A historic Leeds building, which has undergone a multi-million-pound refurbishment played a starring role in one of the very oldest pieces of film in the world.
One Sovereign Quay on Leeds Bridge was the subject of French inventor Louis Le Prince's pioneering film of industrial Leeds in 1888. He successfully captured motion outside his home in Roundhay and is renowned as the father of cinematography.
The grainy black-and-white film, showing people and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge, has achieved legendary status as the first moving picture sequence using a single lens camera and a strip of paper. However, his achievements were not widely recognised because shortly before a scheduled public performance of his technology, he went missing with no clues as to his whereabouts.
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The Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank has played a key role in letting this iconic building which has been restored to its former glory. Victoria Harris, office agency specialist with Knight Frank, who are marketing the building on behalf of Charles Street Buildings Group, said: "This is a building which is steeped in history and is also so full of promise and potential for the future. What a heady mixture!
"Formerly known as Windsor House, this sleeping giant has undergone a multi-million-pound makeover and now provides over 21,000 sq ft of stunning Grade A office space. It offers the ultimate combination of character, prominence, positioning, design and stunning views across the city.
"By appearing in one of the oldest surviving pieces of film in existence, One Sovereign Quay has truly cemented itself in history. Louis Le Prince filmed Leeds Bridge and the surrounding buildings during the heady late-Victorian years of industrial growth and commerce and it's only right that the building is now re-imagined to reflect Leeds' continuing regeneration and its need to evolve for contemporary life and work."
Situated on the north bank of the River Aire within the heart of the city, One Sovereign Quay is ideally positioned with views across the river, the city and beyond. With both the financial and shopping districts only a short walk away and with cafes, restaurants and bars in all directions, it is close to all the best that Leeds has to offer.
As for the pioneering filmmaker, he disappeared without a trace just two years after making his film about Leeds Bridge and no one has been able to explain what became of him though inevitably there has been speculation that he took his own life or was murdered by rival cinematographers.
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