Our home · Kirkgate, Leeds
First White
Cloth Hall.
A room with a place in Leeds’ story. Opened in 1711 for the city’s cloth trade, First White Cloth Hall is now home to Moods: coffee, brunch, cocktails and occasions in a setting shaped by centuries of use.
Come and spend some time
1711 · A place to trade
From cloth to company.
First White Cloth Hall opened on 29 May 1711. It gave merchants selling undyed cloth a covered place to trade, following the cloth market on Briggate. Historic England records the building’s role as Leeds’ first cloth hall and its Grade II* listing.
The hall’s wings formed a courtyard. Trade once linked this part of Kirkgate with the warehouses and wharves around The Calls; later uses included shops, an alehouse and houses. The building changed with the city around it.
Our home is the First White Cloth Hall on Kirkgate. The later Third White Cloth Hall was built on Crown Street. For the historic record, see Historic England’s list entry 1375042.
Restoration · A future for the hall
Care in every layer.
The hall had fallen into disrepair before its restoration. In March 2019, Leeds City Council announced work to bring back the west wing, cover the courtyard with an atrium and renew the shopfront. Rushbond, Buttress Architects and H.H. Smith worked on the project alongside the council and heritage organisations.
Buttress describes conserving surviving brick and stone, incorporating salvaged oak trusses and introducing a new internal structure. The covered, top-lit courtyard allows the building’s earlier form to remain visible. The architect records the overall project as completed in 2021; H.H. Smith records its construction contract as February 2019–November 2020.
Those layers are part of the experience today. Historic fabric and contemporary interventions sit together, giving the hall a continuing purpose.
Today · Moods
A beautiful room,
made to be used.
There is no single way to spend time here. Start with coffee, stay for brunch or lunch, meet for cocktails, or bring people together for a celebration. Moods occupies First White Cloth Hall at 98 Kirkgate, Leeds LS2 7DJ.
Brunch is served 8am–4pm, coffee 8am–6pm and bar snacks noon–9pm. Browse our current menus, plan your visit, or discover what’s on.
For an occasion of your own, explore private events at Moods. Groups of up to 12 can book a table online; for 13 or more, speak with our events team.
Explore the story
Sources & further reading.
- Historic England: First Leeds Cloth Hall, list entry 1375042 — designation, early use and opening date.
- Leeds City Council: restoration announcement, 13 March 2019 — the scheme and organisations involved.
- Buttress: First White Cloth Hall project — conservation approach and completed restoration.
- H.H. Smith: First White Cloth Hall — construction work and contract dates.
- Rushbond: First White Cloth Hall — developer’s project account of the restored building and its reuse.
- Rex Procter: First White Cloth Hall, Leeds — quantity surveying services and the reconstruction and conservation work.
Historical facts checked against these sources on 12 October 2026. Photography shown here is Moods website imagery, approved for press coverage of Moods. For downloads, credits and media enquiries, visit our press resources.