Coliseum Theatre (Former) on Cookridge Street, Leeds, by William Bakewell (1839-1925). 1882-85. "Tripartite façade of pale Morely sandstone, with gabled outer bays and a central portal beneath a rose window and round-headed plate traceried windows on either side. Atop the central gable is a figure of Britannia. Functional brick flanks" (Leach and Pevsner 448). This was once used for spectaculars, circuses and the like, and seated as many as 3,000, but, unlike the Grand Theatre, Leeds, which is still in use and has some similar external features (like the rose window and Gothic tracery), has been greatly altered inside

Bakewell was born in Hampstead, articled to Henry Astley Darbishire from 1852-57, and worked as an improver in the office of Charles Barry, and then as an assistant to E. R. Robson, before coming to Leeds. With its "remarkable Gothic façade," this was his most notable building here ("Directory," 356).

Photographs, captions, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Sources

Leach, Peter, and Nikolaus Pevsner. Buildings of England: Yorkshire, West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print.

Webster, Christopher, et al. "Directory." Building a Great Victorian City: Leeds Architects and Architecture. Ed. Christopher Webster. Huddersfield: Northern Heritage Publications in Association with the Victorian Society, 2011. 351-405. Print.


Last modified 20 March 2012