Civic Court And Attached Railings

Civic Court and Attached Railings, Leeds

This building on Calverley Street was constructed between 1879 and 1881 as offices for the Leeds School Board, designed by the architect George Corson. It has been converted to offices with a bar in the basement, the conversion dating from 1994 to 1995. The building is listed at Grade II*.

The structure is built in ashlar with a rusticated basement of Burley-in-Wharfedale stone and Pool Bank stone above, finished with a grey slate and lead roof. Cast-iron railings with a geometric design are attached to the building. It comprises two storeys with a basement and attic storey, arranged across five by ten bays in the Italianate style. The design complements the Municipal Buildings to the south and the Town Hall on Victoria Street opposite.

The principal feature is a central entrance in a projecting bay topped by a round arch, flanked by paired columns. Within the arch reveals are niches containing half-size statues of a schoolgirl and schoolboy. Modern glass entrance doors are set within a screen, and the walls are lined with buff terracotta moulded tiles. Round-arched windows with carved spandrels occupy the ground floor, while rectangular windows light the first floor. Superimposed orders of attached columns and pilasters, coupled at the corners, rise between the window levels, with entablatures at floor levels and a balustered parapet topped with urns positioned over the pilasters. A central attic pavilion with an octagonal roof displays a carved plaque bearing the Leeds coat of arms and the inscription "LEEDS SCHOOL BOARD" in relief. The pavilion roof has a moulded lead parapet with tall moulded attached chimneys on its left and right returns.

The left return features an end section of four bays and a stair turret with its own pavilion roof, projecting forward. A basement entrance is positioned left of centre. The right return is similarly detailed, with entrances at each end.

The interior features a recessed round-arched entrance porch that continues as a central corridor to the rear of the building. This corridor is barrel-vaulted and divided into eleven bays by fluted pilasters and panelled ribs. The walls are lined with terracotta tiles decorated with moulded geometric and floral motifs, now painted. Doorcase surrounds are of plaster with leaf and roll mouldings. A moulded cornice runs throughout, and the floor is of polychrome tiles with original cast-iron heating grilles.

The front room on the left was the principal meeting room, with a gallery at the east end above an ante-room. A cantilevered stair with twisted cast-iron balusters and wooden handrail extends from the porch to the Alexander Street entrance and descends to the basement.

An arcade of round arches with stone columns towards the east end of the building rises through the upper floor but is now obscured by later partitioning. The main staircase at the east end is of unusual double-helix form. Separate stone cantilevered staircases encircle a single top-lit open well, supported on short columns with stiff-leaf capitals. Wooden handrails run along walls lined with white tiles decorated with bands of blue and brown featuring floral motifs. From this staircase, access is gained to a first-floor ante-room with polychrome tiled floor and walls matching the staircase decoration. The attic storey has had an additional floor level inserted. The basement has been converted to a bar and its original floor plan has been lost.

George Corson's original design envisaged a single large building extending from Centenary Street to Great George Street to accommodate the Municipal Offices, library, and School Board Offices. This scheme was modified to separate the School Board premises along the line of Alexander Street, though both resulting buildings remain similar in design. Corson regarded the complete group as his most important work.

The building's historical context relates to the Elementary Education Act of 1870, promoted by Bradford mill owner WE Foster. This legislation divided the country into areas governed by School Boards responsible for educating children up to age ten. Leeds School Board was established in November 1870, with its members elected by the public. An assessment showed that of 58,000 children requiring education under the new legislation, only 12,000 were then receiving it. George Corson was among the architects involved in designing new schools for the Board, though he faced criticism for extravagance. These prestigious offices contained board and committee rooms on the ground floor, alongside offices for clerks and attendant officers. The large examination room on the upper floor was accessed via the impressive double staircase, with separate entrances for boys and girls from Great George Street and Alexander Street respectively. The School Board architect's offices were probably also housed within the building. Although the Board decided from 1879 to commission individual architects for school designs, their architect Richard Adams, in post since 1873, continued until 1886. School Boards were abolished in 1902 when a new Education Act transferred responsibility for secondary education and support for denominational schools to local Education Committees.