School of Education

The School of Education, located at No. 5 Hillary Place on the University Campus in Leeds, is a house built in 1852 and later altered in the 19th century. It was constructed for John Crofts, a mill owner. The building features red brick with stone details and a slate roof, with reduced stacks positioned forward of the ridge to the left and right of the center.

It is a three-storey, plain rectangular structure with seven bays across and three bays deep. The wide central entrance has paired four-panel double doors, a plain fanlight, and is flanked by ashlar rusticated pilasters. The entrance is adorned with moulded imposts, an architrave, a keystone, and a cornice. The windows are plate-glass sash with stone sill bands and bracketed sills on the first and second floors. The building also has wooden gutter brackets and closely-set purlin ends on the gabled left return.

Inside, there is a wide entrance lobby featuring a moulded plaster ceiling and a screen with etched glazing leading to the door. Paired Corinthian columns in antis support round archways on either side, which lead to corridors. An archway in front opens to a large staircase hall that has a panelled surround for the fireplace. The interior includes six-panel doors and moulded ceiling cornices. The main staircase rises to the first floor and has turned balusters and a gallery with a scrolled wrought-iron balustrade, which is top-lit and features a moulded coved plaster ceiling. A second service staircase with turned column-on-vase balusters ascends to the top of the house. Several rooms are said to retain original fireplaces and plaster detailing.

John Crofts was one of the partners in Crofts, Donisthorpe and Co., which operated Larchfield Mills in Hunslet. In 1917, the house served as the residence of the Vicar of Leeds, and in 1926, it was purchased by the University.