Bodington Hall was the largest

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, in

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 ...

, England. It was opened in 1961 and closed in 2013. The site still contains the university's main playing fields. Known as ''Bod'' within the university, it was located between

Lawnswood Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. The suburb falls within the Adel and Wharefdale Ward of the City of Leeds Council. ...

and Adel, approximately 4 miles north of the main campus. Bodington was used mainly to house

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ar ...

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

students. Out of term, it was used for conferences and sporting activities such as WorldNET, the Internet Football Association's annual tournament,IFA WorldNET
/ref>Meet in Leeds – Bodington Hall
and from 1994 to 2012 it was the venue for the

International Medieval Congress The International Medieval Congress (IMC) is an annual academic conference held for scholars specializing in, or with an interest in, the study of the European Middle Ages (c. 300–1500). It is organised and administered by the Institute for Me ...

(IMC). The site opened in October 1961, and was completed by 1963. The following year architect Denis Mason-Jones won the Leeds Gold Medal for his design. The hall was named after Sir Nathan Bodington, the first

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the university. Bodington was originally an all-male hall, with Woodsley, Vaughan, Hay and Seton Houses becoming mixed at the start of the academic year 1976 and the other four following later. For that year the Woodsley student president was Chris Snowden, later Professor Sir Christopher Snowden,

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the University of Surrey and subsequently the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. A large decorative panel in

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

by the sculptor

Hubert Dalwood Hubert Cyril Dalwood (2 June 1924 – 2 November 1976) was a British sculptor. He was widely known as 'Nibs'. Life Dalwood was born on 2 June 1924 at 78 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol. He was apprenticed to the Bristol Aeroplane Company ...

was installed on the exterior of the refectory and was Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

in 2012.Twentieth Century Society listings reports
February 2013.fineart.ac.uk
Panel at Bodington Hall by Hubert Dalwood The self-catering flats were opened in September 1992. The academic year 2011/12 was the last year that students lived a full year in the halls although a smaller group of students, including late accommodation applications and students from Clearing, were allowed to stay in the halls for the first term of 2012/13. Bodington Hall was officially closed in January 2013, and demolished to enable housing to be built on the site.Yorkshire Evening Post 30 January 2013
University of Leeds plans homes at closed hall of residence

Accommodation

Bodington had 640 single study bedrooms and 100 self-catering flats each of 5 bedrooms with shared facilities.Meet in Leeds
Bodington Hall
Bodington Hall

List of houses

Catered

*Barbier These buildings shown on a map *Centre Barbier *Clapham *Grant *Hey *Mortain *Seton *Vaughan *Woodsley
Your Bod

Self-catering

(renamed in 1999 after former members of University staff)
24 May 1999 *Bragg *Evans *Lattimore *Mackey *McClurkin *Walsh *Whewell

Facilities

The site's sports facilities included

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

courts, snooker room and football and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

fields.

Hubert Dalwood mural relief

Hubert Dalwood Relief Bodington Hall 2009

In 1959 Denis Mason-Jones of Jones & Stocks (the architects for Bodington Hall) commissioned

to create a mural relief for the refectory building of Bodington Hall. The untitled work consisting of 36 aluminum squares which form a large rectangular panel was completed and installed in 1962. It was Grade II listed in 2012 for several reasons, partly because it is the first large mural relief by Dalwood, a leading British post-war sculptor, and also because of the use of materials and aesthetic quality of the work. As an example of commissioned public artworks it was considered to be of historic interest. After the Hall was demolished in 2013 the mural was taken down and moved to the stage@leeds building on the University of Leeds campus in 2016.

Oil spill

On 29 March 1999, at least 10,000 litres of fuel oil overflowed from a storage tank on the site and caused environmental damage, notably to

Meanwood Beck The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Ca ...

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

University photo archive
of pictures of the hall and grounds
Leeds University Presents
a short film including interiors of Bodington Hall
Meet in Leeds
leaflet about the Hall for conferences

Pictures and observations 2012 University of Leeds halls of residence