Concourse Of London Midland And Scottish Railway

This is a station concourse and ticket office, built in 1846 and with alterations around 1931 and 1970. Designed by W Curtis Green and WH Hamlyn, architects for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, it is constructed from Portland ashlar and brown brick. The building has a single storey and flat roof, spanning 7 bays. A north entrance arcade connects through British Rail offices and the Queen’s Hotel, while an east entrance now serves as a left-luggage mall and information centre, sheltered by a canopy. The southwest entrance, formerly leading to platforms, is now partially obscured by hoardings and shed roofs. There are three large, three-panel windows with small panes above. The bays are externally defined by buttresses reaching to a stone or concrete band and parapet.

Inside, the buttresses continue to concrete cross beams supporting original pendant lights. The walls are lined with bronze panels, and the hotel entrance features flanking panels with cut-out lettering. A deep, plain projecting band sits above door height, with plain hoarding panels between the buttresses, leading to a coffered ceiling. A more recent ticket hall, added around 1970, is incorporated within the concourse, retaining the original coffered ceiling above.

The concourse sits atop a series of brick vaults, remaining from the earlier Midland Railway’s Wellington Street Station built in 1846. These include a culvert for the Mill Goyt, flowing beneath the Queen’s Hotel and joining the River Aire to the west. These vaults are part of a larger network stretching under several listed buildings in the area, including the approaches to and under the current Leeds Station. The current station incorporates the layout and footprint of both the Midland Railway's Wellington Street Station, of which the surface structures were demolished, and the London and North Western Railway's New Station of 1869, which was demolished in 1963. The building forms part of a significant group comprising the Queen's Hotel and Railway Company offices.