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© Courtesy of the Leodis database |
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A bolt out of the blue |
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Cuthbert Broderick arrived in Leeds like a bolt out of the blue in 1852. Originally from Hull, Broderick learnt his trade in a seven-year apprenticeship to architect Henry Lockwood. The pupil was largely unknown until his winning design for Leeds Town Hall gained him the £200 first prize.
Over the next decade or so he changed the face of Leeds forever, with just three buildings, before disappearing as quickly as he arrived.
Broderick's mother did not want her son to enter a design for Leeds but he disobeyed her and won. Her reasons are unknown. Throughout his architectural career Broderick could not resist entering these competitions.
The first stone of Leeds's landmark town hall was laid in 1853. The sky-scraping tower and dome were added in 1857 before the building was opened with the visit of Queen Victoria in 1858.
© Courtesy of the Leodis database
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As with many big projects the final cost - £122,000 - was three times the original estimate.
The building has been described as the first municipal palace in the world. Originally the building housed law courts, police headquarters, the council chamber and the Lord Mayor's room all under one roof.
Built of hard millstone grit, the former poet laureate, Sir John Betjeman, said the town hall "understood the skyline" and loved the 'immense solidity of the platform'.
Words: Trevor Gibbons
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