Caption: A colour postcard of The Mansion dated 1904
One of the most famous and well-loved buildings in Leeds is to be given a special honour this week as The Mansion in Roundhay Park is awarded a Leeds Civic Trust Blue Plaque.
In a ceremony taking place at the Grade II-listed building off Mansion Lane at 11:30am on Wednesday 27th January, Leeds City Council executive member for Leisure Councillor John Procter will officially accept the historic blue plaque on behalf of the city of Leeds from the Leeds Civic Trust.
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All media are invited to attend the ceremony which will see the historic Mansion building being awarded a prestigious blue plaque by the Leeds Civic Trust. The cermoney will take place at the Mansion at 11.30am on Wednesday 27th Janaury.
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The plaque itself – only awarded to buildings of special importance or significance - has been inscribed with a brief history of Roundhay Park and The Mansion itself which dates back to 1815, and has been awarded to celebrate the successful reopening of the building last year after being closed for six years.
The grand reopening in August 2009 followed a major £8m restoration project carried out on the park and The Mansion carried out by Leeds City Council with major funding of £6.3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The council worked with operator Dine to restore The Mansion to its former glory, complete with a magnificent sweeping staircase, chandeliers and mahogany banister, and it is now one of the finest wedding venues in the region as well as offering a café-restaurant, meeting rooms and corporate event spaces.
Leeds City Council executive member for Leisure Councillor John Procter said:
“We are absolutely thrilled with the success of the restoration project to The Mansion and Roundhay Park itself, and this prestigious blue plaque award is a fantastic recognition of the history of this amazing building and all the hard work that went into restoring it back to its rightful grandeur. Now it is reopened The Mansion is going from strength to strength, and so I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of The Mansion and the city of Leeds.”
Ahead of the presentation of the blue plaque, Director of Leeds Civic Trust Kevin Grady said:
“The Trust is delighted that at last The Mansion has been splendidly refurbished so that Leeds people can once again enjoy eating and drinking in this landmark historic building. The Mansion was built by Thomas Nicholson in 1815 as the centrepiece of his wonderfully landscaped Roundhay estate.
“It was thanks to the acumen of John Barran, the mayor of Leeds, that this substantial part of the medieval hunting park, “the Round Hay” was acquired for the people of Leeds in 1871. Since then, Roundhay Park and the Mansion have become one of the great treasures of Leeds.”
The blue plaque for The Mansion has been sponsored by Daniel Gill, Managing Director of operator Dine, who said:
“The Mansion has a central place in beautiful Roundhay Park and the history of Leeds. It has been a real honour to be involved in the final stage of the restoration and to be able to work with Leeds City Council and our designers to ensure that this iconic building is able to offer the people of Leeds everything from a fun family lunch in the Garden Room restaurant to an elegant venue for weddings and celebrations in a memorable setting.”
For further information on The Mansion at Roundhay Park, visit the official website at http://www.dineinthemansion.co.uk/ or call 0345 450 4545.
Notes to editors:
The Mansion is an impressive regency country house, situated in 700 acres of woodland and water gardens at Roundhay Park, Leeds. The house was built in 1815 after architect John Clarke was commissioned to design it by the then owner of Roundhay Park, Thomas Nicholson.
The building and park were then acquired for the people of Leeds in 1871 by Mayor John Barran and The Mansion established local and national renown as a café restaurant, carvery and party venue and acknowledged as one of the very best historic city venues in the country.
The house was managed for over 120 years by the Gilpin family, the most famous of whom was Craven Gilpin. He pioneered professional outside catering from The Mansion and his reputation was such that King George V requested to meet him after a royal banquet at Leeds Town Hall in 1933.
After the Gilpin family relinquished their tenancy in 2003, Leeds City Council undertook a major assessment of the state of the house which found it to be in a serious state of disrepair, in need of major refurbishment, maintenance and repair.
In 2003, Leeds City Council with significant funding support from the Heritage Lottery Fund began a major £8million restoration scheme for the whole of Roundhay Park which included a multi-million pound restoration scheme for The Mansion. One of the principal aims of both the park and Mansion restoration was to make them both more family friendly and place the park as one of the foremost family attractions in Leeds and the wider region. The council’s refurbishment programme to the fabric of The Mansion was completed in 2007 and in January 2009 Dine carried out a programme to restore the building’s interior before its successful reopening in August 2009.
Leeds Civic Trust is a voluntary organisation which works in co-operatioon with the public and private sector to make Leeds a pleasant and welcoming place to "live, work and play". The Trust encourages good modern developments as well as ensuring the finest historical elements of the city are conserved. For further information visit the website at http://www.leedscivictrust.org.uk/
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For media enquiries please contact:
Roger Boyde,
Learning and Leisure Media Relations Officer,
Tel 0113 247 5472
Email: roger.boyde@leeds.gov.uk
