White Cloth Hall Leeds: Owners of Whitelock's Ale House to transform 'iconic' building into new food and drink hall

Located just behind the Corn Exchange, the three units in White Cloth Hall will be combined and transformed into the exciting new concept, which will champion Leeds’ independent food and drink scene.

White Cloth Hall is the latest project from Whitelock’s managing director and co-founder of Five Points Brewing, Ed Mason. Mason and the Whitelock’s team took over and relaunched the city centre pub in 2012 and most recently opened the Meanwood Tavern in 2022.

Originally built in 1775 as a market for merchants to sell undyed or ‘white’ cloth, White Cloth Hall has hosted various Leeds businesses over the past 250 years. The Whitelock’s team has taken over all three existing units, which most recently housed Pizza Express, a BrewDog bar and a hairdressers - returning the premises to a single, unified space.

White Cloth Hall will work closely with independent drinks producers from across the region such as Kirkstall Brewery, Anthology and Whitewood Distilling and will provide a platform for the best local independent food traders.

The new venue is set to open in Spring 2024 and the team is welcoming expressions of interest from businesses who might like to trade there.

Ed Mason said: “This is such a beautiful and iconic building - we’re really excited about taking it over. At Whitelock’s we celebrate and support local independent breweries and food and drink suppliers - and we’re looking forward to doing the same at White Cloth Hall, on an even bigger scale.”