Vicar Lane to Angel Inn Yard in Leeds

 

A detail to the entrance of County Arcade on Vicar Lane

 

Having finished my lunch at Khao Gaeng Thai, after walking from York Street to Kirkgate Market, I continued with my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge at Nos. 60-62 Vicar Lane which, together with No. 58 (currently occupied by Subway) forms part of a non matching pair of shops, offices and a Temperance Hotel. This was designed by W.H. Thorp and built in 1900, whose work I had previously seen at Oxford Place Methodist Church, Oxford Chambers and the City Art Gallery.

 

Nos. 60-62 Vicar Lane

 

Historic England (HE) describe it as being built with with brick, with stone lintels and terracotta panels beneath the third floor windows, which Susan Wrathmell repeats in her Pevsner Architectural Guide to Leeds. To my eye, all of the dressings are clearly made with the same sandstone, which is probably from the Elland Flags.

 

Views of Wrays Buildings

 

The adjoining Wrays Buildings (c.1900) and Nos. 50-56 are built with red brick, with terracotta dressings that are very obviously different in colour to the sandstone dressings at Nos. 58-62, although the terracotta on Wrays Buildings looks like it has been badly cleaned by hydrofluoric acid - as seen on the former Prudential Assurance Company building (1891) on Park Row. 

 

Coronation Buildings

 

On the opposite side of Sidney Street, Coronation Buildings (1902), is another red brick and terracotta building by Daniel Dodgson, who was an assistant to Thomas Ambler - the architect responsible for Nos. 1-13 Boar Lane (1872) and Westminster Buildings and St. James’s Hall (1877) on New York Street. 

 

The area around Vicar Lane on the 1893 OS map

 

As seen on the 1893 and 1908 editions of the Ordnance Survey (OS) map of Leeds, the area around Vicar Lane and Briggate was substantial redeveloped in the very late C19 and early C20, with the notorious area of slums around the old Shambles meat market being swept away.

 

The area around Vicar Lane on the 1908 OS map

 

In its place is the County Arcade and Cross Arcade (1898-1904) designed by Frank Matcham for the Leeds Estates Company, which involved the creation of King Edward Street and Queen Victoria Street and included two hundred shops, cafes, tearooms and a theatre. Now forming part of the Victoria Quarter, it is occupied by many prime retailers and is one of the reasons why Leeds is considered to be the premium shopping area in northern England.

 

The entrance to County Arcade on Vicar Lane

 

I took photos of the entrance to the arcade and the surrounding façade, including the premises of The Ivy restaurant, which is built with red brick and Burmantofts faience tiles, but I didn’t have time to look at the arcades in the Victoria Quarter, where marble and mosaic are used lavishly.

 

The Ivy restaurant

 

The next building on my Photo Challenge was No. 7 The Headrow which, apart from its stone slate roof, has no interest to this Language of Stone Blog (LSB) and I carried on until I arrived at Thorntons Buildings (1873. This is another red brick building with sandstone dressings, which HE suggest may be by the architect/builder George Smith for Charles Thornton, the owner of the Old White Swan Inn in Swan Street and the proprietor of the Varieties Music Hall.

 

Views of Thornton Buildings

 

Turning down Lands Lane, I stopped briefly to photograph the Grade II listed bollard at the west end of Swan Street and the old gas lamp post in Ship Yard – neither of which are of any interest to this LSB – before continuing to No. 26 Lands Lane (c.1900). 

 

No. 26 Lands Lane

 

This brick building, which HE states is probably steel framed, is most notable for its very large showroom windows, which take up most of the upper two floors, and is by Percy Robinson. The HE description of 22-24 New Market Street (c.1900) casts some doubt on Smith and Tweedale being the architects and refers to the style of the tall arches at Nos. 2-4 Duncan Lane (c.1904) and also its similarity to No. 27 Lands Lane.

 

A view along Angel Inn Yard

 

I then turned down Angel Inn Yard, where the late C18 Angel Inn was the next building on my Photo Challenge, although its interest is mainly for being another example of the development of the mediaeval burgage plots, rather than its architectural qualities or building materials.

 

The Angel Inn