Enterprise Panel - Town Hall

Back with Cuthbert Brodrick, his Town Hall is on the Enterprise panel. This was one of the first four panels, completed before we had the technology to scan each of the embroideries before they were stitched to the background. Hopefully the four will be taken out of their frames to get more detailed photographs which could be posted on the blog.

The Town Hall in the night sky was made in applique by Sue Hodgson. This corner of the panel represents the Valentine Fair which used to be held around the Headrow and City Library.

Quoting Building News in 1858 'Profuse in its adornments, it represents an age in which wealth has passed beyond simple comfort to the enjoyment of luxury. It speaks of abundance and displays it'.

The Town Hall was opened by Queen Victoria on 7th September 1858. As with public buildings constructed nowadays, it cost almost four times the original amount but it elevated Leeds into a town with confidence and civic pride. The original plan did not include a clock tower but the civic leaders insisted this should be added, making the building the tallest in Leeds - a record which apparently was unbroken until 1966.

Nine years after the building had been completed the lions were added. The work of William Day Keyworth they walk around the building each night as the clock strikes midnight, before returning to their plinths. Now that's something worth seeing.

Enterprise Panel

When the Enterprise panel was started, in 1993, along with the Legal and Financial Panels, the project had a series of empty shops or office buildings in the recently refurbished Victoria Quarter to use as a showroom for the work.

Originally this panel was to represent Leeds as a great shopping centre and a 24 hour city, the design concentrating on the Victoria Quarter. Unfortunately not many of the retailers were willing to sponsor pieces, the exceptions being Samuel Taylors, Burton Group (Arcadia) and Harvey Nichols.

Unlike the Local Faces panel where the people are walking down a clearly identifiable street, Albion Place, the Enterprise panel has an amalgam of buildings from around the city. The Hotel Metropole, The Queens and the Market in the foreground; Samuel Taylors, Norwich Union and the Town Hall in the distance.

By the time the panel was ready for construction, the project had moved into the burling room at Armley Mills. Freda Copley, Sue and Sarah Hodgson were the three mainly responsible for putting all the pieces onto the background, finishing off the whole effect with silks and nets, bringing life to the panel.

The panel was unveiled 29 April 1997.

I'm not sure of the quality of images of the individual pieces on this and three other panels. We have huge high quality pre-digital photographs of the whole panels but they were made in the days before we had computers and each individual piece was not scanned.

The Legal Sector - Leeds Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms is made up of a collage of different techniques by several people, just like the composition itself is an amalgam of other coats of arms.

I've lifted this description straight from the old Leodis site

In 1626 a Royal Charter of Charles I incorporated the Borough of Leeds when the wealthy Sir John Savile, MP for Yorkshire, was elected the first council member of the Borough. The coat-of-arms displayed a fleece, supported by silver owls on a blue field. The fleece represented the staple trade of the town whilst the supporters came from the arms of Sir John. Sir John had recently become a landowner in Leeds and he gave some land in Headingley for building a church, which became the first St.Michael's in Headingley.

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1662 the chief inhabitants of the town petitioned Charles II for a new charter. The charter was granted on the 2nd November that year. With this charter the chief citizen became the mayor of the town. The first mayor of the town was Thomas Danby whose arms included three mullets argent, or three silver five-pointed stars to you and me. The stars were added to the arms.

The arms were not settled until 1836 when the Leeds Corporation was reconstituted under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and the Borough Seal now comprised the full complement of blue shield, owl supporters, the crest and the motto, 'pro rege et lege' An important citizen of Leeds in 1920 was Alderman Sir Charles Wilson MP, a Freeman of Leeds and London. He was concerned about the legality of the coat-of-arms as it was not registered at the College of Heralds. It was decided to submit the matter to the College. His Majesty's Officers at Arms altered the colour of the owls to 'proper', that being the proper colour of owls.

The arms received the sanction of the College on the 7th November 1921. Above the shield is the closed helmet used by Civic Authorities with a crest-wreath and covering in the principal colours of the arms, gold and blue.

The full coat is now described in heraldic terminology as: Shield: azure, a fleece or, on a chief sable three mullets argent; Crest: on a wreath or and azure, an owl proper; Supporters: an owl proper ducally crowned; Motto: 'Pro rege et Lege'.

The three owls were embroidered by Audrey Gabbitas in a variety of techniques. The wings are canvaswork, the bodies hand embroidered and padded, the feet made of wire and wrapped with perle thread and the crowns are gold leather. The lamb and stars by Colleen Nicoll and the helmet and plume by Anne Darch were all appliqued. Kate Russell and Sue Hodgson hand embroidered the ribbon.

Spectacular.

There's a very interesting article here about the owls of Leeds, apparently they are European Eagle Owls