The Golden Beam

Last updated

The Golden Beam
The Golden Beam, Headingley, June 2021.jpg
The Golden Beam
Former names Church of Christ, Scientist
Elinor Lupton Centre
General information
TypeChurch (1912–1986)
School arts centre (1986–2010)
Pub (2021–)
Architectural style Egyptian Revival with Art Deco influences
Location Headingley, Leeds, England
Named for Elinor Lupton (as school building)
Painting by Atkinson Grimshaw (as pub)
Opened1912, extended 1934
Owner JD Wetherspoon
Technical details
Material Portland stone
Design and construction
Architect(s) Piet de Jong
William Peel Schofield
Designations
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated5 August 1976
Reference no. 1255938

The Golden Beam is a pub and Grade II listed building located in the Headingley area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in c. 1912 for the Church of Christ, Scientist, and was known as the Elinor Lupton Centre from 1986 to 2010 when it was a school arts centre. It was designed by Piet de Jong and William Peel Schofield from the architectural firm Schofield and Berry. Constructed in white Portland stone in a mixed style of Egyptian Revival and Art Deco, it was originally built as a Sunday school in c. 1912–1914, extended in the 1930s with a church building and then used by the Leeds Girls' High School as a theatre and music centre from 1986 until 2010. The structure has architectural significance in the locality due to its distinct style and use of materials; many original features and fittings survive, including the entrance foyer, two staircases and a glazed lantern in the auditorium roof.

Contents

The building was unoccupied between 2010 and 2021, with windows and doors boarded up and elevations disfigured by graffiti. The building was included in the 2018 Heritage at Risk Register by Leeds Civic Trust, where it was given 'vulnerable' status. [1] The current owner, JD Wetherspoon, put forward proposals for conversion into a pub and hotel which were locally controversial, with the project facing a planning enquiry and licensing difficulties. [2] Planning permission and an alcohol licence were granted by the City Council in 2020, [3] and the building was converted into a large pub, named The Golden Beam after a painting by Atkinson Grimshaw, which opened June 2021. [4]

Architecture and design

The distinction and significance of the building, first designed as a church, is derived from its mixed architectural style, which has elements drawn from all three of the Egyptian Revival, classical Greek and Art Deco genres. The Egyptian influences – a style found nowhere else in Leeds other than Temple Works (1836) in Holbeck – include the papyrus-based capitals topping its pilasters, and the three entrances with moulded stone architraves with amphorae above. Several pediments comprise the most classical part of the design; a Greek key pattern adorns the decorative gate piers – Portland stone by dressed gritstone walls, while a disc motif is prominent on each of the main elevations. Art Deco characteristics are found mostly internally, particularly the foyer and auditorium. The paving to the front creates a wide plaza effect, complemented by the setting back of the property from the main road; opening up the property in an area which is characteristically narrow. [5] Many original features and fittings survive, including the entrance foyer, two staircases and a glazed lantern in the auditorium roof. The hall — the former church space — has raked seating for 650 people, with a stage and the remains of an organ at one end. [6]

The building consists of two storeys, plus a basement, all faced in Portland stone. [7] Headingley, a village turned affluent suburb after the Industrial Revolution, predominantly used the local Millstone Grit (see Geology of Yorkshire) for its Victorian villas, and red brick for terraced workers' housing, as its architectural materials. Therefore, the Portland stone exterior from 1912 was unprecedented not only in Headingley, but also in Leeds city centre, aside from the contemporary Pearl Chambers on The Headrow (1911). [8] By the time of the Elinor Lupton Centre's 1930s extension, the material had come into fashion for important buildings in the city, for example the Civic Hall (1933) and Queens Hotel (1937). [9]

History

The site, located on the corner of Headingley Lane and Richmond Road, was originally part of the grounds of the neighbouring Buckingham House, containing some small outbuildings. [10] The Church of Christ, Scientist, a movement founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, began the process of opening its first Leeds site around 1912 by setting a competition for the design of a church and Sunday school. It was won by the Leeds firm of architects Schofield and Berry. William Peel Schofield was a local architect who qualified in 1906 having attended the Leeds School of Art and been an assistant at two Leeds architects practices. [11] The church was the only building in England designed by the firm's employee Piet de Jong, later internationally known as an archaeological artist. [12]

During 1912–1914, the intended Sunday school was constructed, the smaller western part of the current building, but the construction of the main church was delayed by World War I and consequent labour shortages. [13] Church services were temporarily held in the 250-seat assembly room of the new Sunday school during the delay; the actual Sunday school used classrooms on the first floor. [6] [note 1]

In 1923 construction resumed, and in October 1934 the church was completed in the same style as the 1912 building; it was consecrated on 12 May 1935. The extension is assumed to be by William Peel Schofield, the same architect who oversaw the first part, although presumably to designs made before his death in 1926. [6] The total cost was over £38,000. [13] [14]

In 1976, the building was given a Grade II listing by Historic England as a building of special architectural or historic interest. [15] By 1986, after fifty years in full use as a church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist experienced decreasing congregation numbers [16] and sold the building for £230,000 to Leeds Girls' High School, [14] whose main site was very close by in Headingley. The school and church shared the building until 1992 when the First Church of Christ, Scientist moved to a smaller property on Otley Road, Headingley. [16] LGHS used the building until 2010 as a theatre and music centre, and named it after Elinor Lupton (1886–1979), former Lady Mayoress of Leeds and member of the wealthy land-owning Lupton family of Newton Park Estate who had achieved prominence in the 17th century as woollen cloth merchants. Elinor Lupton was a school governor for 54 years and is credited by The Grammar School at Leeds (LGHS's successor) with funding the purchase of the centre, through a legacy as she had died seven years previously. [6]

The site was closed by LGHS in 2010 [17] as it had merged with Leeds Grammar School to form the Grammar School at Leeds and was moving all students to a new purpose-built campus at Alwoodley. [18]

Recent history

The building was unoccupied from 2010 to 2020 and was boarded up and heavily graffitied. The Elinor Lupton Centre was marketed for sale in 2011, but with the unusual layout of the building and high cost of refurbishment, this was not successful despite several years on the open market. Various interested parties considered the site for uses including apartments, a wedding venue, gym, place of worship, art gallery, live venue and community centre. Conditional offers were received by CITU (a developer) for a multi-purpose leisure venue, aql for a data centre, and David Lynn intending to lease to The Gym Group, but these ultimately all fell through. Community organisations such as Headingley Development Trust and Leeds Music Hub also entered discussions without making a formal offer. [17] [19]

An approach and purchase was made in 2014 by JD Wetherspoon, a British pub company with a reputation for converting problem buildings into pub/restaurant facilities. [17] While planning permission was obtained for change of use of the property into a public house at appeal in 2016, the company's attempts at securing a premises licence for the site were unsuccessful; in 2017, a judge at Leeds Magistrates' Court upheld Leeds City Council's decision to refuse an alcohol licence, citing "fundamental contradictions" at the heart of the company's application, such as the suggestion that the establishment would concentrate on serving food while simultaneously stating that it would offer "three for £5" deals on shots. [2] Wetherspoon subsequently decided to apply to operate the building as a 52-bedroom hotel instead, but with extensions to allow more rooms for purposes of viability, [20] [21] especially as the Elinor Lupton Centre requires significant refurbishment and restoration. [22] It stated that "We would hope that an investment of approximately £5m–£6m in Leeds should be welcomed as it will generate 100 new jobs and provide first class hotel facilities for this part of the City, close to the famous Headingley cricket and rugby ground." [22]

Each proposed pub and hotel scheme has found vocal opposition during the planning process from residents and local groups, generally on the grounds of creating noise and disturbance, overprovision of pubs in Headingley (many part of the Otley Run), and parking congestion. [23] [24] The hotel application was withdrawn by Wetherspoon in October 2019, while the permission for public house use from 2016 was renewed in November 2019 by Leeds City Council. [25] An alcohol licence was granted in February 2020, with a condition the pub does not permit entry to people it has reason to believe are participants in the Otley Run, removing the only barrier on refurbishment work commencing. [3]

Conversion into a pub was completed in June 2021, with the new pub named The Golden Beam after the painting A Golden Beam by the artist John Atkinson Grimshaw – who lived nearby on Cliff Road near Woodhouse Ridge – which sold at Christie's for £223,750 in 2001. [26] It has retained the original auditorium as its main ground-floor bar area. Two floors of eating and drinking areas of around 8,000 square feet (740 m2) were created as well as large outside terraces, and 75 associated jobs. [4] The existing church organ façade was repurposed as a feature fireplace. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otley</span> Market town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, England

Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census. It is in two parts: south of the river is the historic town of Otley and to the north is Newall, which was formerly a separate township. The town is in lower Wharfedale on the A660 road which connects it to Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headingley</span> Human settlement in England

Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Park, Leeds</span> Human settlement in England

West Park is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of Headingley. It is a mixed area of private suburban housing and suburban council estates. The name derives from its main park containing playing fields together with a conservation area of grassy meadow ending in woodland. The largest housing estate in West Park is Moor Grange.

Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds urban fringe, bordering the green belt which makes up two thirds of the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds. The nearby Tinshill BT Tower dominates the skyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramhope</span> Village and civil parish in West Yorkshire, England

Bramhope is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, north of Holt Park and north east of Cookridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Girls' High School</span> Private school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Leeds Girls' High School (LGHS) was an independent, selective, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 founded in 1876 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It merged with Leeds Grammar School in 2008 to form The Grammar School at Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammar School at Leeds</span> Private day school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) is a private day school in Leeds, England, created on 4 August 2005 by the merger of Leeds Grammar School and Leeds Girls' High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuthbert Brodrick</span> British architect

Cuthbert Brodrick FRIBA was a British architect, whose most famous building is Leeds Town Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otley Run</span> A pub crawl in Leeds, England

The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The popular route covers Far Headingley, Headingley and Hyde Park areas and commonly continues towards Leeds City Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyrack</span> Wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Skyrack was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the parishes of Aberford, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Thorner, Whitkirk and part of Harewood, while the Upper Division included the parishes of Adel, Bingley, Guiseley and parts of Harewood, Ilkley and Otley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawnswood</span> Human settlement in England

Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is in the north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. The suburb falls within the Adel and Wharefdale Ward of the City of Leeds Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Headingley</span> Area of Leeds, England

Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A660 road</span> Road in West Yorkshire, England

The A660 is a major road in the Leeds and Bradford districts of West Yorkshire, England that runs from Leeds city centre to Burley-in-Wharfedale where it meets the A65. The A660 is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and crosses the watershed from Airedale to lower Wharfedale. For most of its length the road is in the metropolitan district of the City of Leeds; the last 0.4 miles (0.6 km) is in City of Bradford district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Corson</span> Scottish architect (1829–1910)

George Corson (1829–1910) was a Scottish architect active in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Leeds</span>

Leeds in West Yorkshire, England is a tourist destination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Leeds</span> Buildings of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

The architecture of Leeds, a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, encompasses a wide range of architectural styles and notable buildings. As with most northern industrial centres, much of Leeds' prominent architecture is of the Victorian era. However, the City of Leeds also contains buildings from as early as the Middle Ages such as Kirkstall Abbey, one of Britain's best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries, as well as examples of 20th century industrial architecture, particularly in the districts of Hunslet and Holbeck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleton family</span> Family of Catherine, Princess of Wales

The Middleton family is an English family that has been related to the British royal family by marriage since the wedding of Catherine Middleton to Prince William in April 2011, when she became the Duchess of Cambridge. The couple have three children: George, Charlotte and Louis. Tracing their origins back to the Tudor era, the Middleton family of Yorkshire of the late 18th century were recorded as owning property of the Rectory Manor of Wakefield with the land passing down to solicitor William Middleton who established the family law firm in Leeds which spanned five generations. Some members of the firm inherited woollen mills after the First World War. By the turn of the 20th century, the Middleton family had married into the British nobility and, by the 1920s, the family were playing host to the British royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lupton family</span> Prominent English 16th century family

The Lupton family in Yorkshire achieved prominence in ecclesiastical and academic circles in England in the Tudor era through the fame of Roger Lupton, provost of Eton College and chaplain to Henry VII and Henry VIII. By the Georgian era, the family was established as merchants and ministers in Leeds. Described in the city's archives as "landed gentry, a political and business dynasty", they had become successful woollen cloth merchants and manufacturers who flourished during the Industrial Revolution and traded throughout northern Europe, the Americas and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire Oak (Headingley)</span>

The Shire Oak was an ancient tree that stood in Headingley, now a suburb of the city of Leeds. It is thought to date from the time of the Danelaw in 9th-century England and is a shire oak, a tree that was used as a meeting point for local assemblies. The wapentake in this area was known as the Skyrack wapentake after the tree. The Shire Oak was felled by winds in 1941 and a plaque now marks the place in which it once stood.

Headingley is a ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 111 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, two are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The ward is to the northwest of the centre of Leeds, and is largely residential. As Leeds became more prosperous in the 19th century, the area developed to become "the prime residential area of Leeds". Most of the listed buildings are houses and associated structures, many of the houses are large, and some were used later for other purposes. The other listed buildings include churches and associated structures, public houses, remaining structures from the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens, a cinema and lamp post, a war memorial, and a group of telephone kiosks.

References

  1. ↑ "Heritage at Risk 2018" (PDF). Leeds Civic Trust. November 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Wetherspoon's plan halted in Leeds after judge refuses booze lience". Yorkshire Evening Post . 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 Beecham, Richard (27 February 2020). "Headingley Wetherspoons given permission – but Otley Run drinkers will be BANNED". Yorkshire Evening Post . Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 Withers, Laura (30 March 2021). "When Leeds two brand new Wetherspoon pubs are set to open". LeedsLive. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Headingley Hill, Hyde Park and Woodhouse Moor Conservation Area Appraisal" (PDF). Leeds City Council. October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Humble, Liz (August 2018). Elinor Lupton Centre, Leeds: Heritage Statement (Report). Humble Heritage.
  7. ↑ Wrathmell, Susan (2005). Pevsner Architectural Guides: Leeds. Yale University Press. p. 260. ISBN   0-300-10736-6.
  8. ↑ Ray, Tony. "Elinor Lupton Centre, Headingley". Leeds Civic Trust . Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. ↑ Dimes, Francis G.; Mitchell, Murray (1996). The Building Stone Heritage of Leeds. Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. ISBN   9781870737104.
  10. ↑ Yorkshire CCIII.13 (Leeds) (Topographic map). 1:2500. 25 inch England and Wales, 1841–1952. Ordnance Survey. 1908.
  11. ↑ Brodie, Antonia (2001). Directory of British Architects, 1834–1914. Volume 2, L–Z. Continuum. ISBN   9781847143594.
  12. ↑ Papadopoulos, John K. (2007). The Art of Antiquity: Piet de Jong and the Athenian Agora. ASCSA. p. 7. ISBN   9780876619605.
  13. 1 2 Sheerin, Joseph (14 February 2013). "Wasted Space: The Ghost of Buildings Past". Leeds-List. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  14. 1 2 Stevenson, Mark (11 April 2016). "Elinor Lupton Centre, Headingley Lane, Leeds". Geograph Britain and Ireland . Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "The Golden Beam, with boundary walls (1255938)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  16. 1 2 "The Religious Mapping of Headingley" (PDF). University of Leeds Department of Theology and Religious Studies. 2009. p. 67. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  17. 1 2 3 Fox, Paul (20 April 2015). "Marketing of Freehold Interest in the Elinor Lupton Centre, Headingley Lane, Headingley, Leeds". Letter to WYG and Leeds City Council.
  18. ↑ "The Grammar School at Leeds – Standard Inspection" (PDF). Independent Schools Inspectorate. 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  19. ↑ "Music hub submits 'alternative' to pub plan for north Leeds centre". Yorkshire Evening Post . 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  20. ↑ Farrell, Stephen (26 November 2018). "Hotel Plans Lodged for Leeds Landmark". Insider Media. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  21. ↑ Senior, Anne-Marie (28 November 2018). "JD Wetherspoon wants to open first Leeds hotel at controversial Headingley site". LeedsLive. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  22. 1 2 Connor, Nigel (24 October 2018). "Former Elinor Lupton Centre, Headingley Lane, Headingley, Leeds". Letter to Leeds City Council.
  23. ↑ "Fury over pub plan for Grade II listed Leeds building". Yorkshire Evening Post . 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019.
  24. ↑ McCarthy, Russell (15 December 2014). "Wetherspoons: the prole pub snobs love to picket". Spiked . Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  25. ↑ Beecham, Richard (8 November 2019). "Plans for former Headingley girls' school to become new Wetherspoons pub a step closer". Leeds-Live. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  26. ↑ "John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893): A golden beam". www.christies.com. Christie's. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  27. ↑ "Wetherspoon News" (PDF). JD Wetherspoon. Summer 2021. p. 75. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Historic England listing description incorrectly records that the main church was built first and that the western part was a later extension; the opposite is the case.

53°49′01″N01°34′16″W / 53.81694°N 1.57111°W / 53.81694; -1.57111

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.