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About us

Find out more about Estates and Facilities at the University of Leeds.

Estates and Facilities is committed to providing and managing the environment in which staff and students work, live and learn. Our commitment is to provide first-class facilities and contribute to ensuring an exceptional student experience, through fit for purpose, high-quality buildings and support services.

The University of Leeds is committed to developing brownfield sites, wherever possible. Over the past decade we have developed on brownfield sites, regenerating former sites to new purposes and refurbishing old buildings. Recent examples include the development of the Bragg and Esther Simpson buildings.

We will continue develop to brownfield sites, wherever possible, as we progress Campus Reimagined.

Read our Business Plan

Latest News

Read the latest news from across Estates and Facilities

commuter lounge sofa in EC Stoner

New student lounge opens following feedback

Developed in response to student feedback, the lounge is designed for commuter students.
13th May 2026/by Alice Reid
Stained glass window in Michael Sadler entrance

Stained glass restored at Michael Sadler Building

The Michael Sadler Building has been refurbished, including an original 1989 stained-glass window.
10th April 2026/by Alice Reid
Sign for Art statue in winter time

January 2026 – winter weather warning

Met Office yellow and amber warnings for snow…
8th January 2026/by Alice Reid
cleaning a sink

Another clean sweep for Cleaning Services

Cleaning Services achieve BICSs national training accreditation for the second-year running.
6th January 2026/by Alice Reid
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Our campus in history

The development of the University of Leeds estate

  • 1894

     

    The Great Hall Completed

    Construction started on The Great Hall in 1884 and took ten years to complete. Along with the Clothworkers Buildings and Baines Wing, the building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse – famous for his works on the Natural History Museum in London. The red brick style Waterhouse used for the buildings helped to coin the term ‘red brick university’.

  • 1904

     

    The University of Leeds is born

    The Yorkshire College became the University of Leeds when it was granted a Royal Charter as an independent body by King Edward.

  • 1928

     

    Devonshire Hall built

    Devonshire Hall was the first purpose-built halls of residence for students of the University of Leeds. The Grade II listed building encompasses six annexes; R block, Old Hall, Ruse, Ridgefield, Elmfield, and Springhill. Modern, purpose-built buildings were constructed in the nineties; The Orchards (1993), North Lawn (1994), and the Grosvenor complex (1994).

  • 1936

     

    Brotherton Library completed

    Before the Brotherton Library was built, the undercroft of The Great Hall housed all of the University’s library collections. In 1927, Edward Brotherton donated £100,000 to the University to fund its first purpose-built library. Today, the Beaux-Arts building is Grade II listed.

  • 1939

     

    New Students Union built

    A gift of £25,000 was given to the University from W Riley-Smith to build a new Students Union in 1939. The building was extended in the 1960s as part of architects’ Chamberlin, Powell and Bon development plan for the University campus, and again in the late 1990s. In 2016, Leeds University Union, still homed in the original building, underwent a major refurbishment, including creating improved performance venues and facilities for societies.

  • 1951

     

    The Parkinson Building officially opened

    Construction started on the Parkinson Building in 1938 and during the war the building was used as a Ministry of Food storeroom – it was not opened as a University building until 1951. The Grade II listed art deco building stands at 57 metres tall and was named after a major benefactor of the University, Frank Parkinson, who oversaw many new build projects from 1936 onwards.

  • 1961

     

    Mechanical Engineering Building completed

    The Mechanical Engineering Building is part of a sequence of buildings along Woodhouse Lane designed by Allan Johnson, which also features the Civil Engineering Building (1960) and the Electronic Engineers Building (1963). Mechanical Engineering features a bold fibreglass relief mural above the entrance, executed by Alec Dearnby.

  • 1968

     

    EC Stoner Building built

    When the EC Stoner Building was built, it contained the longest stretch of corridor in Europe. At over a fifth of a mile long it’s still one of the longest, and forms part of the University’s infamous ‘red route’.

  • 1970

     

    Roger Stevens Building built

    One of the many University buildings designed by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon – as a small part of a wider campus plan – the brutalist, concrete-clad Roger Stevens Building is now Grade II listed.

  • 1975

     

    Edward Boyle Library opened

    With the rapid expansion in higher education after WWII, student numbers at the University grew enormously. As a result, architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon were appointed to develop a buildings strategy for an extensive teaching precinct. Part of this plan was the Edward Boyle Library (then the South Library), designed to act as the University’s undergraduate library, offering students core course materials and new teaching spaces. The Edward Boyle Library received a multimillion pound refurbishment in 2016. The interior design reflects the Brutalist and distinctive exterior design and shape of the Chamberlin, Powell and Bon buildings.

  • 1999

     

    Maurice Keyworth Building acquired

    The Leeds University Business School (LUBS) acquired the 19th-century Maurice Keyworth building, previously owned by Leeds Grammar School. LUBS have since constructed further modern buildings around the Maurice Keyworth, such as the Innovation Hub and Charles Thackrah Building.

  • 2010

     

    The Edge opened

    The University’s swimming pool and fitness, sport and wellbeing complex, The Edge, opened in 2010 following a £12.2million investment into the construction and facilities.

  • 2012

     

    Michael Marks Building constructed

    The M&S company archive relocated to the University campus from London to the purpose-built facility. The collection, comprising over 70,000 items, enhances the University’s rich collection of cultural and artistic assets open to the public.

  • 2015

     

    Laidlaw Library opened

    The need for a more modern study environment at the University saw the Laidlaw Library, a dedicated undergraduate space, open in 2015. Laidlaw boasts state of the art facilities and is built to offer students a contemporary option for their study. It was named after Irvine Laidlaw, who studied economics at Leeds in the early 1960s, and whose £9m gift for the project was the biggest ever received by the University.

  • 2016

     

    Multi-storey car park constructed

    As parking in the city-centre campus was limited, a multi-storey car park was constructed to improve the quality and safety of parking facilities at the University. The ten levelled, 690-space car park facilitates further development of the campus in line with the University’s Strategic Plan.

  • 2017

     

    Brownlee Centre and Cycle Circuit opened

    A £5m investment in Bodington Playing Fields saw a refurbishment of the sports pavilion and the creation of a 1.6km tarmac closed road cycle circuit. The Brownlee Centre and Bodington Cycle Circuit were officially opened by the Brownlee brothers in April 2017.

  • 2021

     

    Sir William Henry Bragg Building opened

    The Sir William Henry Bragg Building is the largest single investment in a building in the University’s history. Built on the site of the old Mining Building, it is named after the pioneering scientist whose research at the University in 1915 won a Nobel Prize for Physics and unlocked some of the biggest discoveries in modern science.

  • 2021

     

    Constuction of Esther Simpson concluded

    Construction of the Esther Simpson Building concluded in 2021 – as an extension of the Leeds University Business School as well as the School of Law. The building is named after Esther Simpson OBE, a University of Leeds alumna, who is known for her work in helping hundreds of refugees flee from Nazi-occupied Europe.

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