Cuthbert Brodrick
| Cuthbert Brodrick | |
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Cuthbert Brodrick
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| Born | 1821 Kingston upon Hull |
| Died | 1905 Jersey, Channel Islands |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Leeds Town Hall, Grand Hotel, Scarborough |
Cuthbert Brodrick FRIBA (1 December 1821 – 2 March 1905) was a British architect, whose most famous building is Leeds Town Hall.
Brodrick was born in the Yorkshire port of Hull where his father was a well-to-do merchant and shipowner. He was the sixth son of ten children of John and Hannah Brodrick. The family lived at 39 George Street in the best residential area of Hull.
Brodrick attended Kingston College in Hull and, on leaving school, he became an articled pupil in the architectural practice of Henry Francis Lockwood whose premises were at 8 Dock Street. Brodrick remained at Lockwoods from 1837 until May 1844 when he embarked on the Grand Tour to continue his studies. He travelled through France to Rome in Italy. Whilst on the tour he studied the architecture of Second Empire in Paris which influenced his later designs.
When Brodrick returned to Hull in 1846, he was offered a partnership in Lockwood’s firm. He refused this, and set up in practice on his own at 1, Savile Street in Hull. He designed a number of local buildings in Hull including the Hull Royal Institution building and the Hull Town Hall.
In 1852, aged 29, Brodrick entered and won a competition for the design of Leeds Town Hall. The competition was judged by Charles Barry. The town hall was opened in September 1858 by Queen Victoria. Brodrick moved to an office at 30 Park Row, Leeds and acquired the nickname 'Town Hall, Leeds'. The iconic clock tower, which serves as a symbol of Leeds, was not part of Brodrick's initial design but was added when the civic leaders sought an even grander architectural statement.
His other important buildings in Leeds were the Leeds Corn Exchange (1860-3) and the Mechanic's Institute (1860-5) which became the Civic Theatre and in September 2008 the home of the Leeds City Museum. He altered the way central Leeds looked with just three buildings.
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