Once a fine Weslyan Methodist chapel, today Leeds’ Templar House lies derelict – saved from demolition only thanks to its historic status as a Grade II listed building.
Still retaining remnants of its once-grand years, over the years, the building has had a number of different uses – most recently as an Amateur Youth Boxing Club in the early 1990s.
Originally built as a place of worship in the 1800s, it has since been used as an Army Recruitment Office, vacuum cleaner manufacturers, offices for the British Road Services, and an Unemployment Benefit Office.
Boarded up since the 90s, it continues to engender curiosity in those who walk past – leading one local explorer to find his way inside to see what is left of the historic site.
Due to a number of health and safety concerns, the site officially remains strictly off limits – but that didn’t stop local explorer Kyle Urbex from finding a way in and having a look around.
However, as the upper foundations of the structure are considered to be unsafe it has sat empty for some three decades now. As a result, the building is in something of a dilapidated state, to say the least.
Kyle’s mages show an old pool table buried beneath a thick layer of dust, as well as old lockers and curled, yellowing boxing certificates still pinned to cork notice boards harking back to better days when local champions still roamed Templar House’s halls.
The ceiling and walls have seriously deteriorated, particularly on the building’s upper floor, and the floors are just as decayed – coated in dirt and debris, likely the result of year’s worth of significant weather damage.
And yet, there’s still a certian macabre charm to the place. Graffiti sprawled on one wal in the bathrooms exclaims “you look beautiful!”, stairwells look bleak and bare, and one room is simply piled high with rubbish.
A building that will be known to anyone who lives in or around Leeds, it’s fascinating to have a are peek behind its brick and black boarding. Even if it’s in a seriously dilapidated state.
Feature image – Kyle Urbex
