Leaf Hall

Leaf Hall is a working men's institute built between 1863 and 1864, designed by the architect Robert Knott Blessley in the Continental Gothic style for the philanthropist William Leaf. The turret bell was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The building was restored around 2009.

The building is constructed of brown brick with decorative polychrome patterns in red, white, and black, featuring Bath stone window and door surrounds, and some metal ventilation grilles. The roof is slate with metal ventilation louvres. The plan follows a wedge-shaped site, with the main entrance located under a circular, four-stage tower at the north-east, leading to a two-storey building of five bays.

The west side features a four-stage corner tower in brown brick, laid in header bond, topped by a conical slate roof. The tower has clock faces and a metal cross-shaped finial. Projecting brick string courses divide the tower stages, with lancet windows in horseshoe-arched polychromatic surrounds on stone corbels on the top stage. Lower stages have lancet windows, the lower being taller. The ground floor stage is windowless, featuring red brick banding and a frieze of Greek crosses. A stone entrance at the corner is topped with a pediment displaying the Leaf coat of arms and the motto 'FOLIUM NON DEFLUET', and incorporates engaged columns with stiff-leaf capitals. Adjoining to the south is a two-storey section with a large gable. This section has a triple arched stone plate tracery window with an oculus above, a frieze of Greek crosses at the top of the ground floor, and a five-light window with polychrome brick arched heads and engaged stone columns with stiff-leaf capitals.

The north side has two storeys with a parapet and moulded cornice, featuring five paired windows with polychrome arched heads over sash windows. A frieze of Greek crosses sits between the floors, and the ground floor has an arched doorcase and plinth.

The south side of the hall is partially hidden by a neighbouring property but is rendered in plain cement.

The east side is largely concealed by buildings constructed in the 1870s; however, the gable end with kneelers and oculus remains visible.

Inside, the circular staircase has cast iron railings, with scrollwork on alternate balusters. An alcove on the staircase was traditionally lit with a candle for fishermen, kept burning until a small fishing fleet had safely returned. The main hall features a five-bay roof with arch-bracing, kingposts, and two tiers of purlins, along with a musicians' gallery and some original joinery. The former reading room retains original glass-fronted bookcases.