Milestones for magnificent thoroughfare
THE HEADROW is one of the most noted streets in central Leeds. It stretches between Westgate and Eastgate for approximately half a mile. On a map of 1560 it is shown as forming the northern edgeof Leeds’ medieval boundary.
In the 19th century, from the Albion Street junction, the street ran east as Upperheadrow and Lowerheadrow and to the west as Park Lane and Guildford Street. More recently, running east-towest, the street became Eastgate, the Headrow and West Gate.
A number of significant buildings have been erected on the thoroughfare. Some however no longer exist. Starting at the west end of the Headrow, the most prestigious structure erected on the north side is without doubt the Town Hall. Built to the designs of Cuthbert Brodrick, its final cost was approximately three times the original estimate. It was opened by Queen Victoria in 1858. Built of hard millstone grit, the structure has been described as the world’s first municipal palace. Showing a clear French influence, with its ranges of columns, a comparison may be made with A.T. Brongiart’s Paris Exchange and also H.L. Elmes’ St George’s Hall, Liverpool. A statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in front of the Town Hall in Victoria Square on November 27, 1905. The 30ft high monument showed the seated Queen in bronze, on a Portland Stone base, flanked by bronze figure of ‘Peace’ and ‘Industry’. The unveiling ceremony was carried out by Leeds Lord Mayor, Edwin Woodhouse and witnessed by a large crowd. The square was remodelled in the 1930s and the Queen Victoria statue moved to Woodhouse Moor.
During late 1936, a garden of rest was designed by J.E. Proctor in front of the Municipal Buildings. Work took place for much of 1937 and it was officially opened on October 29, of the latter year. The Leeds War Memorial formerly occupying a site in City Square was moved, but only for a short period, to the Garden of Rest.
Various marches, parades and appeals have taken place along the Headrow. Quite a number were photographed in the Town Hall and Garden of Remembrance areas.
During Ark Royal Week, January 30 – February 7 1942, a parade of WAAF’s was seen on the Headrow. Leeds had adopted HMS Ark Royal but it was sunk on November 13, 1941. Fund raising objectives were then staged to build a replacement ship.
A welcome cultural addition to the northern side of the Headrow in the early 1980s was the construction of the Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery extension. Castleford-born Moore laid the foundation stone on April 10, 1980 and the Gallery was open in 1982.
Further along the Headrow’s northern side at the Cookridge Street junction was the old St Annes Cathedral. Local architect John Child designed the building and it was opened on October 24, 1838. Demolition occurred in 1904 and a new site occupied at the Cookridge Street/Great George Street junction. The formal opening of the new building occurred on June 16, 1904. Part of the old site was taken by the new Leeds Permanent Building Society headquarters.
A scheme submitted to Leeds Council in the early 1920s proposed a new east-west route through the city centre from the Town Hall to Mabgate Circus. This was intended to give great relief to the route along Boar Lane. The total width of the new road was to be 80ft. Most of the property sacrificed was located on the northern side of the then existing roads – Guildford Street, Upperheadrow and Lowerheadrow. Plans for a unified frontage to the northern side were prepared by Sir Reginald Blomfield and G.
Atkinson. The Leeds Permanent Building Society headquarters was first building to appear in the style projected for the Headrow’s northern side. It was erected in Portland Stone. The Society had moved from a position at the corner of Park Lane and Calverley Street. The Society’s new building was completed by February 15, 1930.
The Commercial Hotel at the Guildford Street and Albion Street junction was demolished to allow the road to be set back. From trade directories the Hotel appears to have begun as the smaller Commercial Inn. In one photograph of the building there are signs advertising Melbourne Ales.
A magnificent addition to the new Headrow was Lewis’s new store situated between Woodhouse Lane and New Briggate. Leeds Corporation acquired much of the land required for the Headrow widening from Wade’s Charity – founded by Thomas Wade in 1530. They sold the plot earmarked by Lewis’s for £160,000. A number of courts and yards were cleared to facilitate the building of the new store. Hope Yard was between numbers 25 and 26 Upperheadrow and was one of those demolished.
One of the most remarkable tasks during Lewis’s construction was the scooping out of a great hole in the ground for the basement floors and foundations. Twelve hundred men were employed in the store’s building which, it was said, was a monument to the enterprising firm’s faith in business possibilities. The new Lewis’s cost about £750,000 and was opened on September 17, 1932. Over the years quite a few events were staged in the Lewis’s building.
A feature on the south side of the Upperheadrow was the Old Cock and Bottle pub. It was a former coaching inn and was sold to Snowden Schofield in March 1938. The building became a part of Schofield’s new store until cleared in 1961.
Snowden Schofield arrived in Leeds in 1901. He took a small two-windowed shop in the Headrow’s Victoria Arcade on the south side of the thoroughfare. Over the next five years he added several more Arcade shops to his business. In 1947 the entire Victoria Arcade was acquired though he died in 1949. In 1961, the entire Schofield’s site including land in Land’s Lane, The Headrow and King Charles Street was redeveloped into a new store.
Another scheme completed around 1990 saw the Schofield’s Shopping Centre emerge. But this only lasted until 1996 when the Schofield’s name was lost on the Headrow.
Entertainment was easily found on the Headrow with the Paramount Theatre and the City Varieties Music Hall. When built, the Paramount on the thoroughfare’s north side adhered to the set-back building line. The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Alderman F.B. Simpson, attended the opening of the Paramount at 7pm on Moday February 22, 1932. London architect, Frank T. Verity designed the premises. They featured a Portland Stone frontage, and seating was provided for 2,590 patrons. The Smiling Lieutenant was the opening film. On Monday April 15, 1940 the Paramount became the Odeon. The Beatles played there in June 1963, November 1963 and October 1964. The cinema ran two screens from May 15, 1969 and Odeon 3 opened on Sunday July 23, 1978. Movies ceased on October 28 2001. The building designated a Grade II listing has since been converted for other uses. Clearance of buildings along the north side of Lowerheadrow included the former King’s Arms public house, King’s Arms Yard and Atkinson’s Court.
Thanks to Leeds Libraries for help with this piece.
A statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in front of the Town Hall in Victoria Square.