Former Leofric Hotel

Former Leofric Hotel

A student hall of residence, originally built as a hotel between 1953 and 1955 to designs by WS Hattrell and Partners.

The building employs a reinforced concrete frame with brick partition walls. The exterior is constructed of red Blockley City mixture brick laid in English bond, with dressings of Westmorland slate, Blue Horton stone, reconstituted Clipsham stone and Travertine stone.

The building varies in height across its plan. The main hotel block extends to five storeys with a semi-basement level, visible on the west side, and plant rooms on the roof. The attached ballroom block to the north rises to three storeys. An uneven H-shaped plan arrangement accommodates bedrooms along the cross stroke and left-hand down stroke, with staircases, lifts and service rooms positioned in the right-hand down stroke. The ground floor originally contained reception areas, lobby and dining rooms, with further reception rooms on the first floor including a lounge with glass doors opening onto a deep balcony overlooking Broadgate. These first-floor reception rooms have since been converted to bedrooms. Retail units occupy parts of the ground floor along the south side facing Broadgate House and the east side facing Broadgate, including the covered arcade Cross Cheaping, which follows the line of a medieval street.

The principal east and south facades follow the architectural pattern established by nearby Broadgate House and the style and materials stipulated by city architect Donald Gibson, which continues across the precinct buildings.

Both principal fronts feature deep colonnades with square and octagonal columns of Blue Horton stone. The south front is symmetrical, with the colonnade supporting five bays of brick walling above. The first floor contains a long projecting horizontal window of eighteen lights with a copper-clad roof, now with converted or colourwashed panes. Three further floors above have square window openings with projecting stone surrounds. An overhang runs across the top of the wall parapet, continuing around the building.

The east front overlooking Broadgate presents eight bays of colonnade, with five at the centre supporting the first-floor balcony. To the left, three bays with brick walling project over the colonnade with unevenly arranged windows, including a pair at the far left. At the far right, a single bay mirrors this projection with paired windows overlooking the balcony. Five recessed central bays break this pattern, featuring travertine-clad walling divided into bays by uprights clad in Westmorland slate, each bay containing two windows per floor. At the far right, two further projecting bays connect to the side of the former Owen and Owen department store, now Primark, with balconies on their south sides. Beneath this lies the entrance to Cross Cheaping arcade with shops on its west side. The stepped service tower rises behind the right side of the front and formerly bore lettering reading 'HOTEL / LEOFRIC'. Shop fronts throughout are largely of plate glass with fascia boards, divided in all but one case by square-section pilasters clad in Blue Horton stone.

The west side is partially connected to the northern range of Upper Precinct buildings, dividing this front into two portions. The southern end overlooks the Upper Precinct in four bays. Ground floor level now has large service openings, formerly the hotel's upper-level entrance. To the north is the rear entrance at street level, sheltered by a canopy supported on a single pillar at far right, with service doors to the basement and five square windows. The first floor features a long projecting window with copper-clad roof and vertical timber cladding to its lower body, similar to that on the south side. The centre has been altered by solid walling and a large ventilation flue. A roof terrace with iron handrail sits at left. To the right is a further floor with a run of twelve square windows with renewed fenestration.

The north end of the ballroom wing has a projecting two-storey portal with stone surround, incorporating a first-floor window with balustrade. Ground floor level is approached by a flight of steps with a projecting canopy; steps have been curtailed at right to accommodate a wheelchair lift. Plate glass windows flank either side. The northern entrance to Cross Cheaping at the far left is single-storied with a panelled fascia and decorative iron balustrade. Shops on the west side follow a gradual gradient and have been largely reconfigured.

Internally, the lobby houses the lowest flight of a staircase rising through all floors. The first flight has steps of grey fossil marble with terrazzo to upper flights and a stainless steel tubing balustrade with mahogany handrail. The former grill room at ground floor level retains evidence of its terraced plan, though altered. Bedrooms are small with en suite bathrooms; all sanitary ware and furnishings have been renewed.

The ballroom has been converted to a climbing wall centre but retains its original plan. The sprung dance floor and vaulted ceiling remain in place, though the bar and large central skylight have undergone alteration. The bandstand is now encased with loss of its original canopy. The balcony front is similarly encased with loss of the original handrail, and the original open staircase to the balcony has been replaced.