SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

After seeing one of the most ornate buildings in Leeds under constant attack by vandals & drug addicts the L.H.E.S (joined by Oldboys for this one) felt thay had no option but to capture this fantastic building before it was too late! The Northern stairwell has already been gutted by fire with another attempt to set it on fire around the back. A real jewel in terms of decor so we set off with our video cam to try record, preserve & present this fine building in the best way we know how!We've even added a bit of Carl Orfs clasical music on this one so lovers of old Leodis should enjoy this expedition herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KMmHeSz6D8We made sure we secured this building as best we could to keep out the vandals as long as possible! We hope the building will have work done on it soon so to secure it's future as it would be a terrible shame if it ends up a pile of rubble at the hands of arsonists!

great video phill, nice to catch up with the old building once again since your last visit, bloody heartbreaking though it was seeing them stained glass windows have been smashed.its a good job there's people like yourself prepared to go the extra mile so people like me can visit these remarkable places.once again thanks for a good job well done by the L.H.E.S

Phill_d wrote: After seeing one of the most ornate buildings in Leeds under constant attack by vandals & drug addicts the L.H.E.S felt thay had no option but to capture this fantastic building before it was too late! The Northern stairwell has already been gutted by fire with another attempt to set it on fire around the back. A real jewel in terms of decor so we set off with our video cam to try record, preserve & present this fine building in the best way we know how!We've even added a bit of Carl Orfs clasical music on this one & lovers of old Leodis should enjoy this expedition herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KMmHeSz6D8We made sure we secured this building as best we could so to keep the vandals out as long as possible! We hope the building will have work done on it soon so to secure it's future as it would be a terrible shame if it ends up a pile of rubble at the hands of arsonists! What a marvellous piece of film Phill ! What a glorious example of Victorian architecture both externally and internally - particularly like the Burmantofts [?] tiles and the admirable fireplace .What an indictment however of successive council administrations who have neglected this and other buildings [and the city's infrastructure in general] whist at the same time vastly increasing the city's payroll with hundreds of facilitators , co-ordinaters and team managers attending countless meetings and producing reams of reports but not improving the city or the lives of its inhabitents .

Interesting lads,I remember going to this library when I was a kid at All Saints schooll as part of our english lessons.We also used to go to the swimming baths next door.It looks smaller now but i suppose everything looks bigger when your a kid!

Well thanks very much Brandy, Roundhegian & Hazman. Glad you liked the film, It really is (was) a fine building thankfully way ahead of it's time with (concrete) fire proof floors (no doubt saved it up to now) It is a real shame the public has lost this building from use thats we were a bit concerned about doing this film because of that, We don't want to knock the council as i suppose everything is run as business these days, if the library was seen as un-viable in those days then these things happen. That was in the 1980's. i guess times have changed so things most probably would be different today. The building has been bought a long time & has had 2 planning applications turned down. It's a grade 2 listed building & i'm afraid the developer is stuck with a building he can't do anything with as you have to retain, restore everything in there, Sadly the cost is a factor & the building looks like it's been left to rot. I've some more pics here if you want a better lookhttp://flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/sets/72157600013743632/

Very interesting and great film, Phill.I've always wondered what it was like inside, never been in although I did pass it almost every day from mid 70s onwards when i was going to school, and then work in Leeds.

Shame about this old place! Would make a great nightclub or posh bar!! or it would be great as a library.... oh...err...ok yes they tried that!! great vid again Phil keep it up!!!

What is the ghostly light going up the spiral staircase? Go on, spoil it and say it's from your camera

Thank you for this Phil. I appreciate being able to see inside the building as I travel past it everyday and have often wondered what it is like inside. (I had noticed new chains on the gate)(My parents had tried to descibe what it was like inside but it's not the same as seeing it)As said many times before it is a shame that somebody does not have the resources (and money) to restore such a building back to it's former glory.Great pictures, thanks again (will watch film when I get home from work !!)

Thanks for all the positive comments, Good question carrotol, the ghostly light trail on the stairs is nothing more than my companion walking down the spiral stairs holding the torch. The picture was taken over a half minute exposure time giving him enough time to walk down the stairs. The place was in total darkness with the camera set to read as much available light source as possible meaning he was left invisible but the camera sensor detected the torch and recorded the light trail... I love these painted light tricks you can do... Absolutely SLW. I hope it gets restored as well. There's still a lot of unique decor intact inside. It's a grade 2 listed building & more often than not rather than securing the building it often works against it as it limits what a developer can do with it. I hope our little trip is positive to show that something needs doing about this place now!