Summary
Former town house, later a school and club, now a restaurant and shop, built between 1710 and 1720 , with C19 to C21 alterations.
Reasons for Designation
51c New Briggate, built between 1710 and 1720, with C19 to C21 alterations, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as an early-C18 town house with an imposing three-storey symmetrical façade, embellished in the C19 with vermiculated rendered blocks to denote a more institutional use as a sporting club;
* the interior is reputed to retain the original plaster ceilings on the first floor with a balustraded stair.
Historic interest:
* the building is a rare and important early survivor in Leeds city centre, originally standing in large gated grounds that were split into building plots following Improvement Acts in 1866 and 1868 to enable the development of this urban neighbourhood.
History
Built between 1710 and 1720, this former town house originally stood in gated grounds accessed from the former New Street and Wade Lane and facing St John’s Church to the south. It is shown for the first time on John Cossins’ map of 1720 as an unnamed house, with a west extension also shown on Robert Sayer’s plan of 1775 (surveyed 1767-1770). The original building was arranged with four rooms to each floor with a central hallway and principle rear stair. Late-C18 newspaper advertisements described a commodious dwelling house with vaults, situated opposite and near to the Vicarage. By 1799 Richard Kemplay’s Academy had relocated to the extensive premises to cater for boarders, day boarders and day scholars.
An undated late-C18 or early-C19 illustrated advert for the boarding school shows the three-storey, five-bay quoined building within its walled grounds, with a separate three-storey building now abutting to the west. This arrangement is shown again on Giles and Giles’ map of 1815 with the addition of a bay or bow window to the east elevation of the house and the house named as St John’s Place. Kemplay ran the school until his death in 1830 when it passed to his son Christopher, who continued the school until 1834. Land tax records in 1839 suggest that by this date it had reverted to use as a house owned by Kemplay’s Executors, and later biographical information on Christopher Kemplay suggests he let out the house and moved to York.
An 1845 newspaper advert describes St John’s Place comprising dining, drawing, and breakfast rooms, kitchen, laundry, and butler’s pantry on the ground floor, four bedrooms and two dressing rooms on the first floor, six good bedrooms on the second floor, and excellent cellars, spacious garden and coach house attached to the house. The extensive grounds and house are shown in the 1850 town plan, and 1851 Ordnance Survey map, but following Improvements Acts in 1866 and 1868 the east garden and south driveway were cleared and building plots developed.
By 1875 the building was occupied by the Leeds Victoria Club, a sporting club. In 1887 the three-storey building abutting the west side of the house was demolished and a synagogue erected. It is likely that the present stucco façade dates from soon after the house’s acquisition by the Victoria Club, perhaps to give the building a more institutional and less domestic character. The 1888 or 1890 town plan shows the bow window had been removed from its eastern side.
Building control plans dating to 1919 show alterations to partition the first floor to create offices accessed via a separate entrance and staircase from the street. The rest of the building comprised reading rooms, a dining room, bar, and a billiards room in a single-storey extension attached to the rear (its north elevation facing Merrion Street. Between 1920 and 1930 street improvements were planned for Merrion Street. The single-storey rear extension was demolished and the present (now separated - 2021) L-shaped half-timbered Arts and Crafts range by J Johnson was erected by the club, shown in the 1933 Goad plan of Leeds.
In 1962 the Victoria Club estate was sold at auction to the Automobile Glass Company who remained until 1965. Nash’s Fish and Chip Restaurant occupied the building from the 1960s onwards. Further alterations took place between the late C20 and early C21.
Details
Former town house, later a boarding school and club, now a restaurant and shop. Built between 1710 and 1720. C19 to C21 alterations. Late Georgian style.
MATERIALS: brick, rendered and incised with vermiculated rusticated quoins and plain ashlar with painted stone dressings. Graded stone slate roof
PLAN: square on plan.
EXTERIOR: the building is of three storeys with a basement, and has a half-hipped, half-gabled roof with off-set southern end stacks.
The front elevation is five bays with the three central bays slightly breaking forward, an ashlar-incised rendered plinth, vermiculated rendered blocks to each floor, a painted stone band between ground and first floors, moulded stone cornice between first and second floors and a modillion eaves cornice. The central door surround has plain pilaster jambs with Doric moulded plinths and capitals supporting an entablature with triglyphs and a moulded cornice. The doorway has moulded jambs, a lowered door sill and a large two-light early-C20 top-light over a late-C20 door. Flanking the door are two windows to each side, with a narrow subsidiary door close to the left-hand corner. All have stone moulded quoin jambs (painted), with a stone lintel to the subsidiary door and stone sills and deep lintels to the windows on which the stone band rests. The upper floors both have five windows with similar stone moulded quoin jambs, sills and lintels, the windows shorter on the second floor. The windows have one-over-one pane sashes, with some one-over-one pane fixed frames on the ground floor, those on the first floor with early-C20 diamond leaded glazing.
The east elevation has ashlar incised render.
INTERIOR: reputed to contain original plaster ceilings at first floor with balustraded stair.
