SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I will have walked by countless times but it was not until August 30 2017 that I noticed that some high up brickwork near the top end of the lower part of Merrion Street appeared to have nothing behind it! It was though hard to tell from street level just how far that brickwork went with nothing behind it. I wonder if it was built that way for some reason or if it is the result of some removal work perhaps long ago. It was a hard to get a photo from street level that really shows the brickwork with nothing apparently behind it but the first photo may help. The second photo shows the location.

Thanks to the wonders of google maps, here's the roof of that building from the other direction

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.80046 ... a=!3m1!1e3

I presume that the Tower Cinema building may be listed, or that that bit of the façade was just a dummy

Before I posted that link, I removed the labels which rather spoil the purpose of the picture here. Unfortunately, they have reappeared. For any body who wants to see the picture without the labels, click on the three horizontal lines to the left of "Search google maps" (Top left of screen) then click "labels on" which is second down in the drop down menu. That will bring up "Labels off" and they will disappear. (Apologies to everybody who could have told me that.)

Thanks for that link jma .

The 2D view does not really give enough detail to be sure but the 3D view does seem to show that the high up brickwork 'wall' does extend for a few yards.

It's interesting that what were likely to be windows are now bricked off so suggesting there was a room behind the 'wall' at some time.

The wall may have been constructed purely to make a more "balanced" view of the complete arcade and adjacent structures when seen from Briggate, and the window features included "to add verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative". (W.S.Gilbert)

jim wrote:The wall may have been constructed purely to make a more "balanced" view of the complete arcade and adjacent structures when seen from Briggate, and the window features included "to add verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative". (W.S.Gilbert)

Thanks jim for that interesting and very feasible suggestion for the 'wall' . W.S.Gilbert had a way with words!

I wouldn’t discount Jim’s “fake” wall theory but I think there was a structure behind and it probably disappeared long before any listing the building may have.

It can just be seen from Leodian’s photo looking along New Briggate that there are 3 “gable ends”. One over the bar, a larger one over the massage parlour former;y a hairdresse and another smaller one over what on streetview is a takeway called Raja’s adjacent to an alley between it and the Grand Theatre. There is a degree of symmetry in that the two outer gable ends are of the same width. Also if you look at the aerial (satellite) view the roofs on the right and middle gable ends extend back approximately the same distance and consistent with where the roof would stretch to on the left gable end were it to extend the full length of the wall.

If you look at the Vicar Lane end there is pretty much an identical set of gable ends and roofs stretching back the same length.

Things that distort the symmetry other than the shorter roof at the New Briggate end. The “diagonal” frontage on New Briggate means the building is more a parallelogram than a rectangle at this end. Also the left end has the turret structure on the corner which could have been a later addition given the brickwork is different.

I suspect that there once was a room behind that wall and that room was demolished or shortened when the large roof that covers most of the northwest quarter was constructed. A couple of Leodis photos suggest that the Tower Cinema was converted from the Grand Arcade when it opened in 1920 and presumably the glass roof covering the rest of the arcade was replaced then. http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... 0_20061892 The Arcade was a complete H shape for the first quarter century of its existence but the Cinema would obviously need a higher light proof roof. I suppose it’s possible the roof could also have been raised higher when the Tower was converted to a nightclub in the 80s

Thanks tyke bhoy for your interesting post. The time and effort you will have put in to get the information in your post is appreciated .