The building works were fraught with difficulties from the
start. Atack, the builder, did not have enough capital to work
continuously, and had trouble finding enough men to work on the
site. This was partly because at a time of high employment,
reliable and skilled workers were hard to find. The work
progressed only slowly, sometimes held up by bad weather, and
sometimes for more unpredictable reasons. In 1855 Britain was at
war in the Crimea. On 17th September there was a half-day
holiday to celebrate the fall of Sebastopol, and the following
day few men turned up for work. Brodrick was sometimes not
satisfied as to the quality of the work, or the building
materials. There were delays in the supply of building stone
from Rawdon Hill Quarries, and sometimes poor quality stone was
sent. On one occasion Brodrick took a hammer and destroyed a
faulty cornice stone to prevent it being used. Stone had to be
obtained from other quarries at Sturdy, Pool Bank, Bramley Fall
and Calverley Wood, and from Darley Dale in