The Cathedral Church of St Anne
Leeds
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| Architect: |
Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams |
| Main Contractor |
William Anelay Limited |
| Stone Type: |
Crosland Hill |
| Awards: |
Gold Award for Conservation at the RIBA Yorkshire White Rose Awards 2008 |
 
Fitting of the new floor commenced with the laying of the first of over 600m² of Crosland Hill dimensional paving.
St Anne’s was raised to Cathedral status in 1878 upon the creation of the Diocese of Leeds. Twenty years later it was clear that the days of this great church were numbered owing to Leeds Corporation’s plans for this part of town. At the end of 1899 it was formally announced that the Cathedral was to be compulsorily purchased and demolished. Several alternative sites for its replacement were considered but it was decided to accept the Corporation’s offer of land just yards from the existing church, at the junction of Cookridge Street and Great George Street. Construction of the present Cathedral began in the autumn of 1901 and was completed in the early part of 1904. The task of designing Leeds’ new Cathedral was given to a London architect, John Henry Eastwood (1843-1913), who had been born near Leeds. He in turn engaged the services of a talented assistant, Sydney Kyffin Greenslade (1866-1955). Together they produced an outstanding design in the Arts and Crafts neo-Gothic style with an unusual layout to accommodate the Cathedral’s relatively small city centre site. The eminent architectural historian, the late Patrick Nuttgens, once described Leeds Cathedral as "one of the best of all the Catholic Cathedrals in the country, and probably the most outstanding after Westminster". Crosland Hill was selected for a combination of its strengths in terms of structural integrity and subtle warm shades of light buff colouration. After the removal of the existing flooring, levels within the structure demanded a thin paving stone be used to lay over an under floor heating system. The job marks another example of the furthering relationship between Britain's architectural heritage, and one of the oldest suppliers of York stone in the UK.
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