Wakefield County Hall

The first meeting of the West Riding County Council was held in February 1889 in Wakefield Town Hall, at the invitation of the Borough Council, but obviously a permanent home was needed without undue delay.

In November of the same year, the General Purposes Committee reported on the accommodation required and the question of location. The choice lay between Leeds and Wakefield, and on the whole the case for selecting Wakefield was felt to be the stronger.

The County Council already owned Rishworth House, in Bond Street, which the Magistrates had purchased in 1878 and converted to provide a residence for the Deputy Clerk, Committee Rooms and offices. Making additions to Rishworth House, it was estimated, would cost £16,500. Demolishing the building and replacing it with purpose-built County Offices was expected to cost twice as much. But erecting a building in Leeds would entail expenditure of some £48,500.

There was little to choose between the rival towns for accessibility. Of the 90 electoral divisions, 34 were more accessible by rail to Leeds; 38 to Wakefield; and 18 of equal accesibility. Since the County Council's administration was already located in Wakefield, a move to Leeds "would necessarily be attended with a considerable amount of trouble and expense".

The issue was deferred, on the grounds of cost, but growing congestion in staff working conditions forced its reopening in 1892, and the Council decided to remain in Wakefield.

The Council agreed to hold an open architectural competition, its first prize being £200. In the instructions to competitors it was indicated that "the style of architecture will be left to the competitors but the Queen Anne or Renaissance School of Architecture appears suited to an old town like 'Wakefield'.

The winning design under the pseudonym 'Diadem' was submitted by the architects James Gibson and Samuel Russell of Grays Inn Square, London. Some minor modifications were made including a decision to install electricity rather than gas (although no public supply was then available it was probably known that Wakefield Corporation was intending to set up electricity generation, which they did in 1896). Messrs. Young and Brown of London were appointed Quantity Surveyors in January 1894 and in July a tender was accepted from Messrs. Armitage and Hodgson of Camp Road, Leeds. It is interesting to note that the contract contained a fair wages clause, modelled on that used by Staffordshire as well as a ban on subcontracting to employees in sweated trades.

County Hall was built in the four years from 1894, being officially opened by the Marquess of Ripon on 22nd February 1898.

The original building was extended within a few years, with new wings being added between 1912 and 1915. The builder was George Crook of Wakefield.