• historic
  • adlington hall
  • capesthorne hall
  • john barrow memorial
  • john rylands library
  • leeds city museum
  • ordsall hall
  • st. peter's
  • victoria baths
• parks
• ecclesiastical
• secular
• domestic

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Client	Leeds Learning and Leisure
Location	Leeds
Status	Grade II* listed
Summary	Repair, restoration and conversion
Completion	September 2007
Build Value	£3.5m

Leeds Institute was founded in 1825 and followed the philanthropic intentions of the many Mechanics Institutes that sprang up across the industrial heartlands of northern England. After a brief period in inadequate accommodation a design competition led to the construction of the present building in 1864 to the designs of Cuthbert Broderick.

In plan form the completed building takes the form of a U-shape with a circular lecture space, the Albert Hall, at its centre. This rose through the full height of the building to allow natural light to permeate the space through an array of clerestorey windows at its highest level. The two storey entrance lobby and the Albert Hall were undoubtedly the jewels in Broderick's plan with ornate plasterwork and extravagant details to emphasise their higher status.

With the decline of its educational use the building was converted to a theatre in 1949. Much of the ancillary accommodation became redundant and the building's fabric deteriorated through minimal maintenance.

In January 2003 Lloyd Evans Prichard were commissioned as conservation consultants within a multi-disciplinary team for the restoration and conversion of the Institute into the Leeds City Museum. Work quickly commenced to carry out a detailed survey of the building condition in line with a review of the Conservation Plan guidance.

Construction works on site are now complete and the museum is scheduled to open in summer 2008. In essence the work will restore the building to its original use as a gateway to education and learning for all.