First White Cloth Hall

Overview

The Grade II* listed First White Cloth Hall, built in 1711, is one of the most historically significant buildings in Leeds.

Located on Kirkgate, the city’s oldest street, the Hall was originally constructed as Leeds’ first covered cloth trading hall, laying the foundation for the area’s commercial growth and the textile industry’s expansion.

After decades of decline, the building was listed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register for over 20 years. Mason Clark Associates (MCA) was appointed to restore this once derelict structure, bringing it back to life and securing its future within a broader scheme to rejuvenate Kirkgate.

Challenges and Solutions

The restoration of First White Cloth Hall required overcoming numerous structural and conservation challenges, each requiring precision and a deep respect for the building’s heritage:

• Reconstruction and retention: significant sections of the Hall, including the collapsed west wing and northern elevation, required a complete rebuild. Our design preserved as much of the original fabric as possible, restoring the building to its single, undivided assembly room layout. The original oak timber trusses were salvaged and reintegrated into the roof structure, maintaining their historical significance as part of the building’s unique architectural story.
• Supporting fragile masonry: the remaining east wing presented delicate masonry that required stabilisation. We designed a supporting steel frame for this area, ensuring the integrity of the structure and allowing the restoration of the internal floors to support commercial use.
• Complex temporary works and foundational stability: we implemented complex temporary works to reveal and preserve the building’s original arched openings. New basement and foundation structures were designed with major underpinning to stabilise existing brickwork, safeguarding the Hall’s structural resilience for future use.

MCA's Contribution

We provided comprehensive structural and conservation engineering services throughout each phase of the First White Cloth Hall’s restoration. Our contributions included:

Condition inspection and design: we conducted a thorough inspection, prepared options appraisals and delivered designs for each stage of the project, ensuring that conservation goals were met while adapting the building for commercial viability.

Structural solutions for heritage preservation: we designed steel frames and underpinning solutions to support fragile masonry and created new structures for the rebuilt west wing and glass atrium roof, balancing historical preservation with modern requirements.

Temporary works and construction support: the project required complex temporary works to safely reveal and restore key architectural features, allowing the building’s historic elements to shine within its modernised structure.

Results