woman of Substance, there's a few references to local bits of Armley. It's thought that the mansion in the book was based on Gotts Park Mansion, and then there's also mention of a small area of land called Charlie Cake Park, which is literally just a few hundred meters up the road.”

Moira added: “It’s amazing to think of her connection with Armley because people always run it down but it’s been here a long time and she loved it.

“Even though she was from a poor family like most people around in those years she never forgot her roots. She made a point of staying in touch with people in and around Armley. I just think she was an amazing person.”

She added: “She talks about the city centre as well, about The Grand Arcades. Because that was a new thing and Leeds was one of the first cities to get that, and in the book she couldn't believe how wonderful it was having all these beautiful shops.

“It's Leeds, isn't it? It's an amazing place. And she was happy here.”

Chris said he finds it “inspiring” being in the house, adding that he only grew up a few streets away, while Moira added: “I’ve always thought it sounds daft, but it feels like she’s still here sometimes.

“Years ago we had a decorator in who was very artistic and he said ‘I’m getting a really good vibe from this house’ and that’s always stuck with me. And a lot of people think that there’s something special about it. I think it’s always been a happy home.”

The couple met on a blind date while Chris was at Leeds Polytechnic studying chemistry and lived in Bramley before moving to the esteemed house and raising their two sons.

They said that it had already been tastefully renovated by a young couple after being “left to go to rack and ruin” previously; with the wooden beams and fireplace restored.

Chris said: “Somebody unfortunately painted over it, which is a bit of a shame when you see it's such a nice feature.”

Unfortunately they were unable to invite Taylor Bradford over for a cup of tea and a look around her childhood home when she visited the city from New York.

Chris said: “When they did some work at Armley Library in 2003 she donated some money and opened it. We didn’t realise otherwise we would have gone down to meet her and see if she wanted to come back.”

While the blue plaque was put at the place where Barbara’s love of reading was nurtured, Chris said that there was some discussion that another one could be placed outside of her childhood home.

He said: “They were considering where they were going to put it and then somebody suggested that maybe they will put a smaller version of it at this house. But whether they will, we don't know.”

For the time being they are still happy to invite fans to visit and have hosted school trips from children learning their local literature history.

Asked about Barbara’s impact on the area and the city, Moira said: “She’s an inspiration.”

Chris said: “I think she’s had a really good, positive impact on Armley because it’s probably an area that needs good influences. And Barbara and Alan Bennett being from here I think does give kids inspiration when they see people like that who have gone on to be famous.

“They think ‘yeah, I come from Armley and maybe I can do that’.”