99, Water Lane

LEEDS

SE2932NE WATER LANE, Holbeck 714-1/80/857 (South side) 07/07/95 No.99

GV II*

Foundry workshop, now motor repair workshop. 1795-98, altered late C19. For Matthew Murray. Dark red/brown brick, 5:1 English bond, irregular sizes; corrugated asbestos roof, base of stack slightly projects, right; stone gable coping. 3-storey gable end of 4 bays facing Water Lane. The building extends 7 bays to rear: 5 tall single-storey bays and a 2-storey bay. Facade to street: 3 first-floor windows with cambered heads, stone sills and 4-pane sashes; tall inserted entrance doors left, traces of 2 first-floor windows above the lintel. Blocked loading doors to first and 2nd floors, right. Rear: a narrow window high in the gable of the 3-storey block has shallow header-brick arch and 4-pane sash; lower window with stretcher arch and altered frame. The tall single storey range to south has a yard entrance on the west side, and two 2-light casements. At the south end the 2-storey bay has been reduced from 3 storeys and on the west side a fish-belly girder has been used as a lintel for the (?original) wagon entrance. South side: 3 original openings- one entrance and 2 blocked windows. A cobbled pathway survives in the yard. INTERIOR: the central section appears to retain its original layout - a single large room with the remains of 3 hearths and flues against the south wall, and a large structural arch built into the east wall. The south bay has 3 blind arches on the north wall, and traces of former jack arches on the north and south walls. Roof structure: the north end has 2 queen post trusses with iron ties and nailed joints, central and south sections re-roofed. HISTORICAL NOTE: the building is considered to be the substantial remains of the greensand foundry built by Matthew Murray as part of probably the first integrated engineering works in the world. Facing onto the courtyard behind No.101 Water Lane (qv), this range stands opposite the dry sand foundry (qv) and is part of the complex described by James Watt in 1802, containing 2 air furnaces and a cupola, but no stove. The range is also depicted in the 1806 view of the works, when the southern bay was taller. (Redman RN: The Railway Foundry, Leeds, 1839-1969: Norwich: 1972-; Kilburn Scott E: Matthew Murray, Pioneer Engineer: Leeds: 1928-: 40).

Listing NGR: SE2964132901