3rd White Cloth Hall
Encyclopedia
The 3rd White Cloth Hall is an important historic building in Leeds
city centre in England. It was the most important market place in the world for the sale of undyed cloth, between 1776 and 1865.
. The hall was built around a large central courtyard, and at the northern end it was two storeys high, with assembly rooms on the upper storey. The Hall was built at a cost of £4,300, and opened in 1775. During the Victorian period, the White Cloth Hall Yard played host to various events, including the circus, as evidenced by an 1858 poster for Pablo Fanque
's Grand Allied Circus.
The Cupola
from the demolished 2nd White Cloth Hall was installed on the roof in 1786.
When the railway system was extended through the town centre in 1865 the building was literally sliced in half by the new North Eastern Viaduct. This necessitated the construction of the 4th White Cloth Hall
, built at the expense of the North Eastern Railway
company.
and was a full rectangle.
What remains of the building has been restored, and is now occupied by shops and a restaurant, it can be found just off Kirkgate next to The Corn Exchange.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
city centre in England. It was the most important market place in the world for the sale of undyed cloth, between 1776 and 1865.
History
After construction of the two prior white cloth halls in 1711 and 1756 there was a meeting in 1774 to plan the building of yet another cloth hall in Leeds. Most of the money for the scheme came from the wealthy Leeds merchants, and a site was found on a piece of land called the Tenter Ground in the CallsThe Calls
The Calls is an area and street by the River Aire in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. Coupled with Call Lane and Lower Briggate the area makes up the heart of the Leeds gay village....
. The hall was built around a large central courtyard, and at the northern end it was two storeys high, with assembly rooms on the upper storey. The Hall was built at a cost of £4,300, and opened in 1775. During the Victorian period, the White Cloth Hall Yard played host to various events, including the circus, as evidenced by an 1858 poster for Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...
's Grand Allied Circus.
The Cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
from the demolished 2nd White Cloth Hall was installed on the roof in 1786.
When the railway system was extended through the town centre in 1865 the building was literally sliced in half by the new North Eastern Viaduct. This necessitated the construction of the 4th White Cloth Hall
4th White Cloth Hall
The 4th White Cloth Hall was a market for the sale of undyed cloth on King Street in Leeds city centre in England. A blue plaque for the building can be found on the nearby Quebec Street....
, built at the expense of the North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
company.
Present
Only parts of the original cloth hall building remain, When it was complete it was a massive and imposing building, we can only get a limited impression of how it looked when it extended down to The CallsThe Calls
The Calls is an area and street by the River Aire in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. Coupled with Call Lane and Lower Briggate the area makes up the heart of the Leeds gay village....
and was a full rectangle.
What remains of the building has been restored, and is now occupied by shops and a restaurant, it can be found just off Kirkgate next to The Corn Exchange.
See also
- 1st White Cloth Hall1st White Cloth HallThe 1st White Cloth Hall is a Grade II* listed building in the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.-History:Originally named The White Cloth Hall, it was opened in 1711 as a response to the building of a covered cloth hall by the merchants of Wakefield in 1710, in order to entice...
- 2nd White Cloth Hall2nd White Cloth HallThe 2nd White Cloth hall was a marketplace for the sale of undyed cloth in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.It was built south of the river, between Meadow Lane and Hunslet Lane in 1756 to replace the 1st White Cloth Hall of 1711...
- 4th White Cloth Hall4th White Cloth HallThe 4th White Cloth Hall was a market for the sale of undyed cloth on King Street in Leeds city centre in England. A blue plaque for the building can be found on the nearby Quebec Street....