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| Town Hall |
These photographs were taken on a visit made by an Adult Education group from a course on 'Civic Pride' at Alston Hall College near Preston. The party was led by local historian David Brazendale in July 2011. Some additional pictures were taken on 17 January 2012. The Alston Hall group visited Bolton, Liverpool and Rochdale Town Halls and St. George's Hall in Liverpool. Such was the impression created by Leeds Town Hall that "even the ranks of Lancashire could scarce forebear to cheer" at the achivement of their Yorkshire rivals.(note1)
As Wikipedia tells us, Leeds Town Hall was planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built between 1853 and 1858 to a design by the architect Cuthbert Brodrick. With the building of the Civic Hall in 1933, some of these functions were relocated, and after the construction of the Leeds Crown Court in 1993, the Town Hall now serves mainly as a concert, conference and wedding venue, with its offices still used by some council departments. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1951. The Town Hall was conceived to demonstrate the power and success of Victorian Leeds, and opened by Queen Victoria in a lavish ceremony in 1858; it is one of the largest town halls in the United Kingdom. With a height of 225 feet (68.6 m) it was the tallest building in Leeds for 108 years from 1858 until 1966. The distinctive baroque clock tower, which serves as a landmark and a symbol of Leeds, was not part of the initial design but was added by Brodrick in 1856 as the civic leaders sought to make an even grander statement.
This is the story of many of the great town halls of the Victorian era including St. George's Hall in Liverpool. They served several purposes. One was to act as the centre of justice with courtrooms above and a jail below. There were chambers for council meetings and halls for receptions, balls and entertainment. In the 20th century, new courts and prisons were needed and more extensive office space for council staff, with improved facilities, leaving the Town Hall with limited uses.
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| Town Hall |
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| Main Entrance | Side Entrance | |
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| Ornate Lamp | Carving and railings | |
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| Ceiling of entrance hall outside Victoria Hall | Part of ceiling of entrance hall | |
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| Another part of the entrance hall ceiling | Floor in Minton Tiles | |
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| Organ in Victoria Hall | Ceiling decoration in Victoria Hall | |
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| Balcony and columns | Improving mottoes around the walls of Victoria Hall | |
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| Barrel Vaulted Ceiling of Victoria Hall | The Circle |
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| Leeds Civic Hall on 17 Jan 2012 |
The images below were taken of some other prominent buildings in Leeds city centre.
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| Leeds City Emblem | Gothic Decoration in Leeds City Library | |
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| Thornton Arcade | In the cafe of the library | |
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| County Arcade | Upper Levels, County Arcade | |
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| Corn Exchange by Cuthbert Brodrick | Ceiling in Corn Exchange |
Note 1. "Even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forebear to cheer" is a quotation from Thomas Babington Macauley's poem Horatius, one of is Lays of Ancient Rome, published in 1842
1.0 Strict 