Assembly Rooms on Assembly Street provided the perfect venue for the nobility and gentry of Georgian Leeds thanks to its highly decorative ballroom and a suite of supper rooms and card rooms. It was built over the north wing of the Third White Cloth Hall and opened on June 9, 1777. Sir George Saville and Lady Effingham hosted the opening and the admission charge was half a guinea (52.5p) for one gentleman and two ladies. More than 200 people attended the event. It continued as a venue for evening entertainment and balls until the 1860s when the building became a Working Men's Institute and by the 1920s was renamed Waterloo House. This gallery of photos tells the fascinating story of the landmark building, located in the shadow of the Corn Exchange, which is still in use today. READ MORE: Watch - Secrets of Leeds Queens Hotel revealed including hidden tunnel LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia
1. Assembly Rooms
A colour drawing of the inside of the Assembly Rooms at the time when it was the hub of social life as part of the Third White Cloth Hall. The picture shows a ball in progress. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
2. Assembly Rooms
Assembly Rooms opened on June 9, 1777. Sir George Saville and Lady Effingham hosted the opening and the admission charge was half a guinea (52.5p) for one gentleman and two ladies. More than 200 people attended the event. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
3. Assembly Rooms
After being converted to a Working Mens Club it then became William Towler's Globe Foundry Warehouse as shown in this view from circa 1910. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
4. Assembly Rooms
The business seen here of L. Hirst & Son, Tobacco Merchants & Wholesale Tobacconists, occupied the building from 1923 and renamed it Waterloo House. Pictured circa 1973. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
5. Assembly Rooms
The building was home to Waterloo Antiques in the 1990s. | Roy Fox Photo: Roy Fox
6. Assembly Rooms
Workers view the ceiling during renovation work in November 1997. | Keith Lawson Photo: Keith Lawson