Leeds Town Hall

Until 1813, the seat of Leeds Corporation was the Moot Hall of 1618, on Briggate, which was also used for judicial purposes. Leeds went through a period of rapid growth in the first half of the 19th century and by the mid-19th century it became apparent that the court house was no longer large enough for the functions it performed; it was demolished in 1825 and replaced by a new court house on Park Row. The neighbouring town of Bradford, the "wool capital of the world", took the lead in trying to elevate industrial Yorkshire towns with stately, grand architecture by building St George's Hall in 1851–53. It was a new status symbol, and as there was perpetual competition between Leeds and…

Leeds Town Council tendered for designs from architects in 1852, in an open competition, a common method of selecting architects for important buildings in the 19th century. The brief was for a kind of building that did not yet exist in England, combining under one roof the functions of moot halls, concert rooms, and courthouses, along with municipal offices and a suite of reception rooms for the mayor. Even the monumental edifice of St George's Hall, Liverpool, only contained a public hall, a small concert hall, and assize courts. The ambitious brief also asked for space for 8,000 people, but the relatively modest budget attracted ridicule, and costs did indeed rise throughout the project.…

and stage|alt=A large decorated hall with a pipe organ and stage]] The Town Hall is classical in style but suggestive of power and drama. It stands at the top of a flight of steps on a mound made specially for the purpose of increasing its prominent position. The south, principal facade to The Headrow has a deeply recessed portico of ten Corinthian columns, a frieze and then the 225 ft clock tower, which has a concave dome and was not in the original design. The three other sides of the building are similar to the south front, except that the columns and pilasters that surround them are near to the walls, and the spaces between them have two tiers of circular-headed windows. The smaller,…