Parkinson Building

The Parkinson Building
Parkinson Building August 2017
General information
Architectural style	Art Deco and Campanile
Location	Leeds, West Yorkshire
Country	England
Coordinates	53°48′29″N 1°33′11″W / 53.808°N 1.553°W / 53.808; -1.553Coordinates: 53°48′29″N 1°33′11″W / 53.808°N 1.553°W / 53.808; -1.553
Construction started	1938
Completed	1951
Cost	£200,000+
Client	University of Leeds
Design and construction
Architect	Thomas Arthur Lodge and Thomas Geoffry Lucas

The Parkinson Building is a grade II listed art deco building and campanile located at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. The campanile is the highest point of the building and stands at 57 metres (187 ft) tall, making it the 17th-tallest building in the city of Leeds.

The building is named after Frank Parkinson, a major benefactor to the university, who donated £200,000 towards the cost of the new building. The building construction started in 1938; however the outbreak of World War II in 1939 halted building work, with construction resuming and finishing in 1951. The building was officially opened on 9 November 1951 by HRH the Princess Royal, Chancellor of the university from 1951 to 1965.

A prominent landmark in Leeds, the grade II listed tower can be seen for miles around the campus and from the M621 motorway some 12.1 miles (19.5 km) from the site, and has become emblematic of the university itself with Leeds incorporating the clock tower into the university logo in 2006.

The university approved plans for the new building early in the 20th century; it was designed by Thomas Arthur Lodge (a leading Scottish architect) and Thomas Geoffry Lucas (an English architect and Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects), whose works included the original Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and St Bartholomew's Hospital, London respectively.