River House - Park Square

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Mon 22 Sep, 2008 4:06 pm

Anyone know the hsitory behind River Hosue? Ithas a very unusual and brightly painted mural above the entrance which appears to depict a river scene with colourful boats. It really does stand out and I did take a picture but as my phone is running Windos Mobile I can't seem to upload the picture.

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Mon 22 Sep, 2008 4:23 pm

Reginal Perrin wrote: Anyone know the hsitory behind River Hosue? Ithas a very unusual and brightly painted mural above the entrance which appears to depict a river scene with colourful boats. It really does stand out and I did take a picture but as my phone is running Windos Mobile I can't seem to upload the picture. Used to be St Paul's Church that was demolished in 1907 I think. There are some photo's of it on Leodis, but this building was built years later (1938 if my memory servers me correctly), reputedly having the old crypt still underneath although judging buy aerial photo's this is impossible, especially as now there is a car park underneath but I think the crypt was utilised as the car park. It was originally built for the Yorkshire Water Authority, (hence Rivers House) and was later taken over by the Environment Agency.I used to work next door and got talking to one of the guys there who took me in to look at some old photos on the walls of the boardroom, they are similar to those on Leodis and one shows the corner of the old houses that were knocked to build St Paul's House (J. Barrans Warehouse). There is a great massive relief map of Yorkshire on the wall in reception showing the confluence of the rivers in Yorkshire.

Tasa · Post by **Tasa** » Mon 22 Sep, 2008 4:24 pm

I did a bit of research into this myself just a couple of months ago. Arridet Aridum is the motto of the Bedford Level Corporation which was based in Ely, Cambridgeshire and loosely translates as "Dryness Pleaseth". Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutch engineer in the 1600s, was responsible for constructing the Bedford Level, a huge channel which drained the Great Fen in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, and it is possible that this is the channel shown in the mural.What I haven't been able to establish is the Yorkshire connection, so any information about why this particular scene should have graced the Yorkshire Water Authority offices in the 1930s would be most welcome!

Chrism · Post by **Chrism** » Mon 22 Sep, 2008 4:26 pm

All it says on Leodis is... ... ... 30th September 1999. View of entrance to River House which is 21 Park Square South and houses the offices of the Environment agency.

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Mon 22 Sep, 2008 5:50 pm

Wow, good old Secret Leeds. The entrance is a bit more run down now and has the look of a warehouse entrance. There is a great big metal roll shutter painted a bright blue and there are no plants in the foyer just a door to the left and a lift to the right.You would have thought that in one of the most prestigeous addresses in Leeds it would be a bit more attractive.