Welcome To Leeds Society of Architects

Emerald Grand Hall

Talk by Rachel Milestone, University of Leeds

The Town Hall of Leeds, opened in 1858, was built as the centre for all local governmental business – the first ‘municipal palace’.  It was also specifically designed as a music venue, housing an organ that was at the forefront of modern technology.  The 1856 Leeds Improvement Amendment Act, which stated that Leeds Town Hall was to be used ‘for the performance of music therein’, ensured that the building remained an important performance space throughout the nineteenth century.  However, as this lecture will demonstrate, the Council’s dedication to the cause of civic music stimulated by this Act was to have far-reaching implications on nineteenth-century music-making in Leeds Town Hall.  

Tickets:FREE (must be booked in advance)  

photo Leodis