Block To East Of Thoresby Building With Attached Railings

This is a late 19th-century school building, constructed in 1889 and later converted to offices in 1994-95. It was designed by Birchall and Kelly, with alterations likely made by William Landless to accommodate a larger student body of 2,500. The building is built of red brick with stone dressings and includes wrought-iron railings. It is located on Great George Street in Leeds.

The building is of three storeys, an attic, and a basement, with seven bays. The central three bays and the outer bays project forward. The ground and first floors feature giant Ionic pilasters supporting an entablature with small windows in the frieze and a heavy modillion cornice. Full-height windows are present on the storey above, topped by a cornice and parapet featuring iron grilles in open rectangular panels. A central porch has paired Ionic columns supporting an entablature with a balustrade above a rusticated round arch doorway. Plate-glass sash windows are found throughout the building, with similar detailing on the side and rear elevations. A 20th-century extension on the west elevation now provides the principal entrance. The interior remains uninspected.

Associated with the building are brick walls and railings enclosing the former playground. These are supported by six giant square-section stone piers, with paired gates and railings featuring pointed finials along Rossington Street and Great George Street. Railings also mark the western boundary alongside Thoresby House.

The building holds historical significance as the first purpose-built school for higher-grade pupils by the Leeds School Board. Initially opened on June 28, 1889, it evolved throughout the 20th century, becoming Leeds Central High School in 1902, the first Municipal Secondary School in Yorkshire in 1905, a boys’ school in 1909, and eventually the City of Leeds School in 1928.