Former Cemetery Chapel And Statue Of Michael Sadler

The former cemetery chapel, now a library store, was built in 1835 and features a statue of Michael Sadler on its northeast side. Designed by John Clark for the Leeds General Cemetery Company, the building is constructed from ashlar, Delphstone, and millstone grit, topped with a grey slate roof in the Greek Revival style. The chapel has a plinth and a northwest portico supported by four giant Ionic columns that hold up an entablature and a moulded pediment, with a central door framed in a shouldered architrave. The southeast end has four giant pilasters supporting an entablature and pediment, with five sets of three-pane glazing in between, a window on each return, and panels featuring carved wreaths beneath each window. The ashlar continues around the sides to meet hammer-dressed gritstone on the side walls, which include a central recessed rainwater pipe.

The statue of Michael Sadler is life-size, made of marble, and draped in a Greek style. Its base is inscribed with the words "PARK SCULPTOR LONDON 1837" and stands on a cylindrical plinth that has an inscribed tablet detailing his career: he was born in Doveridge, Derbyshire, served as MP for the borough of Newark and Aldborough, and died in Belfast. The memorial was erected by his "numerous private and political friends." A recess on the back of the plinth indicates that the statue is not in its original position. The interior was not inspected. Sadler was a linen merchant, a member of the corporation, and an Evangelical paternalist committed to factory reform, and he fought and lost the 1832 election for the Tories in Leeds.