Two existing buildings at numbers 21 and 23 Springfield Mount was identified and acquired by CR and began lodging students in 1904.

[7] At the opening ceremony the Bishop of Ripon, Edward Burroughs caused controversy when he described modern universities such as Leeds as "counterfeit presentations" when compared to the "real thing(s)" of Oxford and Cambridge.

His comments denounced by others at the ceremony, Burroughs was forced to withdraw his words in a statement to the press the following week.

[9] In 1976 CR closed the hostel and sold the building to Leeds University who converted it from accommodation to an adult education centre.

[5] Built of red brick on a stone plinth with Millstone Grit dressings and a tiled roof, the hostel was arranged in a U-shape around a central courtyard.