Leeds Park Square, Corn Exchange, St. John the Evangelist Church

This morning in Leeds, England, proved to be a lazy one. At first, it was just a theory, but the clear evidence of its laziness was conclusive.

I sat for a spell in Park Square, visited the Leeds Corn Exchange, and took in St. John the Evangelist Church.

Lazy mornings (and afternoons) seem to be becoming more common as I age. However, today, geriatric lethargy shares the blame for my indolence with the fact that I was running out of specific things that I know of to see and do in Leeds.

If forced to pick a highlight of the morning, I’d say it was St. John the Evangelist Church. But let’s proceed in the chronological order I saw them, shall we? That puts St. John the Evangelist Church last, so please bear with me. The other two sights were enjoyable, too.

Park Square

The Leeds authorities, or whoever named Park Square, were brilliantly inventive, weren’t they? Park Square is a park that’s also a square in the public-square sense of the word “square.” But they didn’t feel bound by the geometric definition of the word. It’s a rectangle.

Park Square is a small, peaceful space with beds of roses still blooming in late September. It also has lots of lawn space, trees and wooden benches.

The benches are well-proportioned with Joel-approved heights and depths. How could I not sit for a spell? There are myriad ways I could have not sat there, but I ignored them all and enjoyed the park for a while.

Mostly three-story, 18th-century, adjoining red-brick residential buildings occupy the blocks on the other side of the streets surrounding Park Square. It’s all quite charming.

If you look closely at the picture I posted, you can see a tower poking up behind the buildings on the far side of the park. The tower appeared much clearer and closer in person.

I didn’t recognize the tower. I should have. I passed it a couple of times yesterday. I walked there after I left Park Square.

It’s the tower of the Leeds Town Hall. The town hall is not to be confused with the Leeds Civic Hall, which I walked to yesterday. That is to say, it might be confused with it because the names are similar, but it shouldn’t because they’re entirely different buildings a few blocks apart.

You might be amazed by what is in the Leeds Town Hall. Or you might not. I wouldn’t know. The DLJSSIA (Don’t Let Joel See Stuff International Association) is busy pretending to renovate the building. Construction hoarding surrounds the base.

Leeds Corn Exchange

The Leeds Corn Exchange was opened in 1864. Based on the name, I assume it was a place where people exchanged corn. That seems rather strange to me.

Of course, I imagine that’s not what went on at the Leeds Corn Exchange. Traders probably bought and sold contracts for large quantities of corn. I only imagine that because I’m far too lazy and far too disinterested to research it.

I don’t know when the Leeds Corn Exchange stopped being a corn exchange. But sometime after the building was sold in the 1980s, it started exchanging new and vintage clothes, jewellery, knickknacks and services in small establishments referred to in technical parlance as shops.

Despite no longer being used to exchange corn, the building retained its name.

The Leeds Corn Exchange is an oval-shaped stone building. The interior is largely an atrium that soars from the ground floor up to the second floor and beyond that to the high, curved roof.

A circular hole, roughly half the size of the building, is cut in the ground floor to partly extend the atrium down to the subterranean level.

The small shops, which are all independent outlets, hug the perimeter of each floor. There’s a small café on the portion of the ground floor that’s not cut away.

When I was there, a series of foldable tables filled the atrium space in the basement. Plastic bins with vinyl phonograph records for sale sat on the tables. This is not a regular feature of the Leeds Corn Exchange. A sign said that the record sale was on during three weekends, one in each of three months.

St. John the Evangelist Church

St. John the Evangelist Church is the oldest surviving church in central Leeds. However, it’s no longer used as a church.

It was built between 1632 and 1634. A wealthy merchant, John Harrison, funded the construction.

Hmm. John Harrison. I’m sure it was just a coincidence that, of all of the possible saints, he chose to dedicate the church to St. John. But never mind that.

According to a sign by the church, Leeds almost lost St. John the Evangelist Church in the 1860s. There was then a proposal to demolish it. But two architects argued successfully for its retention.

The church was restored in the late 19th century. Currently, it’s maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust.

St. John the Evangelist Church is a charming stone church with a clock tower attached to one end. The interior is rectangular, with dark wood pews. A lovely screen, which consists of a low wall with two openings in it and carved spindles above the wall, separates the two side-by-side altar areas from the nave. The screen is made of the same colour wood as the pews, and it includes two large crests above its openings.

Subdued stained glass windows grace the walls.

If you’re in Leeds and planning to visit St. John the Evangelist Church, consult its website first. It’s currently open only on Saturdays and only from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. I can’t promise that will never change. Fortunately, today is Saturday. (I was going to go yesterday, but I was clever enough to check the website before going. I’m not often that clever, but every once in a while a suprise myself.

So ended my morning—and this entry.

More pictures from inside St. John the Evangelist Church: