Round Foundry

Round Foundry
Representation of the Round Foundry and rotunda from Water Lane in the 19th century
General information
Town or city	Holbeck, Leeds
Construction started	1795–1797
Awards and prizes	Yorkshire Urban Renaissance Awards 2005 RICS Regeneration Awards 2005 RIBA Yorkshire White Rose Awards 2005.
References
Designations Listed Building – Grade II

Coordinates: 53°47′29″N 1°33′11″W / 53.79139°N 1.55306°W / 53.79139; -1.55306

The Round Foundry is a former engineering works off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

The Round Foundry was built in 1795–1797 by a partnership of James Fenton (1754–1834), Matthew Murray, David Wood and the financier William Lister, trading as Fenton, Murray and Wood, (later Fenton, Murray and Jackson). It was at the Round Foundry that Matthew Murray made his name as a great engineer. He produced textile machinery, steam engines and the first locomotives for the Middleton Railway including Salamanca. The Round Foundry developed to become one of the world's first specialist engineering foundries.

Disaster struck in 1875 when fire destroyed some of the original buildings, including the large rotunda that gave the Round Foundry its name. Some buildings were saved, the earliest of which dates from 1798. There are a total of 7 listed buildings in the Round Foundry complex. These include the Dry Sand Foundry, the Green Sand Foundry and 101 Water Lane.