One of greig + stephenson's original market projects, Leeds Kirkgate 1904 refurbishment and redevelopment was an early lesson on the intricacies and complexities of market-led projects. The level of engagement and detail required to satisfy the heritage needs of the building, and the contemporary needs of the traders, was enlightening at the time.
Heritage restored, market renewed
Built in 1904, Leeds Kirkgate Market Hall is the centrepiece of the largest indoor market in Europe. It is also where Michael Marks first set up his penny bazaar stall – the beginning of what would become Marks & Spencer. For G+S, working on a building of this significance was both a privilege and a responsibility.
The work included a new glazed entrance to announce the market’s presence on the street, a reconfigured internal layout to improve circulation and sight lines, and new market stall designs developed in direct consultation with traders. The result was a market that felt genuinely modern and functional without compromising its historic character.
“An architectural highlight of Leeds.”
The Victorian Society's West Yorkshire Group
A building given a new status
The care taken in the renovation was formally recognised when the Kirkgate Market Hall was promoted from Grade II to Grade I listed status – one of only a small percentage of listed buildings in England to hold that designation, reserved for structures of exceptional interest.
The Victorian Society commended the restoration work, noting the ornate iron and glass 1904 hall as an architectural highlight of Leeds. The project was subsequently nominated for a Civic Trust Award. For G+S it confirmed something the practice had long believed – that the most sustainable thing you can do with a historic building is make it worth using again.
History In Context
A civic landmark since 1904
The original entrance to Leeds City Markets, photographed shortly after the building opened in 1904. The ornate stone arch, decorative ironwork gates and carved facade were a deliberate statement of civic ambition, a city announcing its importance through the quality of its public buildings. The fleur de lis detail visible in the arch above the gates remains part of the building’s fabric to this day. When we began our restoration work, this was the standard we were working to preserve.
2. Where Marks met Spencer
Leeds Kirkgate Market is where Michael Marks set up his original penny bazaar stall in 1884, the modest beginning of what would become one of Britain’s most iconic retail brands. The reconstructed Marks and Spencer stall still stands inside the market today as a nod to that history. It is a reminder that markets have always been where ideas start, where enterprise begins, and where communities come to life – exactly the kind of place G+S has spent thirty years working to protect and reimagine.
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