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A bolt out of the blue |
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Broderick then turned his attention to the commercial side of Leeds. His building for the corn exchange became the hub of the city's once-thriving grain trade.
The building, inspired by Paris's corn exchange, is oval in shape. Its domed glass roof allows light to flood into the building and onto the trading floor. This light enabled a corn merchant working at one of the 170 desks below to inspect the colour of the grain, without a shadow being cast.
Within a short time Broderick completed the third of his renowned buildings. The formidable Mechanics' Institute was built for the educational needs of Leeds's workforce.
It says much for the skills of Broderick that all three buildings are still in use. The town hall dominates the western end of the Headrow, and its four white stone lions still guard the sweeping steps of the entrance.
Even today, the town hall is a multi-purpose venue and is the home of the Leeds Leisure Services
The Mechanics' Institute now looks over the newly-created Millennium Square. Currently used as a theatre, the building is about to enter a new phase of its life as the city's new showpiece museum.
Corn is no longer traded at the exchange but from 1989 to 1990 it was transformed into a selection of designer shops and bars.
Despite dominating Leeds's skyline, Broderick was always a shadowy figure, and he did not design another building after retiring at the early age of 47. He moved first to France and then to the Channel Islands, where he died in 1905.
| Timeline | | 1822 |
born
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| 1837-1844 |
apprenticed to Lockwood
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| 1852 |
wins competition
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| 1853 |
first stone of town hall laid
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| 1858 |
official opening of town hall
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| 1863/4 |
Corn Exchange built
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| 1868 |
Mechanics Institute opened
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| 1869 |
retired
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| 1905 |
died
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Words: Trevor Gibbons
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