Building Name

Baptist Chapel and Schools. Woodhouse Lane, Leeds (Architectural Competition)

Date
1862
Street
Woodhouse Lane
District/Town
Leeds
County/Country
Yorkshire, England
Work
Competition entry
Status
First premium

LEEDS - New Baptist Chapel and Schools in Woodhouse Lane - The designs of Messrs Paull and Ayliffe of Manchester have been selected and will be forthwith carried out under their superintendence. The funds for this undertaking have been chiefly obtained by the sale of the chapel and site in Great George-street, which have been purchased for the proposed new Infirmary at Leeds . [Builder 13 September 1862 Page 656]

LEEDS - For new Baptist chapel and schools, in Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, the design of Messrs Paull & Ayliffe, of Manchester, has been selected, and will be forthwith carried out under their superintendence. The funds for this undertaking have been chiefly obtained by the sale of the present chapel and site in Great George Street, which have been purchased for the proposed new infirmary at Leeds.[Building News 12 September 1862 Page 203]

The competition awards led to some confusion. In early October The Builder commented: With reference to our statement, on authority, in an earlier number that the designs of Messrs Paull and Ayliffe had been selected and would be carried out under their superintendence, Messrs Lockwood and Mawson have sent us a copy of a letter of a later date, received by them from Mr Holroyd for the committee, saying: "I am requested by the Building Committee to thank you for the plans submitted to them, and to inform you that they have awarded the first prize to the Gothic design. I beg herewith to hand you a cheque for £20, being the amount of the first prize. The plans are now at your disposal."

Are we to understand that the first "prize" is awarded to one design, and another design is selected to be carried out?

On 18 October the Builder published a response from James Holroyd, referring to the competition conditions and confirming that the Builder’s supposition was essentially correct. The competition conditions apparently provided that the architects of the selected design (Paull and Ayliffe) received the commission. The first premium was then awarded to the second placed design and the second premium to the third placed design. [Builder 18 October 1862 Page 759]