York Street to Kirkgate Market in Leeds

 

Putti at Leeds Kirkgate Market

After spending less than 20 minutes photographing the various stones used for the sanctuary floor, ledger stones and the Victorian font in Leeds Minster, I crossed over to the north side of Kirkgate to take a photograph of the memorial to John Speed, which is made in a red granite that looks like the Balmoral variety from Finland. 

 

The memorial to John Speed

Continuing my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge at the Classical style Nos. 46-48 York Street (c.1900), which is built in a Classical style, the matt glazed Marmo - designed to imitate marble - was produced by the Leeds Fireclay Company of Burmantofts up to WWI and can be seen in many fine buildings in Leeds. 

 

Nos. 46-48 York Street

Although quite an unimposing building, it is yet another reminder that most of the historic architecture in Leeds city centre, which is set on Coal Measures strata, are built with fired clay products - brick, terracotta and faience. 

 

Westminster Buildings

 

The next building on my Photo Challenge was the Grade II listed St. James’s Hall and Westminster Buildings, described by Historic England (HE) as “Temperance hotel, public hall and dining rooms, now shops and offices. 1877, enlarged 1884, altered C20”. 

 

St. James's Hall

 

The building was designed for William James Armitage, the owner of the Farnley Iron Company, by the architect Thomas Ambler who also designed the Temperance hotel at Nos. 1-13 Boar Lane. The materials used are red brick with sandstone dressings, which looks like the Elland Flags, and HE refers to polychrome brick but I did not notice these. 

 

Nos. 22-30 New York Street

On the opposite side of the road, on the corner with Harper Street, is Nos. 22-30 New York Street (c.1900), which HE describe as a warehouse, workshops and shops, but no mention is made of the architect. The materials are again red brick, with sandstone probably from the Elland Flags used for the dressings, as again seen at New York Buildings (1880) by J. W. Baxendall – originally used as a cocoa house, workshops and offices, but now occupied by shops and storerooms. 

 

New York Buildings

 

While photographing New York Buildings, I noticed that the road kerbs on Kirkgate are made of the dark variety of Shap granite from Cumbria, with its distinctive phenocrysts of pink orthoclase feldspar, which I have seen used very many times in the entrances of Victorian buildings – as seen in the entrance steps at Leeds Central Library – but I have never seen it used like this before. 

 

Dark Shap granite used for the kerb on Kirkgate

Continuing to the south entrance of the Grade I Listed Leeds Kirkgate Market (1904), by John and Joseph Leeming, I stopped very briefly to photograph the Baroque style putti that were carved by Joseph Thewlis and Co. in Eccleshill stone from the Elland Flags formation near Bradford. 

 

A putto at Leeds Kirkgate Market

Arriving at the market at just after 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and not stopped for any break since I had arrived in Leeds nearly two hours earlier, I decided that it was time to have some lunch and headed to the Khao Gaeng Thai stall. 

 

Khao Gaeng Thai

I first discovered this place in January 2019, when preparing my walk with the Sheffield U3A Geology Group to look at the building stones of Leeds, and I have visited it many times since. Finding all the tables busy I made my order and, after finding a seat on George Street, had another enjoyable meal in the autumn sunshine before continuing my Photo Challenge on Vicar Lane.

A meal from Khao Gaeng Thai