1874–1952 Samuel Ledgard was born in
Leeds in 1874. His business empire started in 1897 when he became the licensee of the Nelson Hotel in
Armley, Leeds. He also owned a brewery and bottling plant, located behind The Nelson and bottled bulk
Guinness and Bass. In expanding this business he provided outside catering at race meetings and local shows, and initially used a horse-and-cart to support this enterprise. This led him to further expand into the haulage business - initially with his horses, then, in 1906, with a steam lorry. In 1912, he bought a
Karrier petrol-engined lorry, registered U1949. He then bought an interchangeable
charabanc body, manufactured by William Nicholson of
Otley, to be fitted to his lorry for carrying passengers at weekends, when there was little haulage work. In 1913, he took over Bridge Garage, in Leeds, to service and repair his own, and others, vehicles. His other businesses included cattle dealing and farming, quarrying and gravel extraction. He also bought property around his hotel, which eventually provided space for his bus garage. His move into bus services was in 1924, with a
Horsforth to Leeds service. He expanded both organically and by taking over a number of other bus companies, from 1924 to 1943, by which time Samuel Ledgard buses were well established, operating from the main depot in Armley, and from other depots in Otley,
Yeadon,
Ilkley and
Bradford. The Ledgard fleet was predominantly
Leyland and the last buses ordered by Samuel Ledgard were three
Leyland Titan PD2/12s. These entered service a mere month before he died in April 1952.
1952–1967 Samuel Ledgard's estate totalled £129,491. As the company was still owned by him, it formed part of his personal assets. The then, punitive death duties amounted to £29,883, which threatened the continuance of the business The date for this was set to be midnight on 14 October 1967. Whilst Ledgard's staff were offered employment with West Yorkshire, only 14 of over 100 Ledgard vehicles acquired by West Yorkshire entered service, ten
AEC Regent Vs and two Daimler CVG6s, plus two
Duple bodied
Ford coaches. By 1970, even these vehicles had been sold.
The present day An active enthusiasts society (the Samuel Ledgard Society was formed in 1998. The society holds an annual reunion, social events and publishes a quarterly magazine:
The Ledgard Chat. The magazine is now published three times per year, in April, August and December, from the beginning of 2020. The building which was the Nelson Hotel survives, and bears a
blue plaque in Samuel Ledgard's memory. In August 1979, a road in Leeds was named Ledgard Way. The Otley depot building is still in existence and is now used by a tyre-fitting company. ==References==