 So the cloth hall for the sale of white (undyed) cloth was built on Kirkgate on a site provided by Lord Irvine of Temple Newsam with £1,000 given by merchants and tradesmen.It was 'built upon Pillars and Arches in the form of an Exchange, with a Quadrangular Court within'.Despite its importance to the industrial heritage of Leeds and to the industrial revolution in general, the first White Cloth Hall in Kirkgate has stood growing increasingly derelict for many years surrounded by scaffolding and safety hoardings.