Kirkgate_and_Vicar_Lane,_Leeds_-_geograph

Kirkgate is a street in the city centre of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, in England.

History

The street originated in the Mediaeval period, leading from the centre of the settlement to the parish church. The Anglo-Saxon Leeds Cross was found when the church was replaced by the current

Leeds Minster Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

, in the 19th century. By the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

, Leeds also had a manor house, which lay on the street. The street became associated with cloth manufacturing, and in 1711, the First White Cloth Hall was constructed on the street. Other early buildings included a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

, built in 1430, later replaced by a vicarage, the town's bakehouse, and a prison, built in 1655. The city's first hospital was established in a house on the street in 1767. In 1790, the Ancient Order of Foresters was founded at the Crown Inn on the street, although the building was demolished in 1935. In the 19th century, the Kirkgate Market was constructed at the city centre end of the street, while a railway line was built, spanning the middle of the street. In 1984, a police officer, John Speed, was shot and killed on the street, and there is a memorial in his memory. The ''Welcome to Leeds'' website notes that the street became run-down, but by the 2020s became "a more calm street which has recently been reinvigorated by exciting local businesses".

Layout and architecture

The street runs south-east from the junction of Briggate and Commercial Street, to a junction with East Street and Duke Street. Fish Street, Vicar Lane, New York Street, Harper Street, Cross York Street, and Church Lane lead off its north-east side, while Central Road, New Market Street, Call Lane, Wharf Street, High Court, and Maude Street lead off its south-west side. Notable buildings on the north-east side of Kirkgate include the grade I listed Kirkgate Market. On the south-west side of the street lie the former bank at 110 Kirkgate, designed by William Bakewell; the grade II* listed First White Cloth Hall; and the grade I listed

History

Layout and architecture

References

Further reading