SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Looking at a street plan yesterday I came across The Dolphin on Vicar Lane. This would have been located opposite the Ludgate Hill Entrance to the Market on the West Side of Vicar Lane at the junction with King Edward St. If you look up at high level there is a /molding/sculpture of a fish which my old uncle used to call a dolphin. Just wondering if anyone new if it was related to said pub

Thanks for that Chris I should have looked before posting, but it doesn't answer the question of the fish moulding, is it a coincidence.

An Ind Coope house [previously Leeds City Breweries] the Dolphin is mentioned back on page 24 with a Leodis photo and one of Drapesy’s own photos. There was no application for renewal of the license at the Licensing Session on 9/2/61 and as licenses then ran for two years, it could have closed anytime from 10/2/59 until that date.

To me this is one of those rather sad and frightening memory "blanks." I clearly remember all the shops mentioned in the picture, but have no recollection whatever of the Dolphin even though I passed along there almost daily in the 50s/60s.Can someone comment though on the caption which says that the site of the Dolphin became part of the Empire Arcade - surely not - didn't the Empire Arcade occupy exactly the site of the old theatre, just from Briggate to Cross Arcade (King Edward Street to Victoria Quarter - fomerly Queen Victoria Street) where "Empire Palace" can thankfully still be seen in the red stonework, and not go through to Vicar Lane ??    

BLAKEY wrote: To me this is one of those rather sad and frightening memory "blanks." I clearly remember all the shops mentioned in the picture, but have no recollection whatever of the Dolphin even though I passed along there almost daily in the 50s/60s.Can someone comment though on the caption which says that the site of the Dolphin became part of the Empire Arcade - surely not - didn't the Empire Arcade occupy exactly the site of the old theatre, just from Briggate to Cross Arcade (King Edward Street to Victoria Quarter - fomerly Queen Victoria Street) where "Empire Palace" can thankfully still be seen in the red stonework, and not go through to Vicar Lane ??     I would have said the same Blakey about the Empire Arcade. My recollection is it was a short arcade running as you say from Briggate to Cross Arcade roughly, if not actually, to where part of Harvey Nichol's is in Cross Arcade.

I've tried a couple of old map overlays [but I've had a drink...] using the 1908 and the 1891 map.In the grant of the new license, the Licensing Register notes that the new premises are "Upon land now adjoning the Dolpin Inn upon which stands a chmist's shop and part of the yard of the Leadehall Slaughter House and a clothier's shop" so the new would have been beside the sire of the old.Here's the 1891 version....

.... and the 1908 A = The Dolphin HotelB = The Robin Hood Inn

liits wrote: .... and the 1908 A = The Dolphin HotelB = The Robin Hood Inn Thanks liits - this does seem to confirm that the Leodis caption is incorrect, and I'm still pretty sure that the Empire Arcade never came right through to Vicar Lane - but there again I have to confess that I'd already completely forgotten that it existed at all

BLAKEY wrote: liits wrote: .... and the 1908 A = The Dolphin HotelB = The Robin Hood Inn Thanks liits - this does seem to confirm that the Leodis caption is incorrect, and I'm still pretty sure that the Empire Arcade never came right through to Vicar Lane - but there again I have to confess that I'd already completely forgotten that it existed at all It didn't Blakey - it stopped at Cross Arcade, the rear of Harvey Nics.