Description
Philosophical Hall
The imposing home of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society stood here until 1966. Erected in 1821 it became the centre of scientific and cultural life in Leeds, housing a fine museum conveyed to the City in 1921. The origins of the Philosophical Hall, the predecessor of the present City Museum, can be traced back to the 1770s when three of the most advanced scientists of their age met together in Leeds: John Smeaton, the civil engineer; William Hey, surgeon founder of Leeds Infirmary; and Joseph Priestley, minister of Mill Hill Chapel. As the country’s economy improved from 1815, Leeds industry flourished and the town grew in size and importance. A letter in the Leeds Mercury of 26th September, 1818 from ‘Leodiensian’ pointed out that there was a great demand for a society to foster scientific and literary development in the town. Correspondence continued and a public meeting was held in the Courthouse in November, 1818 chaired by William Hey, at which a philosophical and literary society was formed to discuss “all the branches of Natural Knowledge and Literature, but excluding all topics of Religion, Politics and Ethics”. There were no obvious models on which to base the building which would provide a home for the Society. Having consulted widely, the members of the building committee bought the site on Park Row and instructed architect, R. D. Chantrell who had trained with Sir John Soane. Chantrell produced a dignified design in the Greek Revival Style. The basement provided residential accommodation for the curator and cellars; the ground floor housed vestibule, lecture hall and laboratory; and the first floor became the popular museum, which soon became overcrowded, following the invitation to local collectors to deposit their specimens. In 1861-2 it doubled in size when architects Dobson & Chorley created a new lecture hall, a vast zoology gallery, library and kitchens etc., and also remodelled the facades of the whole building in the Italianate manner. The Museum’s Lecture Theatre was the centre of scientific and artistic life in the city for over a century and the collection became one of the finest outside London. Speakers included naturalists, scientists, literary figures, musicians, social reformers and later, politicians. In the days before television, radio, cinema, or any northern red brick universities, or popular science journals, there was a hunger for some form of intellectual life. In the 1920s and 30s school parties visited the museum. For most school children who had never travelled and had no books at home, this museum opened their eyes and rolled back their horizons. The building was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War and demolished in 1966.
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