Temple Works
James Coombe, a former pupil of John Rennie, designed Temple Works alongside painter David Roberts and architect Joseph Bonomi the Younger. The structure rose between 1836 and 1840 for industrialist John Marshall in Holbeck, Leeds. It housed a massive 240 horsepower double-beam engine built by Benjamin Hick of B. Hick and Sons. The building stands as the only Grade I listed structure in Holbeck today. Its stone facade features 18 full-height windows separated by 18 pillars. An overhanging cornice defines the Egyptian style based on the temple at Antaeopolis and the Temple of Horus at Edfu. The factory section derived its design from the Typhonium at Dendera. A chimney originally stood in the shape of an obelisk until it cracked and was replaced by brickwork in 1852. Inside the engine room, a regulator designed by Benjamin Hick appeared as a winged solar disk. This detail replaced older Watt engines that had previously powered the site.
The opening of the factory occurred in June 1840 with a Temperance Tea for 2,600 workers. Six months later machinery installation finished and production began. Underground brick vaulted cellars contained passageways leading to tradesmen shops and private baths. Workers could access cold baths freely or pay one penny for hot water. A fan pushed steam-heated air into the main hall to maintain constant temperature and humidity. Light poured through about 60 conical glass skylights each measuring 14 feet in diameter. These skylits rose 10 feet above the roof to illuminate every hour of the day. An unusual feature involved sheep grazing on the grass-covered roof. Their presence retained humidity needed to keep linen thread from drying out. Since sheep cannot climb stairs, engineers devised the first hydraulic lift to move them upward. William Hick supervised the installation of the Egyptian beam engine during 1841 though his father Benjamin may have invented the technology earlier. The building was once said to be the biggest single room in the world when constructed.
On the 11th of August 1871 six hundred operatives at Water Lane mills staged a strike demanding a ten percent pay rise. Manager John Richardson threatened the strikers before closing all mills the following day. Stephen Marshall identified Temple Mill as containing bad workers compared to other sites. He proposed publicly dismissing the foreman to ruin him professionally. Family members persuaded Stephen to reopen the mills and negotiate instead. Talks dragged on for days while the Leeds Mercury published articles contrasting worker poverty with Marshall family luxury. A ten percent wage increase was finally conceded after a family meeting. The family decided to deal with troublemakers at Temple Mill in the long term. The mill became caught up in Plug Riots during August 1842. An excited mob armed with bludgeons and stones crammed the vicinity of the new mill. They forced down the yard door leading to boilers but could not find the plug to stop production. Two or three ringleaders were taken prisoner by Prince George with the Lancers. The riot act was read and the crowd left without causing serious mischief.
The Marshall firm operated longer than most Leeds competitors before eventually closing in 1886. It recorded losses in twenty-one out of its last forty years of existence. By the late 1870s Temple Mill had been sub-let and ceased being a net expense. All assets including the building were sold by auction in 1886. James Marshall originally planned a single storey structure costing £24,000 which proved fifteen percent cheaper than alternatives. The new building only reached half the size he had forecasted. It contained only half the spindles it could have housed. Extra yarn produced turned into thread rather than cloth as planned. No cloth was ever woven due to slumps in demand for finished products during the 1840s. Flax spinners lost their competitive edge because free trade allowed rivals from Ireland France and Belgium to compete more effectively. Demand for linen drastically reduced as cotton replaced it entirely. Day-to-day control passed to manager John Richardson who hired friends and relations earning between 300 and 500 pounds annually each.
A planning application dated July 2005 proposed demolishing part of the mill to create retail offices cafes flats and parking spaces. On the 8th of December 2008 a stone pillar collapsed sending millstone grit onto Marshall Street pavement. English Heritage described the facade as probably the finest carved stone elevation in the whole region. Burberry announced plans to use the site for manufacturing in November 2015 but abandoned them in 2017 after Brexit. The building went up for auction with a starting price of one pound. New buyer CEG estimated restoration costs at thirty-five million pounds by June 2019. In March 2020 officials announced consideration of Temple Works as a Northern branch of the British Library. The government budget promised twenty-five million pounds toward restoration for library use. February 2025 saw confirmation of an additional ten million pounds funding Homes England to bring the building into public ownership. Over one million pounds from Culture Recovery Fund supported repair work alongside Historic England. The building appeared in a 1968 BBC film called John Betjeman Discovers Leeds about city architecture. It opened as an arts centre in late 2009 during Leeds Light Night on the 9th of October.
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Common questions
Who designed Temple Works in Holbeck?
James Coombe, a former pupil of John Rennie, designed Temple Works alongside painter David Roberts and architect Joseph Bonomi the Younger. The structure rose between 1836 and 1840 for industrialist John Marshall in Holbeck, Leeds.
When did the factory section of Temple Works open to workers?
The opening of the factory occurred in June 1840 with a Temperance Tea for 2,600 workers. Six months later machinery installation finished and production began.
Why were sheep kept on the roof of Temple Works?
An unusual feature involved sheep grazing on the grass-covered roof because their presence retained humidity needed to keep linen thread from drying out. Since sheep cannot climb stairs, engineers devised the first hydraulic lift to move them upward.
What happened during the Plug Riots at Temple Works in August 1842?
The mill became caught up in Plug Riots during August 1842 when an excited mob armed with bludgeons and stones crammed the vicinity of the new mill. They forced down the yard door leading to boilers but could not find the plug to stop production before two or three ringleaders were taken prisoner by Prince George with the Lancers.
How much funding was confirmed for Temple Works restoration in February 2025?
February 2025 saw confirmation of an additional ten million pounds funding Homes England to bring the building into public ownership. Over one million pounds from Culture Recovery Fund supported repair work alongside Historic England.