The Parkinson Building is a

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building in Greek Revival style by Thomas Lodge located at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. The clock tower is the highest point of the building and stands at 57 metres (187 ft) tall, making it the 17th-tallest building in the city of Leeds. The building is named after

Frank Parkinson Frank Parkinson (7 February 1887 – 28 January 1946)J. A. Chartres, 'Parkinson, Frank (1887–1946)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, October 200accessed 23 January 2010/ref> was a British electrica ...

, a major benefactor to the university, who donated £200,000 towards the cost of the new building. The building construction started in 1938; however, the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 halted building work, with construction resuming and finishing in 1951. The building was officially opened on 9 November 1951 by The Princess Royal,

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the university from 1951 to 1965. A prominent landmark in Leeds, the tower can be seen for miles around the campus and from the M621 motorway some from the site, and has become emblematic of the university itself with Leeds incorporating the clock tower into the university logo in 2006.

History

The university approved plans for the new building early in the 20th century; it was designed by Thomas Arthur Lodge (a leading

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

architect) and

Thomas Geoffry Lucas Thomas Geoffry Lucas (6 June 1872 – 3 October 1947), generally known as Geoffry Lucas, but often found incorrectly spelt as Geoffrey Lucas, was a 20th-century English architect. He is perhaps best known for his work in connection with the garde ...

(an English architect and Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects), whose works included the original Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and

St Bartholomew's Hospital, London St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

respectively. A former student of the University of Leeds,

, who was a successful British electrical engineer and businessman, most notable for early electric lighting installations, viewed the plans for the new building, and in 1936 was so impressed with the plan he offered to pay £200,000 towards the costs of the entrance hall and clock tower. Initial construction of the building began in 1938, with completion finishing 13 years later due to the outbreak of the Second World War halting the work. The building was officially opened on 9 November 1951 by the then

of the University of Leeds, The Princess Royal. In 2019 Associated Architects completed a major refurbishment to the Language Centre which covers two floors of the building.

Present day

Parkinson Court was refurbished in 2004, being restored to its former glory as a gateway to the

Brotherton Library The Brotherton Library is a 1936 Grade II listed Beaux-Arts building with some art deco fittings, located on the main campus of the University of Leeds. It was designed by the firm of Lanchester & Lodge, and is named after Edward Brotherton, ...

, which opened in 1936 alongside the rest of the university campus. The Brotherton Library currently holds the main collections for the arts, social sciences and law. The Parkinson Building is also home to the University of Leeds Art Collection and Gallery, which is free to enter for the general public and displays an extensive array of paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, and photographs, along with temporary exhibitions from time to time. These collections also contribute to the holdings in the

which comprise William Shakespeare's First Folio (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories. & Tragedies) published in 1623 and valued at around £15 million, manuscripts by Victorian Era writers The Brontë sisters and hundreds of letters to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

poet,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, novelist, essayist, visual artist,

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

and human rights

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. In May 2006, the university began re-branding itself to bring together its visual identity to produce one consistent look. A new logo was produced (based on that used during the centennial celebrations in 2004), to replace the combined use of the modified university crest and the old Parkinson Building, which has been in use since 2004. At present, the Parkinson Building houses a range of services for staff and students of the university whilst having collections available to the general public. The services operated in the building include The Stanley and Audrey Burton Art Gallery, Classics, Cleaning Services, Course Enquiries Office, History, Institute for Medieval Studies, Language Centre, Trade Union Offices, University Archives, Coffee Bars, Computing Clusters and Residential and Commercial Services. Parkinson Court has an exemplar Palladian floor plan, which has a double height ceiling in the middle of a cross under the clock tower.

References

External links

{{University of Leeds Buildings and structures of the University of Leeds Clock towers in the United Kingdom Towers in West Yorkshire Listed buildings in Leeds Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire Art Deco architecture in Leeds Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom

History

Present day

See also

References

External links