The Cardigan Arms Public House

The Cardigan Arms public house, with its associated brewhouse and stables, dates to 1893 and is located on a corner site on Kirkstall Road, Burley, Leeds. The public house is constructed of coursed, rock-faced gritstone with a slate roof, while the brewhouse and stables are of glossy red brick with slate roofs.

The public house is three storeys high, with a slightly projecting, gabled bay on the right and a wider, gabled, three-bay facade to Greenhow Road. It exhibits an elaborate Italianate style, featuring sash windows with plate glass throughout. The central entrance has etched-glass panels and a three-light mullioned window to the ground floor, with glazing that incorporates the words ‘VAULTS’ and ‘SMOKE ROOM’ as well as coats of arms. Keyed round arches feature above the upper-floor windows, and a coloured-glass panelled oriel window is located on the left return. Two round-arched dormer windows with moulded pediments are present on the left, paired windows in the gable to the right, and dates '1355' and '1893' are displayed on two square terracotta panels above. A moulded segmental pediment displays a coat of arms and motto: 'EN GOAGE AFFIE'. Tall, moulded stacks rise from the building.

The interior includes a large central foyer with glazed double doors, tiled walls (possibly with original embossed wallpaper), glazed partitions with carved Classical details, and an open staircase. Four rooms open off the foyer, a small rear room, all having original woodwork and glass decoration including etched and brilliant-cut glass and ornate wood and tile fireplaces. A first-floor function room, the 'Harmonic Room', is accessed via an etched-glass door.

The left return mirrors the front facade, with coats of arms and ‘VAULTS’ in the glazing to the right. Ornate scrolled window lintels are located on the second floor, which features moulded gable coping and ball finials. A single-storey bay has been added to the left.

The brewhouse and stables, with a small house in the rear wing of the public house, enclose the rear yard. The three-storey brewery building has two doors to Greenhow Walk. A large boarded opening provides access to the first and second floors. Further features include moulded brick eaves brackets, kneelers, gable coping and a stump of an internal chimney stack. An inserted doorway is present on Greenhow Road. The lower two-storey, two-bay stables have a window on the ground and upper floors. The rear wing of the public house is two storeys high, with two bays, a central door, and mullioned windows to the ground floor, with sashes above.

The building is named after the Earl of Cardigan, a major landowner in Headingley/Burley, and its construction reflects the development of streets in the area during the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s.