1st White Cloth Hall

The 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 traders away from Leeds.

So the cloth hall for the sale of white (undyed) cloth was built on Kirkgate on a site provided by Lord Irwin of Temple Newsam with £1000 given by merchants and tradesmen. It was 'built upon Pillars and Arches in the form of an Exchange, with a Quadrangular Court within.'

Present

Despite its importance to the industrial heriatige of Leeds and to the industrial revolutionin general, the first White Cloth Hall in Kirkgate has stood growing increasingly derelict for many years surrounded by scaffolding and safety hoardings. The Amusement Arcade in its eastern wing still operates but the rest of the building is getting close to state of collapse and is a health and safety hazard.

A series of meetings with the City Council Planning Officers, the building owner Emco, and English Heritage, concluded that the western and southern sections of the building must be demolished.

This is extremely galling to admirers of historic buildings, as there was a proposed renovetion and redevelopment scheme in the 1990s which could have saved the building from near complete destruction.

ee also

*2nd White Cloth Hall
*3rd White Cloth Hall
*4th White Cloth Hall