How to find it
The brass plaque is on the wall of the pedestrian walkway of the Cow Lane Bridge under the railway line, to the east (town side) of the road under the railway bridge.
Cow Lane is to the western end of Richfield Avenue. The original brick rail bridge at Cow Lane was demolished in 2018 and replaced by the modern bridge opened in 2019.
A bit of background
Lennie the Tramp (1909-1993) “A true gentleman of the road”
It is recorded that Lennie Lewington, better known as ‘Lenny the Tramp’, lived for 84 years. He was a familiar face in the town.
Until 1974 he served as a uniformed messenger at the ammunitions department in Bramley. After that he put his life savings into a boat, which became his home. The boat however sank and he ended up living under the old brick arch of Cow Lane bridge for many years.
It is said that he refused to live of the state or draw benefits.
In 1991 Lenny was burnt when his belongings were set on fire. He passed away three years later.
Anne Marie Townsend, of Whitley Wood, came up with the idea of a installing a plaque to remember him. She contacted Network Rail after the old brick arch, where Lennie Lewington had lived, was pulled down as part of works to widen the road. Whilst she tried to find out more about him she was unsuccessful, apart from confirming his date of birth.
Network Rail organised the erection of the commemorative plaque in May 2019. At the unveiling Steve Coe, Network Rail programme manager said: “It just seemed like a great idea, since we’ve now finished the project, for Bam, our contractor, they were interested in the story, they have donated a plaque and here it is. I think it’s a great thing to do as part of a wider recognition of what we need to do for homeless people, and if remembering Lenny as a way to do it then that’s great.”
Beyond this his name lived on for a while. In October 2017 the founder of The Ark Project operated, for a short time, a homeless shelter bus which was named “Lenny”.
