Meanwood Park Hospital

Meanwood Park Hospital is a large house, originally built around 1762 for Thomas Denison. A north wing was added in 1814 for Joseph Lees, and around 1830 the main block was refaced by John Clark for Christopher Beckett, a banker, with the addition of bay windows, coping, and other details. The building is constructed of ashlar, with rusticated detailing to the ground floor, covered by a slate roof, and incorporates coursed squared gritstone to the rear wing. It is built in an Italianate style.

The building is two storeys high and features a 2:1:2 window arrangement with a projecting central section. A central porch is supported by fluted Ionic columns and features an entablature with a balustrade forming a balcony above a tripartite first-floor window, the window further accentuated by a pediment on console brackets. The windows have glazing bars and keyed wedge lintels to the ground floor, while the first floor features architraves with stone balustrades and bracketed cornices. Deep bracketed eaves, a plain balustered parapet, and moulded coping contribute to the exterior’s aesthetic, and a large dentil stack is located at the centre.

The left return shows the main block with two-storey semicircular bays with stone balustrades and eaves detailing similar to the front. A lower wing to the left, likely the 1814 work, is constructed of coursed squared gritstone and features sashes with glazing bars in plain stone surrounds, along with two banded stacks.

The right return demonstrates a mix of round and square projecting bays. An extension to the right is in ashlar, incorporating a bay with a sash window and margin lights on the ground floor, a sash with an architrave and parapet above, and further extension creating a lower service wing with five first-floor windows. A door with overlight and a canted bay window are also present, along with stone gutter brackets and a square ridge stack.

The interior includes an outer entrance hall with a plaster coffered ceiling and panelled doors with acanthus mouldings and entablatures. Fluted Ionic columns are set in antis, leading to an inner hall with a cantilevered divided staircase, featuring a cast-iron balustrade with an acanthus design and a ramped mahogany handrail. The ceiling above the inner hall has a clerestory and a console bracketed frieze with scrolls. On the ground floor, to the left is a patterned marble round-arched fireplace with panelled reveals and moulded detail. To the right, a large room has been sub-divided and retains a fine white marble fireplace in a Baroque style, complete with large console brackets and a deep mantel shelf.

The house was sold by Robert Denison to Christopher Beckett in 1824 and remained in the Beckett family's possession until the death of Elizabeth Beckett in 1864. Following a period of tenant occupancy and subsequent vacancy from 1872-75, the property was acquired by Leeds Corporation in 1919 and used as a mental hospital. The estate was ultimately purchased from Sir Hickman Beckett Bacon of Thonock, Gainsborough, in 1921.