THE BUILDING – the bricks & mortar

The former Headingley Hill Congregational Church building was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick (for more information, see website: www.leodis.net/discovery), the locally famous architect who was responsible for such significant buildings as Leeds Town Hall and The Corn Exchange. For this reason the building is of some importance and is now listed Grade II.

1864 to 1977:

• Building work started in 1864, the foundation stone being laid on 22 October by Mr Scholefield, and it was officially opened on 29 August 1866. The cost was £7,500 (today’s equivalent approximately £555,000).

• Electric lighting was introduced in February 1898, and a false roof was put into the building in 1901 but was subsequently removed in 1947.

• Rooms for the Sunday School were provided by Cumberland Lodge from 1929 to 1955; during World War II  (1939-45) these were rented by the Home Guard and also used as a boys’ school.

• In 1966 a new building was being planned due to possible road widening.
  

• The building remained a place of worship until 1978.

1977 to 1978:

• The building was placed on sale in February 1977; the last service was on 22 October 1978; the sale was completed on 20 December 1978 for £15,300 to a design and construction firm, Gillinson Partnership.

• The contents that were not required were sold and the money donated to charity.

• The carved and painted shields were taken to St Columba’s Church, Headingley

1978 to 1996:

• The Gillinson Partnership purchased the building and converted it for commercial use. GP House, as it was renamed, housed various small firms, including architects, consultants, and a physiotherapist’s consulting rooms.

• As The Gillinson Partnership needed to downsize in the mid-1990s, the building was put up for sale and purchased by The Trustees of City Church Leeds in January 1996 at a cost of £315,000.

1996 to date:

• Reverting to its original intended use as a place of worship, GP House became Ashwood Hall – the home of City Church Leeds.

• Refurbishment of the tower, which had fallen into some disrepair, was carried out in 2003/04 with the partial help of a grant from English Heritage and The Lottery Fund.

• January 2010 - Ashwood Hall was renamed Ashwood Centre to create a more community focused and modern feel.