Once upon a time in Hull
Hull’s impressive Renaissance-style Town Hall opened in 1862 but lasted little more than 40 years before demolition to make way for the even grander Guild Hall of 1908. The competition to design Hull’s Town Hall was won in 1860 by native architect Cuthbert Brodrick. He had already designed Leeds Town Hall, a masterpiece that survives today. Brodrick’s portfolio also includes the Corn Exchange in Leeds and Scarborough’s impressive Grand Hotel. Some time after completing Hull’s Town Hall, Brodrick withdrew from practising architecture, moving to France to devote the rest of his life painting watercolours.
One fragment of Brodrick’s Town Hall survives in Hull: the cupola was saved and was re-erected in Pearson Park.
Once upon a time in Hull
Hull’s impressive Renaissance-style Town Hall opened in 1862 but lasted little more than 40 years before demolition to make way for the even grander Guild Hall of 1908. The competition to design Hull’s Town Hall was won in 1860 by native architect Cuthbert Brodrick. He had already designed Leeds Town Hall, a masterpiece that survives today. Brodrick’s portfolio also includes the Corn Exchange in Leeds and Scarborough’s impressive Grand Hotel. Some time after completing Hull’s Town Hall, Brodrick withdrew from practising architecture, moving to France to devote the rest of his life painting watercolours.
One fragment of Brodrick’s Town Hall survives in Hull: the cupola was saved and was re-erected in Pearson Park.