Currer Briggs Memorial Hall: Grade II-listed memorial hall built in honour of Lord Mayor set to be converted into house

Plans have been submitted to Wakefield Council to transform Currer Briggs Memorial Hall, in Whitwood, into a private dwelling.

The Grade II-listed hall was built in memory of Arthur Currer Briggs, owner of Whitwood Colliery and a former Lord Mayor of Leeds, following his death in 1906.

According to documents, the property on Whitwood Common Lane has “fallen into a state of neglect”.

A planning statement said the building previously operated as an Italian restaurant which ceased trading “for reasons which are unknown”.

The report said: “The property remained unoccupied for a considerable amount of time and in this period it was subjected to vandalism and trespass which has caused a considerable amount of damage, much of which was internal.

“The theft of copper works internally meant that a flood ensued which caused damage to the majority of the existing timber floor and damp issues to the internal walls”.

The statement said the building had recently been bought by someone local to the area “with a view to ensuring that this asset is retained and brought back to a use”.

The proposal includes replacing rotten timber flooring, adding insulation to the roof space and making minor repairs to external walls before repainting the façade “to restore it back to its original state”.

The building is thought to have been designed by internationally-renowned architect Charles Voysey.

Voysey was also commissioned to design a miners’ institute and homes for pit workers nearby.

Whitwood Colliery was founded by Henry Briggs, Son & Company Ltd in the 1870s and was the first to have a profit-sharing scheme for his workers.

Arthur Currer Briggs took over the company following his father’s death in 1881.

In 1903, Briggs was elected Mayor of Leeds and in 1904 he became an alderman until his death aged 51, in 1906.