Designed in 1817 as a ‘genteel building of three stories…..containing two elegant shops with suitable apartments above for a, assembly room, library and reading room with a steeple in the centre.’ The porch and statue (‘The Wee Wallace’) were added in 1859 and commemorate William Wallace, Scots hero of the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

Image details
Date: 1 February 2026
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 18mm
Aperture: ƒ/3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/800s
ISO: 400
Licensing: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Image details
Date: 11 February 2024
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/1,250s
ISO: 25
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Image details
Date: 27 January 2024
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/413s
ISO: 25
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

From Wikipedia

Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built between 1853 and 1858 to a design by the architect Cuthbert Brodrick. With the building of the Civic Hall in 1933, some of these functions were relocated, and after the construction of the Leeds Combined Court Centre in 1993, the Town Hall now serves mainly as a concert, conference and wedding venue, its offices still used by some council departments. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1951.

Imagined as a municipal palace to demonstrate the power and success of Victorian Leeds, and opened by Queen Victoria in a lavish ceremony in 1858, it is one of the largest town halls in the United Kingdom. With a height of 225 feet (68.6 m) it was the tallest building in Leeds for 108 years from 1858 until 1966, when it lost the title to the Park Plaza Hotel, which stands 26 feet (8 m) taller at 253 feet (77 m). The distinctive baroque clock tower, which serves as a landmark and a symbol of Leeds, was not part of the initial design but was added by Brodrick in 1856 as the civic leaders sought to make an even grander statement.

The project to build the Town Hall came about as Leeds underwent rapid growth and industrialisation during the 19th century, helped by a desire to compete with Bradford and symbolise Leeds’s dominance within the region. Proceedings began in July 1850, carried through by a dedicated committee of the Town Council, which held a competition selecting the relatively unknown Brodrick to prepare a design, with construction underway by July 1853. The building cost much more than the original estimates due to rising prices and constant additions to its design throughout construction.

The form of Leeds Town Hall has been used as a model for civic buildings across Britain and the British Empire, being one of the largest and earliest. As a key heritage asset for the city, its history as a court and prison is demonstrated in guided tours for the public. Several recurring cultural events use the Town Hall as a performance space, such as the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Image details
Date: 26 December 2022
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 18mm
Aperture: ƒ/4
Shutter Speed: 1/1,000s
ISO: 250
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Originally one of the worlds earliest lending libraries, it then became the offices of the Stag Line shipping company, a bar, and later the local Register Office.

Image details
Date: 11 December 2022
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 18mm
Aperture: ƒ/4
Shutter Speed: 1/1,000s
ISO: 220
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Image Details
Date: 3 October 2018
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Tamron 70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Focal Length: 70mm
Aperture: ƒ/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1,250s
ISO: 200
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Image Details
Date: 3 October 2018
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 48mm
Aperture: ƒ/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1,250s
ISO: 200
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Image Details
Date: 8 September 2018
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 55mm
Aperture: ƒ/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/400s
ISO: 800
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

From Wikipedia:

Newcastle Civic Centre is a municipal building in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Designed by George Kenyon the centre was built for Newcastle City Council in 1967 and formally opened by King Olav V of Norway on 14 November 1968. It is a Grade II* listed building and is the joint eighth-tallest building in the city, standing at 200 feet (61 m).

River God Tyne, with the seahorse heads on top of the tower in the background
The civic centre was commissioned to replace a Victorian Town Hall which stood in St Nicholas Square (between the Bigg Market and the Cloth Market). Plans to build a new city hall on the site at Barras Bridge had been proposed prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, to the point of holding an architectural competition, although these were halted by the war; and due to post-war restrictions on capital expenditure, it was not until August 1956 that authorisation to begin construction was granted. During the interim period, the demolition of houses and a former Eye Hospital on the intended site was implemented. The building was designed by the city architect, George Kenyon.

The construction work, which was undertaken by Sir Robert McAlpine, commenced on the building in May 1960, and the foundation stone was laid by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Mrs Gladys Robson, on 30 November 1960. The total construction cost was £4,855,000. The building was completed in 1967 and was formally opened by King Olav V of Norway on 14 November 1968. On 6 May 1977, the Civic Centre was visited by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter, who delivered a speech famously containing the Geordie phrase “Howay the lads!” A stone commemorating the event was placed in the Civic Centre grounds.

The council leader’s office was used as a filming location by a Japanese production team in 2014 for a drama set in 1960s Tokyo.

The Civic Centre is also notable for its modern sculptures, in particular the River God Tyne and Swans in Flight, both by David Wynne and the seahorses on the top of the tower by John Robert Murray McCheyne. The cashiers reception of the former rates hall, now the Customer Service Centre, has two abstract murals by Victor Pasmore.

Image Details
Date: 11 February 2018
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 23mm
Aperture: ƒ/10
Shutter Speed: 1/250s
ISO: 320
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

From Historic England:

TYNEMOUTH HOWARD STREET (west side) NZ 3568 SE 14/81 North Shields 24.10.85 No. 1 G.V. II Subscription library, now offices. 1806-07 for the Tynemouth Literary and Philosophical Society. Sandstone ashlar with roll-moulded plinth; rusticated ground floor; brick returns and rear; Welsh slate roof with flat stone gable coping and end brick chimneys. 2 storeys, 1:3:1 bays, the central section under pediment. Central 6-panelled door in pedimented Tuscan doorcase with fluted frieze; pilasters & entablature in similar style to flanking windows; tall Venetian window in Ionic Order above flanked by roundel in pediment; voussoirs to 2 ground-floor sash windows in end bays; single window with plain stone lintel above. All first-floor sashes have margin lights; sill bands. Similar sashes in left return gable and large roundel in gable peak. Historical note: roundels formerly contained clocks. Source: Newcastle Chronicle 7th November 1807.

Image Details
Date: 29 July 2017
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 18mm
Aperture: ƒ/10
Shutter Speed: 1/320s
ISO: 200
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International