Chapel Allerton Library And Police Station

Chapel Allerton Library and Police Station

Police station, police house, public library and fire station, now police station and library. Built in 1904 and designed by WH Thorp, a prominent Leeds architect who also designed the City Art Gallery and Oxford Place Methodist church. The building occupies a corner site at Harrogate Road and Town Street in Chapel Allerton, constructed in coursed squared gritstone with ashlar details and a slate roof. It is two storeys with attics and cellars, with the police station block at the corner, the library facing Harrogate Road, and the fire station positioned on Town Street.

The library elevation consists of three bays with an entrance to the right featuring a round-arch doorway with bulbous Tuscan columns supporting a scrolled open pediment containing a cartouche inscribed "PUBLIC LIBRARY" in raised letters. Four cross windows are positioned to the left. The first floor has Ionic pilasters between large segmental-arched three-light windows with segmental stone balconies, and a two-light window to the right. Two shaped gables with oval attic windows in cartouche surrounds flank obelisk finials. A tall chimney with diagonal shafts stands to the left, while a tall slender belfry-style boiler flue chimney with corner pilasters and cornice rises to the right.

The police house section occupies three bays to the left of the library, marked by the letters "LCP" on a pilaster. It has a board door with overlight and segmental pediment, a stair window to the right, and flanking three-light mullion and transom windows. The first floor features three pedimented two-light windows with moulded strings and a parapet above.

The police station has a curved corner entrance with a nine-panel door and bulbous Tuscan columns supporting a segmental pedimented hood containing a cartouche inscribed "POLICE STATION" in painted letters. A painted coat of arms in a panel with broken pediment sits above, with a plain parapet below. Two bays face Harrogate Road with three- and two-light mullion and transom windows, Ionic pilasters to the first floor, and gables with oval windows above and copings. The Town Street elevation includes, from right to left, a tall two-bay section with an inserted door, a three-light window, and a cell block corridor window with iron grille. Above are two- and three-light mullion and transom windows to the first floor, with a parapet and gable above. A tall chamfered stack and a ventilation flue in the form of an ogee-domed cupola are prominent features. Further left, a set-back section contains three cell corridor windows and a carriage archway with four eight-pane sash windows above. The fire station entrance sits at the far left, featuring glazed double doors with overlight in an ashlar surround inscribed "FIRE STATION" above with ball finials, a three-light window, and a tall gable.

The library interior contains fine details including a mosaic floor to the entrance hall, tiled walls bearing "LPL", stained glass in the doors, and plasterwork with human masks. The original Reading Room, now used as a lending area, features Ionic columns, tiled walls, and a coved top-lit ceiling. The front room, originally the Lending Room, contains a fine cast-iron spiral stair, with the balcony above now under-ceiled. A copy of the original architect's plan is kept at the library.

The police house interior was not inspected, but the architect's plan shows it was designed as a police residence for four officers, with an entrance stair and hall, a kitchen to the right with a rear scullery, and a parlour opening into the office to the left.

The library was formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Mr A Currer Briggs.