The Round Foundry is a former

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

works off Water Lane in Holbeck,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. Founded in the late 18th century, the building was developed into the Round Foundry Media Centre in 2005.

History

The Round Foundry was built in 1795–1797 by a partnership of

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1754–1834),

Matthew Murray Matthew Murray (1765 – 20 February 1826) was an English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer, who designed and built the first commercially viable steam locomotive, the twin cylinder ''Salamanca'' in 1812. He was an innovative design ...

, David Wood and the financier William Lister, trading as

Fenton, Murray and Wood Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Fenton, Murray and Wood Fenton Murray and Wood was founded in the 1790s by ironfounder Matthew Murray and ...

, (later

Fenton, Murray and Jackson Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Fenton, Murray and Wood Fenton Murray and Wood was founded in the 1790s by ironfounder Matthew Murray and ...

). It was at the Round Foundry that Matthew Murray made his name as a great engineer. He produced

textile machinery Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

, steam engines and the first

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

for the

Middleton Railway The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, situated in the English city of Leeds. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. since 1960. The rail ...

including ''Salamanca''. The Round Foundry developed to become one of the world's first specialist engineering foundries. Disaster struck in 1875 when fire destroyed some of the original buildings, including the large rotunda that gave the Round Foundry its name. Some buildings were saved, the earliest of which dates from 1798. There are a total of 7

listed buildings 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 ...

in the Round Foundry complex. These include the Dry Sand Foundry, the Green Sand Foundry and 101 Water Lane.

Redevelopment

The first phase of a £30 million redevelopment has led to the creation of the Round Foundry Media Centre, which provides office space for creative and digital media companies. This project also provides restaurants, bars and cafés set in a number of courtyards that try to retain as much of the character of the old foundry as is possible. This redevelopment project has won a number of architectural awards including; 'Best Creative Land Use' and 'Best Urban Centre', Yorkshire Urban Renaissance Awards 2005; 'Project of the Year',

RICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

Regeneration Awards 2005; 'Excellence in Architecture and Built Environment' and 'Best Commercial, Industrial and Retail',

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Yorkshire White Rose Awards 2005. The Engine House, where the ''Salamanca'' was constructed, is now home to a number of businesses including KBW Barristers Chambers, ISG engineering and the Engine House Café.

Foundry buildings

File:Round Foundry - Matthew Murray House.jpg, No. 97 Water Lane, originally a workshop forming part of the Round Foundry, built 1857–1877. Fenton, Murray and Jackson closed in 1843, this building built by Smith, Beacock and Tannett, machine tool manufacturers, who took over the site and renamed it ''Victorian Foundry''. No. 99 in the distance. File:Round Foundry - 101 Water Lane.jpg, Water Lane and former Round Foundry buildings: No. 99 (left) considered the remains of the Green Sand foundry, built by

. No. 101 (centre) also believed to date from 1795 to 1802. File:Round Foundry sculpture.JPG, Foundry Square, No. 99 (right) with double doors. Dry Sand foundry (left).

References

External links

Matthew Murray
Diagram of

Marshall's mill Marshall's Mill is a former flax spinning mill on Marshall Street in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Marshall's Mill was part of a complex begun in 1791–92 by English industrial pioneer John Marshall. It was originally a four-st ...

s and Matthew Murray's engineering works (Round Foundry) at Water Lane.
Leeds Engine Builders
Plan of Round Foundry c.1841, steam engine manufactory of

. {{Listed buildings in Leeds Buildings and structures in Leeds Listed buildings in Leeds Grade II* listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire

History

Redevelopment

Foundry buildings

See also

References

External links