Adams & Kelly
A nineteenth-century Leeds architectural partnership associated with Gothic Revival churches, schools, and civic buildings across northern England.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Adams & Kelly was a Victorian architectural practice based at 18 Park Row in Leeds, Yorkshire. It was formed as a partnership between Richard Life Adams (1840–1883) and John Kelly (1840–1904), who worked principally on ecclesiastical, educational, and civic commissions. The practice is associated with the Gothic Revival, a nineteenth-century architectural movement that used medieval forms, pointed arches, stone construction, towers, and ecclesiastical detailing in new buildings. The partnership’s best-known Leeds commission was the former Church Institute at the corner of Albion Place and Lands Lane. Constructed between 1866 and 1868, the building was designed as an educational and cultural institution. Historical descriptions record that it included an 800-seat lecture hall, a library holding 10,000 volumes, and walls decorated with frescoes depicting saints. The building was later adapted for commercial and retail use in 1980, illustrating the continued reuse of one of the firm’s principal surviving civic works. Adams & Kelly designed or contributed to a substantial group of churches in Leeds and other parts of northern England. Their ecclesiastical work included St John, Newtown, Leeds; St Matthew, Kingston upon Hull; Holy Trinity, Armley Hall; Christ Church, Gateshead; Christ Church, Upper Armley; and St Mary Magdalene, Altofts. The practice also designed St Martin’s Church at Potternewton, Leeds, built between 1879 and 1881. The Potternewton scheme used stone from local quarries and originally envisaged a tall steeple. Construction of its tower began in 1897, but the steeple could not be completed after weakness was found in the foundations. The firm’s work extended beyond Yorkshire. Adams & Kelly were involved in the design of All Saints, South Acton, London, and collaborated with Alfred Jackson Martin of Darlington and Eugene C. Clephan of Stockton-on-Tees on St Peter’s Church in Stockton. They also prepared plans in 1885 for a new St Paul’s Church at Shireshead near Forton in Lancashire. That proposal was not carried forward; a replacement church, St James’, was subsequently designed by Kelly & Birchall and built between 1887 and 1890. The partnership’s continuity was affected by Adams’s death in 1883. In 1886, Kelly entered a new partnership with Edward Birchall under the name Kelly & Birchall. This later practice completed some work connected with projects begun during the Adams & Kelly period, including St Mary of Bethany in New Wortley, Leeds. The church was completed in 1885, had a 135-foot spire and a brick-lined interior, and was later demolished in 1975. Adams & Kelly also had a connection to the next generation of architectural practice through John Leeming, who worked as an assistant in the office. In 1872, Leeming entered partnership with his brother Joseph as Leeming & Leeming, the practice responsible for Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rùm in Scotland. Adams & Kelly therefore occupy a place in the professional history of Victorian Leeds both through their own buildings and through the architects trained or employed in their office. As a historical practice rather than a continuing commercial brand, the firm is best understood through its built legacy and its influence on nineteenth-century ecclesiastical architecture.
History
Adams & Kelly was a Leeds-based architectural partnership of Richard Life Adams and John Kelly, both born in 1840. The firm operated from 18 Park Row and produced designs during the major expansion of Victorian religious, educational, and civic construction. Its work is particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture and with the development of churches and institutional buildings in Leeds and surrounding regions. Among the partnership’s principal civic projects was the Church Institute at the junction of Albion Place and Lands Lane in Leeds. Built from 1866 to 1868, it combined public education and cultural functions. The building contained a large lecture hall, a substantial library, and decorative frescoes. It was later converted to commercial and retail use in 1980. The firm’s church commissions included St John, Newtown, Leeds, built in 1866–1868; St Matthew, Kingston upon Hull, built in 1870; Holy Trinity, Armley Hall, built in 1870–1872; All Saints, South Acton, built in 1871–1872; Christ Church, Gateshead, built in 1868–1873; Christ Church, Upper Armley, built in 1869–1874; and St Mary Magdalene, Altofts, whose construction extended from 1873 to 1890. Adams & Kelly also designed St Martin’s Church at Potternewton, Leeds, constructed between 1879 and 1881. A tower was begun in 1897, but the planned steeple was not completed because of foundation weakness. The partners collaborated with Alfred Jackson Martin and Eugene C. Clephan on St Peter’s Church in Stockton, built from 1878 to 1881. In 1885, they prepared plans for St Paul’s Church at Shireshead near Forton, but that scheme was abandoned in favor of St James’, which was later designed by Kelly & Birchall. The related St Mary of Bethany in New Wortley, Leeds, was completed under Kelly & Birchall in 1885 and was demolished in 1975. Adams died in 1883. Three years later Kelly formed the successor partnership Kelly & Birchall with Edward Birchall. The Adams & Kelly name consequently belongs to a historical practice rather than an active modern firm. Its professional legacy also includes John Leeming, who served as an assistant before forming Leeming & Leeming with his brother Joseph in 1872. That later practice designed and constructed Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rùm in Scotland.
- 1980
Former Church Institute converted
[1]The former Church Institute in Leeds was adapted for commercial and retail use.
- 1897
Tower work at St Martin’s encounters foundation problems
[1]Work began on the tower of St Martin’s, Potternewton, but the planned tall steeple could not be completed after weakness developed in the foundations.
- 1886
John Kelly forms Kelly & Birchall
[1]John Kelly entered a new partnership with Edward Birchall, marking the continuation of his architectural career under a different practice name.
- 1885
Plans for St Paul’s at Shireshead
[1]The partnership prepared plans for a new St Paul’s Church near Forton, but the proposal was later shelved.
- 1883
Death of Richard Life Adams
[1]Richard Life Adams died, ending the original partnership structure with John Kelly.
- 1879
St Martin’s Church, Potternewton
[1]Construction of St Martin’s Church at Potternewton began under an Adams & Kelly design and continued through 1881.
- 1878
St Peter’s Church, Stockton
[1]Adams & Kelly collaborated with Alfred Jackson Martin and Eugene C. Clephan on St Peter’s Church in Stockton, built between 1878 and 1881.
- 1868
Early church commissions completed or advanced
[1]The firm’s work included St John, Newtown, Leeds, and the continuing development of Christ Church, Gateshead.
- 1866
Church Institute work begins in Leeds
[1]The former Church Institute at Albion Place and Lands Lane was constructed between 1866 and 1868 as a major educational and cultural building associated with Adams & Kelly.
Products and positioning
A Victorian regional architectural practice focused on ecclesiastical, educational, and civic commissions, with a substantial body of work in the Gothic Revival tradition.
Civic and educational architecture · 1866
Former Church Institute, Leeds
A Gothic Revival institutional building at the corner of Albion Place and Lands Lane, constructed between 1866 and 1868. It was designed to support lectures, reading, and public education, with an 800-seat lecture hall, a library reported to contain 10,000 volumes, and religious fresco decoration. The building was converted to commercial and retail use in 1980.
Church architecture · 1879
St Martin’s Church, Potternewton
A stone church just off Chapeltown Road in Leeds, designed by Adams & Kelly and built between 1879 and 1881. The original scheme included a tall steeple. Tower construction began in 1897, but foundation weakness prevented completion of the intended steeple.
Church architecture · 1866
St John’s Church, Newtown, Leeds
An Adams & Kelly ecclesiastical commission in Leeds, constructed between 1866 and 1868 and representative of the firm’s Gothic Revival church work.
Church architecture · 1878
St Peter’s Church, Stockton
A church designed collaboratively by Adams & Kelly with Alfred Jackson Martin of Darlington and Eugene C. Clephan of Stockton-on-Tees. It was built between 1878 and 1881.
Church architecture · 1873
St Mary Magdalene Church, Altofts
A West Yorkshire church associated with Adams & Kelly and built over the period from 1873 to 1890.
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