Bains wing and The great Wall

Local and Community History Month 2021

Last updated on 21 May 2021

May is Local and Community History Month. To celebrate, we’ve collated a collection of old photographs of campus to help increase awareness of local history.

The Bains Wing/Great Hall

  • Construction started on The Great Hall in 1884 and took 10 years to complete.
  • Along with Clothworkers Buildings and Baines Wing, the building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse (famous for his work on the Natural History Museum in London).
  • The red brick style waterhouse used for the buildings helped coin the term ‘red brick university’.

An old photo of The Great Hall

Leeds University Business School (LUBS)

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

An old photo of the LUBS building which used to be a Grammar school

The Brotherton Library

  • 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 ll listed.

An old photo of the Brotherton Library

Find out more about the history of the University of Leeds.