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Leeds () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and the administrative centre of the
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...
district in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. It is built around the
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
and is in the eastern foothills of the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Common ...
. It is also the third-largest settlement (by population) in England, after
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
.
The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production centre, including of
carbonated water
Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...
where it was invented in the 1760s, and trading centre (mainly with
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
) for the 17th and 18th centuries.
It was a major
mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World ...
during the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. It was also known for its
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
industry,
iron foundries, engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...
arcades, such as
Kirkgate Market.
City status was awarded in 1893, a populous urban centre formed in the following century which absorbed surrounding villages and overtook the nearby
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
population.
It is located about halfway between London and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and has multiple
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
links; the
M1,
M62 and
A1(M)
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the cap ...
. The is, alongside
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
, the busiest of its kind in
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
. It is the county's largest settlement with a population of 516,298, while the larger City of Leeds district had a population of 812,000 (
2021 estimate). The city is part of
a built-up area, with 1.7 million it is the fourth-largest
built-up area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
by population the United Kingdom.
The district has multiple
parished and
unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...
s. The city and towns (including
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
,
Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
,
Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 at the ...
,
Rothwell and
Farsley
Farsley is a town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England to the west of Leeds city centre, east of Bradford. Farsley is situated between the two cities and near the town of Pudsey. Before April 1974, Farsley was pa ...
) around the city form a cross-district (
Calderdale
Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the up ...
,
City of Bradford
The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and v ...
,
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district with the status of a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City ...
and
Kirklees
Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also inclu ...
)
continuous built-up area that the
metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
is based on.
History
Toponymy
The name derives from the old
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
word ''Ladenses'' meaning "people of the fast-flowing river", in reference to the
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
that flows through the city. This name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the
Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century.
Bede states in the fourteenth chapter of his ''
Ecclesiastical History
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...
'', in a discussion of an altar surviving from a church erected by
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin ( ang, Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christi ...
, that it is located in ''...regione quae vocatur Loidis'' (Latin, "the region which is called Loidis"). An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a ''
Loiner
Loiner is a demonym, describing the citizens of Leeds.
The Rugby league club Leeds Rhinos were previously nicknamed the ''Loiners''.
History
While there are several theories, the actual origin of the term remains uncertain.
The three competing ...
'', a word of uncertain origin.
The term ''Leodensian'' is also used, from the city's Latin name.
The name has also been explained as a derivative of
Welsh , meaning simply "a place".
Economic development
![Inside the Corn Exchange 2 - Leeds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Inside_the_Corn_Exchange_2_-_Leeds.jpg)
Leeds developed as a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
as part of the local agricultural economy.
Before the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, it became a co-ordination centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth, and white
broadcloth
Broadcloth is a dense, plain woven cloth, historically made of wool. The defining characteristic of broadcloth is not its finished width but the fact that it was woven much wider (typically 50 to 75% wider than its finished width) and then he ...
was traded at its
White Cloth Hall.
Leeds handled one sixth of England's export trade in 1770. Growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the creation of the
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the ...
in 1699 (with major additional works in the 18th century) and the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
in 1816. In the late
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
era,
William Lupton was one of a number of central Leeds landowners, some of whom, like him, were also textile manufacturers. At the time of his death in 1828, Lupton occupied the
enclosed
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
fields of the
manor of Leeds, his estate including a mill,
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
, substantial house and outbuildings.
Mechanical engineering, initially to supply tools and machinery for the textile sector, rapidly became a diverse industry.
The railway network constructed around Leeds, starting with the
Leeds and Selby Railway
The Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway within Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834.
As built, the line ran west/east between two termini, Marsh Lane station, Leeds and Selby railway station. Th ...
in 1834, provided improved communications with national markets and, significantly for its development, an east–west connection with
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and the ports of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
and
Hull giving improved access to international markets.
Alongside technological advances and industrial expansion, Leeds retained an interest in trading in agricultural commodities, with the
Corn Exchange
A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...
opening in 1864.
Marshall's Mill
Marshall's Mill is a former flax spinning mill on Marshall Street in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Marshall's Mill was part of a complex begun in 1791–92 by English industrial pioneer John Marshall. It was originally a four-st ...
was one of the first of many factories constructed in Leeds from around 1790 when the most significant were woollen finishing and flax mills.
Manufacturing diversified by 1914 to printing, engineering, chemicals and clothing manufacture. Decline in manufacturing during the 1930s was temporarily reversed by a switch to producing military uniforms and munitions during the Second World War. However, by the 1970s, the clothing industry was in irreversible decline, facing cheap foreign competition.
The contemporary economy has been shaped by
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
's vision of building a '24-hour European city' and 'capital of the north'.
The city has developed from the decay of the post-industrial era to become a telephone banking centre, connected to the electronic infrastructure of the modern global economy.
[ There has been growth in the corporate and legal sectors,] and increased local affluence has led to an expanding retail sector, including the luxury goods market.
Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone was launched in April 2012 to promote development in four sites along the A63 East Leeds Link Road.
Local government
Leeds was a manor and township in the large ancient parish of ''Leeds St Peter'', in the Skyrack wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...
of the West Riding
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
of Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. The Borough of Leeds was created in 1207, when Maurice Paynel, lord of the manor, granted a charter to a small area of the manor, close to the river crossing, in what is now the city centre. King James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
granted the borough to his wife, Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...
, and in 1612, she ordered a survey of the borough; in 1615 she was petitioned to remove the strict Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
preacher Alexander Cooke as vicar of Leeds, but she refused.
The inhabitants petitioned Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
for a charter of incorporation, which was granted in 1626. The new charter incorporated the entire parish, including all eleven townships, as the Borough of Leeds and withdrew the earlier charter. Improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ire ...
were set up in 1755 for paving, lighting, and cleansing of the main streets, including Briggate and further powers were added in 1790 to improve the water supply.
The borough corporation was reformed under the provisions of Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Leeds Borough Police force was formed in 1836, and Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...
was completed by the corporation in 1858. In 1866, Leeds and each of the other townships in the borough became civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
es. The borough became a county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
in 1889, giving it independence from the newly formed West Riding County Council and it gained city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
in 1893. In 1904 the Leeds parish absorbed Beeston, Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...
, Farnley, Headingley cum Burley and Potternewton
Potternewton (until recently also Potter Newton) is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council.
Potternewton is bounded by ...
from within the borough. In the twentieth century the county borough initiated a series of significant territorial expansions, growing from in 1911 to in 1961. In 1912 the parish and county borough of Leeds absorbed Leeds Rural District, consisting of the parishes of Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
and Seacroft
Seacroft is an outer-city suburb/township consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area, around east of Leeds city centre.
It sits in th ...
; and Shadwell
Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...
, which had been part of Wetherby Rural District. On 1 April 1925, the parish of Leeds was expanded to cover the whole borough.[
The county borough was abolished on 1 April 1974, and its former area was combined with that of the municipal boroughs of ]Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
and Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
; the urban districts of Aireborough
Aireborough is a district within the West Yorkshire Urban Area, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is mostly within the present Leeds metropolitan borough, although some areas now in Bradford metropolitan district may also be conside ...
, Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 at the ...
, Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...
, Garforth
Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...
and Rothwell; and parts of the rural districts of Tadcaster, Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
, and Wharfedale
Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It i ...
. This area formed a metropolitan district in the county of West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
. It gained both borough and city status and is known as the City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...
. Initially, local government services were provided by Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
and West Yorkshire County Council
West Yorkshire County Council (WYCC) – also known as West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council (WYMCC) – was the top-tier local government administrative body for West Yorkshire from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilitie ...
. When the county council was abolished in 1986, the city council absorbed its functions, and some powers passed to organisations such as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority. From 1988 two run-down and derelict areas close to the city centre were designated for regeneration and became the responsibility of Leeds Development Corporation, outside the planning remit of the city council. Planning powers were restored to the local authority in 1995 when the development corporation was wound up.
Suburban growth
In 1801, 42% of the population of Leeds lived outside the township, in the wider borough. Cholera outbreaks in 1832 and 1849 caused the authorities to address the problems of drainage, sanitation, and water supply. Water was pumped from the River Wharfe, but by 1860 it was too heavily polluted to be usable. Following the Leeds Waterworks Act of 1867 three reservoirs were built at Lindley Wood, Swinsty, and Fewston in the Washburn Valley north of Leeds.
Residential growth occurred in Holbeck and Hunslet from 1801 to 1851, but, as these townships became industrialised new areas were favoured for middle class housing. Land south of the river was developed primarily for industry and secondarily for back-to-back
Back to Back or back-to-back may refer to:
Music Songs
* "Back to Back" (Drake song), 2015
* "Back to Back" (Jeanne Pruett song), 1979
*"Back to Back", a song by Pretty Maids from the 1984 album ''Red Hot and Heavy''
*"Back to Back", a song by ...
workers' dwellings. The Leeds Improvement Act 1866 sought to improve the quality of working class housing by restricting the number of homes that could be built in a single terrace.
Holbeck and Leeds formed a continuous built-up area by 1858, with Hunslet nearly meeting them. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, population growth in Hunslet, Armley, and Wortley outstripped that of Leeds. When pollution became a problem, the wealthier residents left the industrial conurbation to live in Headingley, Potternewton and Chapel Allerton which led to a 50% increase in the population of Headingley and Burley from 1851 to 1861. The middle-class flight from the industrial areas led to development beyond the borough at Roundhay and Adel. The introduction of the electric tramway
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
led to intensification of development in Headingley and Potternewton and expansion outside the borough into Roundhay.
Two private gas supply companies were taken over by the corporation in 1870, and the municipal supply provided street lighting and cheaper gas to homes. From the early 1880s, the Yorkshire House-to-House Electricity Company supplied electricity to Leeds until it was purchased by Leeds Corporation and became a municipal supply.
Slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
and rebuilding began in Leeds during the interwar period when over 18,000 houses were built by the council on 24 estates in Cross Gates
Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the south ea ...
, Middleton, Gipton, Belle Isle and Halton Moor. The slums of Quarry Hill were replaced by the innovative Quarry Hill flats, which were demolished in 1975. Another 36,000 houses were built by private sector builders, creating suburbs in Gledhow, Moortown, Alwoodley, Roundhay, Colton, Whitkirk, Oakwood, Weetwood, and Adel. After 1949 a further 30,000 sub-standard houses were demolished by the council and replaced by 151 medium-rise and high-rise blocks of council flats in estates at Seacroft, Armley Heights, Tinshill, and Brackenwood.
Leeds has seen great expenditure on regenerating the city, attracting in investments and flagship projects, as found in Leeds city centre. Many developments boasting luxurious penthouse apartments have been built close to the city centre.
Geography
Leeds has a varying extent by context such as the city centre, the built-up sprawl around the centre, administrative boundaries and the travel to work area
A travel to work area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a ...
.
City centre
The city centre lies in a narrow section of the Aire Valley at about above sea level. The land use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...
in the central areas of Leeds is overwhelmingly urban.[ while being less than from the rural ]Yorkshire Dales National Park
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designa ...
.
It is contained within the Leeds Inner Ring Road
The Leeds Inner Ring Road is part-motorway and part-A roads in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which forms a ring road around the city centre. It has six different road numbers that are all sections of longer roads. Clockwise, the roads ar ...
, formed from parts of the A58 road, A61 road, A64 road
The A64 is a major road in North and West Yorkshire, England, which links Leeds, York and Scarborough. The A64 starts as the A64(M) ring road motorway in Leeds, then towards York it becomes a high-quality dual carriageway until it is east ...
, A643 road and the M621 motorway
The M621 is a short loop of motorway in West Yorkshire, England that takes traffic into central Leeds between the M1 and M62 motorways.
History
The first section of the M621 to open, known at the time as the 'South West Urban Motorway', exte ...
. Briggate, the principal north–south shopping street, is pedestrianised and Queen Victoria Street, a part of the Victoria Quarter, is enclosed under a glass roof. Millennium Square is a significant urban focal point.
Outer
Inner and southern areas of Leeds lie on a layer of coal measure sandstones forming the Yorkshire Coalfield
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. To the north parts are built on older sandstone and gritstones and to the east it extends into the magnesian limestone belt.
Outside Leeds centre, there are a number of suburbs and exurbs within the district. Some of Leeds suburbs include Headingley, Harehills and Hunslet. while exurbs of Leeds include Pudsey, Horsforth and Morley.
Lying in the eastern foothills of the Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Common ...
, there is a significant variation in elevation within the city's built-up area. The district ranges from in the far west on the slopes of Ilkley Moor
Ilkley Moor is part of Rombalds Moor, the moorland between Ilkley and Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. The moor, which rises to 402 m (1,319 ft) above sea level, is well known as the inspiration for the Yorkshire "county anthem ...
to about where the rivers Aire and Wharfe cross the eastern boundary. Land rises to in Cookridge, just from the city centre.
It has the second-highest population of any local authority district in the UK (after Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
), and the second-greatest area of any English metropolitan district
A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropoli ...
(after Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
), extending from east to west, and from north to south. The northern boundary follows the River Wharfe
The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.
...
for several miles (several kilometres), but it crosses the river to include the part of Otley which lies north of the river.
The Leeds postcode area covers most of the City of Leeds district and is almost entirely made up of the Leeds post town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...
. Otley, Wetherby, Tadcaster, Pudsey and Ilkley are separate post towns within the postcode area.[
]
Watercourses
In addition to the rivers Aire and Wharfe, other watercourses (generally known as becks) include:
*Adel Beck, which flows southwards from Adel Dam and through Adel Woods to join Meanwood Beck just south of the Leeds Outer Ring Road.
*Bramhope Beck, Bramhope
*Brandon Drain Stream, Shadwell
Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...
*Cock Beck
Cock Beck is a stream in the outlying areas of East Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from its source due to a runoff north-west of Whinmoor, skirting east of Swarcliffe and Manston (where a public house has been named 'The Cock ...
*Collingham Beck, which enters the Wharfe near Collingham
*Colton Beck, near Colton, which may have been diverted during the medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
to power a mill or support a moat
*River Crow, which flows in the vicinity of Aberford
Aberford is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,059 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated eas ...
and joins the Wharfe near Tadcaster
*Dolphin Beck, Thorpe
*Eccup Beck
*Gledhow Beck, flowing through Gledhow
Gledhow is a suburb of north east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
Etymology
The name ''Gledhow ...
Valley Woods into Gledhow Lake
*Grace Beck, in Wike
*Great Heads Beck, flowing into Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park
Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.Only Richmond Park (London), Phoenix Park (Dublin) and Silesian Culture and Recreation Park ( Chorzów, Poland) are larger. It covers more than of park ...
*Guiseley Beck
*Haigh Beck, Rothwell
* Hol Beck
*Keswick Beck, a tributary of Collingham Beck
*Marsh Beck, which flows into Golden Acre Park
Golden Acre Park is a public park in Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (), administered by Leeds City Council. It is on the A660 Otley Road and covers an area of .Leeds City Council ''Golden Acre Park Guide and Map'' (undated)
History
T ...
*Meanwood Beck
The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Ca ...
(different portions are also referred to as Adel Beck, Carr Beck, Lady Beck, Mabgate Beck, Sheepscar Beck and Timble Beck)Leeds Mercury
The ''Leeds Mercury'' was a newspaper published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was published from 1718 to 1755 and again from 1767. Initially it consisted of 12 pages and cost three halfpennies. In 1794 it had a circulation of about 3,00 ...
, "The Leeds Improvement of Becks Bill", 19 February 1866 p. 4
*Mill Beck
*Mill Shaw Beck, which flows near Elland Road
*Mire Beck, near Menston
Menston is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of Bradford. The remainder of M ...
and Guiseley Moor
*Moseley Beck
*Oil Mill Beck, near Horsforth
*Pudsey Beck
* Shadwell Beck
*Shaw Beck
*Stank Beck, flowing through the grounds of Harewood House
Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation ...
northwards to the River Wharfe near Harewood Bridge
*Throstle Carr Beck, Middleton
*Topcliffe Beck, Morley
*Wigton Knowle Beck, in Alwoodley, flowing northwards into Eccup Reservoir
Eccup Reservoir is a reservoir in Alwoodley, a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, near the village of Eccup. It was first constructed in 1843,''The Leeds Mercury'' Saturday, 3 June 1843; Issue 5713, Local Intelligence and expanded to it ...
*Wortley Beck, flowing through woodlands maintained by Leeds City Council
*Wyke Beck
Wyke Beck is a stream that runs from Roundhay Park to the River Aire in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Described as an ''Urban Beck'', the stream flows through housing estates and then an industrial landscape in its lower reaches. Wyke Bec ...
Climate
Leeds has a climate that is oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Cfb''), and influenced by the Pennines. Summers are usually mild, with moderate rainfall, while winters are chilly, cloudy with occasional snow and frost. The nearest official weather recording station is at Bingley, some away at a higher altitude.
July is the warmest month, with a mean temperature of , while the coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of . Temperatures above and below are not very common but can happen occasionally. Temperatures at Leeds Bradford Airport fell to in December 2010 and reached at Leeds city centre in August 2003. The record temperature for Leeds is during the early August 1990 heatwave. It is possible this was exceeded during the heatwave of July 2019 where many other areas broke their all time records. However Leeds weather centre closed in the 2000s.
As is typical for many sprawling cities in areas of varying topography, temperatures can change depending on location. Average July and August daytime highs exceed (a value comparable to South East England) in a small area just to the south east of the city centre, where the elevation declines to under . This is milder than the typical summer temperature at Leeds Bradford airport weather station (shown in the chart below), at an elevation of .
Situated on the eastern side of the Pennines, Leeds is among the driest cities in the United Kingdom, with an annual rainfall of .
Though extreme weather in Leeds is relatively rare, thunderstorms, blizzards, gale-force winds and even tornadoes have struck the city. The last reported tornado occurred on 14 September 2006, causing trees to uproot and signal failures at Leeds City railway station.
Green belt
Leeds is within a green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...
region that extends into the wider surrounding counties and is in place to reduce urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
, prevent the settlements in the West Yorkshire conurbation from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield
In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas, and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.
Over 60% of the Leeds district is green belt land and it surrounds the settlement, preventing further sprawl towards nearby communities. Larger outlying towns and villages are exempt from the green belt area. However, smaller villages, hamlets and rural areas are 'washed over' by the designation. The green belt was first adopted in 1960, and the size in the borough in 2017 amounted to some .
A subsidiary aim of the green belt is to encourage recreation and leisure interests, with rural landscape features, greenfield areas and facilities including Temple Newsam Park and House with golf course, Rothwell Country Park, Middleton Park, Kirkstall Abbey ruins and surrounding park, Bedquilts recreation grounds, Waterloo lake, Roundhay castle and park, and Morwick, Cobble and Elmete Halls.
Demographics
Leeds forms the main area of the City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...
metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire. This district includes Leeds itself as well as surrounding towns of Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 at the ...
, Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
, Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...
, Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
, Rothwell and Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
, Leeds is the central city of the Leeds City Region
The Leeds City Region is a local enterprise partnership city region located in West Yorkshire, England. Prior to the West Yorkshire devolution deal, the partnership covered parts of South and North Yorkshire. According to the Office for Nationa ...
, a classification for the city region's metropolitan area. The city region has a population of over 3 million, making it the second most populated metropolitan city region in the United Kingdom, behind Greater London.
In January 2011, Leeds was named as one of five "cities to watch" in a report published by Centre for Cities
The Centre for Cities is an independent, non-partisan urban policy research unit and a charity registered in England. The Centre's main goal is to understand how and why economic growth and change takes place in the United Kingdom's cities.
Hi ...
. The report shows that the average resident in Leeds earns £471 per week, seventeenth nationally and 30.9% of Leeds residents had NVQ4+ high-level qualifications, fifteenth nationally. Employment in Leeds was 68.8% in the period June 2012 to June 2013, which was lower than the national average, whilst unemployment was higher than the national average at 9.6% over the same time period. It also shows that Leeds will be the least affected major city by welfare cuts in 2014–2015, with welfare cuts of £125 per capita predicted, compared to £192 in Liverpool and £175 in Glasgow. Leeds is overall less deprived than other large UK cities and average income is above regional averages.
Urban subdivision
At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for Nationa ...
, the Leeds urban subdivision occupied an area of and had a population of 443,247; making it the fourth-most populous urban subdivision within England and the fifth largest within the United Kingdom. The population density was , slightly higher than the rest of the West Yorkshire Urban Area
The West Yorkshire Built-up Area, previously known as the West Yorkshire Urban Area is a term used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to refer to a conurbation in West Yorkshire, England, based on the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefi ...
. It accounts for 20% of the area and 62% of the population of the City of Leeds. The population of the urban subdivision had a 100 to 93.1 female–male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 39.4% were single (never married) and 35.4% married for the first time. The urban subdivision's 188,890 households included 35% one-person, 27.9% married couples living together, 8.8% were co-habiting couples, and 5.7% single parents with their children. Leeds is the largest component of the West Yorkshire Urban Area[ and is counted by Eurostat as part of the Leeds-Bradford ]larger urban zone
The larger urban zone (LUZ), or functional urban area (FUA), is a measure of the population and expanse of metropolitan and surrounding areas which may or may not be exclusively urban. It consists of a city and its commuting zone outside it.
The ...
. The Leeds travel to work area
A travel to work area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a ...
in 2001 included all of the City of Leeds, a northern strip of the City of Bradford, the eastern part of Kirklees, and a section of southern North Yorkshire; it occupies .
In 2011, the Leeds USD had a population of 474,632 and had an area of with a population density of . It is bounded by, and physically attached to, the other towns of Garforth
Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...
to the east, Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
to the southwest and Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
to the west, all being within the wider borough. 63% of the borough's population of 751,485 live in the USD, while it takes up only 21% of its total area of 552 km2.
In 2011, the Leeds USD (Urban Subdivision) had a total 'White' population of 79.1% with this percentage including people from places such as mainland Europe and Ireland. Leeds is one of many UK cities that has a large amount of countryside within the borough's limits. Others include Sheffield, Bradford and York.
Metropolitan district
At the time of the 2011 UK Census, the district had a total population of 751,500, representing a 5% growth since the previous census ten years earlier. According to the 2001 UK Census, there were 301,614 households in Leeds; 33.3% were married couples living together, 31.6% were single-person households, 9.0% were co-habiting couples and 9.8% were single parents, following a similar trend to the rest of England. The population density was [ and for every 100 females, there were 93.5 males.
Leeds is a diverse city with over 75 ethnic groups, and with ethnic minorities representing just under 11.6% of the total population.] According to figures from the 2011 UK Census, 85.0% of the population was White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
(81.1% White British
White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population ...
, 0.9% White Irish
}
White Irish is an ethnicity classification used in the 2011 United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White Irish population was 1,105,673 or 1.7% of the UK total population.
This total includes the White Irish population estimate for ...
, 0.1% Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
or Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...
, 2.9% Other White
The term Other White is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom and has been used in documents such as the 2011 UK Census to describe people who self-identify as white (chiefly European) persons who are not of the English, Welsh, ...
), 2.7% of mixed race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
(1.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.3% White and Black African, 0.7% White and Asian, 0.5% Other Mixed), 7.7% Asian (2.1% Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, 3.0% Pakistani, 0.6% Bangladeshi, 0.8% Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, 1.2% Other Asian), 3.5% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
(2.0% African, 0.9% Caribbean, 0.6% Other Black), 0.5% Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and 0.6% of other ethnic heritage. Leeds has seen many new different countries of birth as of the UK Census
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 (during the Second World War), Ireland in 1921/Northern Ireland in 1931,https://www.nisra.gov. ...
including Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
all included in the top ten countries of birth in the city. Large Pakistani communities can be seen in wards such as Gipton and Harehills. Chapel Allerton is known for having a large Caribbean community.
The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves as Christian. The proportion of Muslims (3.0% of the population) is average for the country. Leeds has the third-largest community of Jews in the United Kingdom, after those of London and Manchester. The areas of Alwoodley and Moortown contain sizeable Jewish communities.[M. Freedman (1988) "The Leeds Jewish Community" pp. 161–174 ''in'' L. S. Tate (ed) ''Aspects of Leeds'' ] 16.8% of Leeds residents in the 2001 census declared themselves as having "No Religion", which is broadly in line with the figure for the whole of the UK (also 8.1% "religion not stated"). The crime rate in Leeds is well above the national average, like many other English major cities. In July 2006, the think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
calculated rates of crime for different offences and has related this to populations of major urban areas (defined as towns over 100,000 population). Leeds was 11th in this rating (excluding London boroughs, 23rd including London boroughs). Total recorded crime in Leeds fell by 45% between 2002–03 and 2011–12.
Governance
The City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...
is the local government district
The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...
covering Leeds, and the local authority is Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
. The council is composed of 99 councillors, three for each of the district's wards. Elections are held three years out of four, on the first Thursday of May. One third of the councillors are elected, for a four-year term, in each election. The council is currently controlled by Labour. West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
does not have a county council, so Leeds City Council is the primary provider of local government services for the city. The district is in the Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
region of England.
Most of the district is an unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...
. In the unparished area, there is no lower tier of government. Outside the unparished area, there are 31 civil parishes, represented by parish councils. These are the lowest tier of local government and absorb some limited functions from Leeds City Council in their areas.
The district is represented by eight MPs, for the constituencies of Elmet and Rothwell ( Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative); Leeds Central
Leeds Central is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency recreated in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 1999 b ...
(Hilary Benn
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bl ...
, Labour); Leeds East
Leeds East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon of the Labour Party.
The constituency is notable for having been represented by Denis Healey who was the MP from 1955 to 1992. ...
(Richard Burgon
Richard Burgon (born 19 September 1980) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds East since 2015. Burgon served as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor in the Shado ...
, Labour); Leeds North East
Leeds North East is a constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Fabian Hamilton of the Labour Party.
Boundaries
1918–1950: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Crossgates, Roundh ...
(Fabian Hamilton
Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (born 12 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East since 1997. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament in November 2016.
Educat ...
, Labour); Leeds North West ( Alex Sobel, Labour); Leeds West (Rachel Reeves
Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.
Born in Lewis ...
, Labour); Morley and Outwood (constituency shared with City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is a local government district with the status of a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settlement, is the administrative centre of the district. The population of the City ...
) ( Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative); and Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
(Stuart Andrew
Stuart James Andrew (born 25 November 1971) is a Welsh politician serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society since September 2022 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities s ...
, Conservative).
Economy
Leeds has the most diverse economy of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of public to private sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities
The Core Cities Group (also Core Cities UK) is a self-selected and self-financed collaborative advocacy group of large regional cities in the United Kingdom outside Greater London. The group was formed in 1995 and serves as a partnership of el ...
. The city had the third-largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. 24.7% were in public administration, education and health, 23.9% were in banking, finance and insurance and 21.4% were in distribution, hotels and restaurants. It is in the banking, finance and insurance sectors that Leeds differs most from the financial structure of the region and the nation. There are 130,100 jobs in the city centre, accounting for 31% of all jobs in the wider district. In 2007, 47,500 jobs were in finance and business, 42,300 in public services, and 19,500 in retail and distribution. 43% of finance sector jobs in the district are contained in Leeds city centre and 44% of those employed in the city centre live more than nine kilometres () away.[
In 2011, the financial and services industry in Leeds was worth £2.1 billion, the fifth-largest in the UK, behind London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.] Tertiary industries such as retail, call centre
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephon ...
s, offices and media have contributed to a high rate of economic growth. The city also hosts the only subsidiary office of the Bank of England in the UK. In 2012 GVA for the city was recorded at £18.8 billion, with the entire Leeds City Region
The Leeds City Region is a local enterprise partnership city region located in West Yorkshire, England. Prior to the West Yorkshire devolution deal, the partnership covered parts of South and North Yorkshire. According to the Office for Nationa ...
generating a £56 billion economy.
Key sectors include finance, retail, leisure and the visitor economy, construction, manufacturing and the creative and digital industries. It has one of the most diverse economies of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city. It also has the highest ratio of private to public sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities, with 77% of its workforce working in the private sector. Leeds has the third-largest jobs total by local authority area, with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is ranked as a "High Sufficiency" level city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire ...
. Today, Leeds has become the largest legal and financial centre outside London, with the financial and insurance services industry worth £13 billion to the city's economy.
Office developments, also traditionally located in the inner area, have expanded south of the River Aire and total of space. In the period from 1999 to 2008 £2.5bn of property development was undertaken in central Leeds; of which £711m has been offices, £265m retail, £389m leisure and £794m housing.
The city saw several firsts, including the oldest-surviving film in existence, ''Roundhay Garden Scene
''Roundhay Garden Scene'' is a short silent motion picture filmed by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in the north of England on 14 October 1888. It is believed to be the oldest surviving film. The cam ...
'' (1888), and the 1767 invention of soda water
Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...
.
Major companies based in the city include William Hill, Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, International Personal Finance, Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
, Leeds Building Society and Northern Foods. Capita
Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London.
It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...
Group, KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
, Direct Line
Direct Line is an insurance company based in Bromley, England. Founded in 1985, as the country's first direct car insurance company, it has since expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Its policies are underwritten by the regul ...
, Aviva, Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.
The society also owns the Chelsea Building Society a ...
, BT Group
BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
, Telefónica Europe
O2 (typeset as O2) is a global brand name owned by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica. The company uses the O2 brand for its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2018, it is also used as an online-only flanker br ...
( O2 Ltd) and TD Waterhouse
TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. is a Canadian financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and owned by Toronto-Dominion Bank. The company does business through several divisions, TD Direct Investing, TD Wealth Financial Planning, a ...
all also have a considerable presence in the city. In addition to other national governmental offices, the city is home to a large Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
office building located in Quarry Hill, notable for its imposing design.
Leeds is the UK's third-largest manufacturing centre and 50% of the UK's manufacturing base is within a two-hour drive of Leeds. With around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.8% of total employment in the city. The largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology. Manufacturing and distribution accounted for £26m of new property development in the period.
There is an established creative industry in the city, particularly in the digital gaming sector. A number of large developers have studios in and around the city, including Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
, developers of the mobile versions of the '' Call of Duty'' series, and Rockstar Leeds
Rockstar Leeds Limited (formerly Möbius Entertainment Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Leeds. Ian J. Bowden, Dave Box, Gordon Hall, and Jason McGann founded the company as Möbius Entertainmen ...
, developers of the ''Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily d ...
'' series. In 2009 Leeds was the first city outside London to host the Eurogamer Expo
EGX (previously named Eurogamer Expo) is a trade fair for video games organised by Gamer Network and held annually in the United Kingdom and Germany.
History
The first Eurogamer Expo took place at the Old Truman Brewery as part of the Londo ...
.
Finance
Leeds is the largest centre outside London for financial and business services. Over the next ten years, the economy is forecast to grow by 25% with financial and business services set to generate over half of GVA growth over that period with Finance and business services accounting for 38% of total output.
The finance and business service sector account for 38% of total output with more than 30 national and international banks located in the city, including an office of the Bank of England. Leeds is also the UK's third-largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees; Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.8% of total employment in the city and is worth over £7 billion to the local economy. The largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology.[Manufacturing , Leeds economy & relocation]
. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
Leeds has over 30 national and international banks, many of whose northern or regional offices are based in the city. It is the headquarters for First Direct and Yorkshire Bank, and has large Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Ban ...
, NatWest Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
and Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
operations.[Financial services , Leeds economy & relocation](_blank)
. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
The city is also an important centre for equity, venture and risk finance. The venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
provider, YFM Equity Partners, founded in Leeds, is now the UK's largest provider of risk capital to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Law
There are around 150 law firms operating in Leeds, employing over 6,700 people. According to The UK Legal 500, "Leeds has a sophisticated and highly competitive legal market, second only to London."[Legal services , Leeds economy & relocation](_blank)
. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
Specialist legal expertise to be found in Leeds includes corporate finance, corporate restructuring and insolvency, global project financing, trade and investment, commercial litigation, competition, construction, Private Finance Initiatives and Public Private Partnerships, tax, derivatives, IT, employment, pensions, intellectual property, sport and entertainment.
The establishment of an Administrative Court in Leeds in April 2009 reinforced Leeds's position as one of the UK's key legal centres. The court previously sat only in London.
Leisure and tourism
Tourism is important to the Leeds economy, in 2009 Leeds was the eighth-most visited city in England by UK visitors. and the 13th-most visited city by overseas visitors. Research by VisitEngland
VisitEngland is the official tourist board for England.
Before 1999 it was known as the English Tourist Board and between 1999 and 2009 as the English Tourism Council. In 2003, it merged with the British Tourist Authority to form VisitBritain bef ...
reported that the day visitor market to Leeds attracts 24.9 million people each year, worth over £654 million to the local economy. In the 2017 Condé Nast Traveler survey of readers, Leeds rated 6th among The 15 Best Cities in the UK for visitors.
In 2016, Leeds received 27.29 million leisure tourist visits generating over £1.6bn for the city, according to data from a STEAM survey. That was a 15.9% increase in revenue over 2015. A 9.7% increase in visits had been recorded since 2013. The industry supported over 19,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2016.
Public sector
In Leeds, 108,000 people work in the public sector—24% of the workforce. The largest employers are Leeds City Council, with 33,000 staff, and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with 14,000 staff.[Public sector , Leeds economy & relocation](_blank)
. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
Leeds has become a hub of public-sector health bodies. The Department of Health and Social Care
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherw ...
(DHSC), NHS England, the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England.
I ...
, NHS Digital
NHS Digital is the trading name of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which is the national provider of information, data and IT systems for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care in England, particularly th ...
, and Public Health England
Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...
all have large offices in Leeds. Europe's largest teaching hospital is also based in Leeds, and is home to the Yorkshire Cancer Centre, the largest of its kind in Europe.
Key government departments and organisations in Leeds include the Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
, with over 3,000 staff, the DHSC, with over 800 staff, HM Revenue and Customs
, patch =
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, logo = HM Revenue & Customs.svg
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with over 1,200 staff and the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
with 1,100 staff.
Trade
The city centre has a large pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
. Briggate is the main shopping street where one can find many well-known British High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
stores, including Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
, House of Fraser, Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
, Topshop
TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
, Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England.
Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. I ...
and Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
. Many companies have several stores within Central Leeds and the wider city.
Leeds is home to one of the largest indoor markets in Europe, Leeds Kirkgate Market
Kirkgate Market (pronounced ) is a market complex on Vicar Lane in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest covered market in Europe and a Grade I listed building. There are currently 800 stalls which attract over 1 ...
. The district also has various regular local markets in Otley, Pudsey, and Yeadon.
Between 1987 - 1995 Leeds, Kirkgate market was renovated. The changes have maximised the retail provision in the market without compromising the historical features of the building, so much so that the renovated Kirkgate Market Hall structure was promoted from Grade II to Grade I listing status, and was subsequently nominated for a Civic Trust Award.
There is an annual German Christmas Market ("Christkindelmarkt") based in Millennium Square, usually running from early November to mid-late December. The 2020 Christmas Market was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The extensive retail area of Leeds is the principal regional shopping centre for the whole of the Yorkshire and the Humber region, offering a spend of £1.93 billion annually in 2013. There are a number of indoor shopping centres in the centre of the city, including the Merrion Centre, St John's Centre, The Core
''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The f ...
, the Victoria Quarter, The Light, the Corn Exchange
A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...
, Trinity Leeds
Trinity Leeds is a shopping and leisure centre in the city centre of Leeds, England, named after the adjacent 18th-century Holy Trinity Church. Developed by Land Securities and designed by Chapman Taylor, it opened on 21 March 2013, with over ...
, and Victoria Gate. In total there are well over 1,000 retail stores, with a combined floorspace of .[ in Leeds City Centre.
]
The Victoria Quarter is notable for its high-end luxury retailers and impressive architecture. 70 stores such as Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...
, Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.
Westwood came to public notice when she m ...
, Paul Smith, Diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
and anchor Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
are contained within two iron-wrought Victorian arcades, and a new arcade formed by arcading Queen Victoria Street with the largest expanse of stained glass in Britain.
In the Churwell area of Leeds is the White Rose Shopping Centre
The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most ...
. Opening in 1997, the centre has over 100 high street stores anchored by Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Primark and Sainsbury's. Some stores have their only Leeds presence here and do not trade in Central Leeds, such as the Disney Store and Build-A-Bear workshop.
On 21 March 2013, a large shopping and leisure complex called Trinity Leeds
Trinity Leeds is a shopping and leisure centre in the city centre of Leeds, England, named after the adjacent 18th-century Holy Trinity Church. Developed by Land Securities and designed by Chapman Taylor, it opened on 21 March 2013, with over ...
opened in the city centre. The modern and interactive retail space covers the old Burton Arcades and the former Leeds Shopping Plaza
Trinity Leeds is a shopping and leisure centre in the city centre of Leeds, England, named after the adjacent 18th-century Holy Trinity Church. Developed by Land Securities and designed by Chapman Taylor, it opened on 21 March 2013, with over ...
with its main entrance from Briggate.
On 20 October 2016, Victoria Gate shopping centre opened with its flagship store, John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
. Three quarters of the stores in Victoria Gate were the first for the retailers outside of London.
Of the 40,000 people who work in retailing in Leeds, three quarters work in the wider district. The Springs, located to the east of the city suburbs, just off junction 46 of the M1.
Landmarks
Leeds displays a variety of natural and built landmarks. Natural landmarks include such diverse sites as the gritstone outcrop of Otley Chevin and the Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve
Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve is a protected area in West Yorkshire, England, noted for its avian biodiversity.
The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species, remarkable for an inland site in the United Kingdom. This is explained by the site b ...
. The city's parks at Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roun ...
and Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam (historically Temple Newsham), () is a Tudor- Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.
The estate lends its name to the Temple Newsam ward of Leeds City Council, in which i ...
have long been owned and maintained by the council for the benefit of ratepayers and among the open spaces in the centre of Leeds are Millennium Square, City Square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
, Park Square and Victoria Gardens. This last is the site of the central city war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
: there are 42 other war memorials in the suburbs, towns and villages in the district.
The built environment embraces edifices of civic pride like Morley Town Hall and the trio of buildings in Leeds, Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...
, Corn Exchange
A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...
and Leeds City Museum
Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine ...
by the architect Cuthbert Brodrick. The two white buildings on the Leeds skyline are the Parkinson building of Leeds University and the Civic Hall, with golden owls adorning the tops of the latter's twin spires.
Armley Mills, Tower Works, with its campanile-inspired towers, and the Egyptian-style Temple Works
Temple Works is a former flax mill in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was designed by the engineer James Coombe a former pupil of John Rennie; the painter David Roberts; and the architect Joseph Bonomi the Younger. It was built ...
hark back to the city's industrial past, while the site and ruins of Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...
display the beauty and grandeur of Cistercian architecture. Notable churches are 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 ...
(formerly Leeds Parish Church), St George's Church and Leeds Cathedral
Leeds Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Anne, commonly known as Saint Anne's Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds. It is in the city of Leeds, West ...
, in the city centre, and the Church of St John the Baptist, Adel
The Grade I listed, mainly Norman Church of Saint John the Baptist in Adel, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England has been described by Nicholas Pevsner as 'one of the best and most complete Norman churches in Yorkshire'. It is most notable for its m ...
and Bardsey Parish Church in quieter locations. Notable non-conformist chapels include the Salem Chapel, dating back to 1791 and notably the birthplace of Leeds United Football Club in 1919.
Leeds is one of only a few UK cities outside of London to have a significant number of high-rise buildings, the tower of Bridgewater Place
Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek, is an office and residential skyscraper in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was the tallest building in Yorkshire at the time of being topped out in September 2005, but is now the second-tallest after ...
, also known as ''The Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...
'', is part of a major office and residential development and was the region's tallest building until Altus House was completed in 2021; it can be seen for miles (kilometres) around. Bridgewater Place has been the subject of debate as its erection in 2007 caused significant wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
effects, channeling strong wind currents across Victoria Road. There have been numerous injuries attributed to the inadequate architecture of this building and Water Lane is frequently closed when high winds are expected. In 2017 Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
undertook construction work in an attempt to deflect the wind from street level and the building owners of Bridgewater Place agreed to pay to cover the public money being spent. Among other Skyscrapers the 37-storey Sky Plaza
Sky Plaza (also known as The Plaza Tower) is a 34-storey, residential skyscraper, in Arena Quarter, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Description
The building is the second phase of a development in Leeds city centre, consisting of 572 student a ...
to the north of the city centre stands on higher ground so that its is higher than Bridgewater Place and the aforementioned, 38-storey Altus House in Arena Quarter, standing at 380 metres.
Elland Road (football) and Headingley Stadium (cricket and rugby) are well known to sports enthusiasts and the White Rose Centre
The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most ...
is a well-known retail outlet.
Transport
Road
It is the A62, A63, A64, A65, A647
The A647 is an A road in West Yorkshire, England that begins in Leeds and ends in Halifax. The road is long.
Route
The road begins at the Armley Gyratory and goes via Armley, by-passes Stanningley and Pudsey, then onwards via Thornbury to th ...
and A660 roads' starting points. The city is situated on the A58, A61, M1 and M62 - the latter two intersect to its south of Leeds and the A1(M)
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the cap ...
passes to the east.
The radial M621 takes traffic into central Leeds from the M62 and M1. There is an Inner Ring Road with part motorway status and an Outer Ring Road. Part of the city centre is pedestrianised, and is encircled by the clockwise-only Loop Road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
. The East Leeds Orbital Route's construction started in summer 2019 with completion due by the end of 2021.
Vehicles
Transport in Leeds is dominated by car usage: in 2018 it was the 9th most congested UK city, costing £1,057 per driver.
Public transport in the Leeds area is coordinated and developed by West Yorkshire Metro
Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yor ...
, with service information provided by the company and Leeds City Council. There is a coach station for National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
coach services in the city.
The main type of public transport in Leeds are bus services. Leeds City bus station
Leeds City bus station serves the city of Leeds, England. Owned and managed by West Yorkshire Metro, it is situated between the Quarry Hill and Leeds Kirkgate Markets areas of Leeds city centre. The National Express Dyer Street Coach Station ...
(on Dyer Street) has long-distance bus services to nearby towns and cities and a small number of local area services. The main providers are First Leeds
First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...
and Arriva Yorkshire
Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...
, the latter serves routes in the city's south. Harrogate Bus Company
The Harrogate Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshir ...
provides a service to Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...
and Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
. Keighley Bus Company
The Keighley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. ...
provides a service to Shipley, Bingley
Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census.
Bingley railwa ...
and Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...
. The Yorkshire Coastliner
Transdev York & Country (also known as Yorkshire Coastliner) operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Man ...
service runs from Leeds to Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
and Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
via York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and Malton. Stagecoach in Hull provides a service to Hull via Goole
Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire.
According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...
. Stagecoach Yorkshire
Stagecoach Yorkshire is an operating division of Stagecoach Group.
It was formed in 2005 to take over the former Traction Group fleets in Yorkshire by Stagecoach Group, which took over Traction from Frank Carter on 14 December 2005; Yorkshire ...
provides services to Barnsley. Also Transdev operates Flyer services to Leeds Bradford Airport.
Air quality in Leeds was declared as "unsafe" by the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
in May 2019. Neville Street, near Leeds railway station, has been measured as the most polluted outside London. A Clean Air Zone
A Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is an area in the United Kingdom where targeted action is taken to improve air quality. A CAZ can be non-charging or charging.
Whether a vehicle is charged when entering or moving through a CAZ depends on the type of vehicl ...
, throughout north Leeds and the city centre, was proposed in 2018. The plan, similar to the London Low Emission Zone, would charge a daily fee for driving "older models of buses, taxis and HGVs" in the zone. The zone was planned to start charging vehicles in January 2020, before being cancelled altogether in October 2020 due to improvements in the city's air quality.
Rail
In 2017 Leeds had the third busiest outside of London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. From the station at New Station Street, West Yorkshire Metro
Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yor ...
trains operated by Northern run to Leeds' suburbs, the wider area, national and international connections. It has 17 platforms, the most outside of London. High Speed 2 Phase Two
High Speed 2 is a planned new high-speed railway line connecting London with the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds directly on new high speed track. East Midlands Airport will also be served. The railway is to be delivered in t ...
was intended to connect Leeds to London via East Midlands Hub and until this section of route was removed from the project in November 2021.
The borough, governed from Leeds, has 16 railway stations. A parkway station serving Leeds Bradford Airport and two other new stations in the area, planned for within the next 20 years, were announced in 2016.
Leeds and the rest of the West Yorkshire Built-up Area has less extensive public transport coverage than any other UK city region of comparable size, and it is the most populated area in Europe without any form of light rail or underground system.
Air
Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...
is located in Yeadon, about to the north-west of the city centre, and has direct flights to 8 UK destinations and 70 international destinations. The airport is the tenth busiest airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
outside London, with scheduled services running to London Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. There is also a direct rail service from Leeds to Manchester Airport.
Lack of mass transit
Plans for a public transport network in Leeds have been suggested:
* In the 1940s, there were plans to build an extensive underground system, not built due to the Second World War.
* The Leeds Supertram
The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England. It would have been a three-line, system with 50 stations. It received provisional government approval in 2001, and was specifically for corridor ...
in the 1990s had £500 million in funding to be provided, this was cancelled, with £40 million already spent on the project, by the Transport Minister Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...
in 2005 due to unforeseen added costs.
* A proposed £250 million re-introduction of trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
in 2007; the plans were cancelled in May 2016 citing little value for money, after millions of pounds spent on inquiries.
In June 2019, as part of his bid to become Prime Minister, Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
stated that it was "madness" that Leeds did not have a metro system. In December 2019, during his first Queen's Speech, Johnson promised to "remedy the scandal that Leeds is the largest city in Western Europe without light rail or a metro".
Walking
The Leeds Country Way
The Leeds Country Way is a circular long-distance footpath of 62 miles (99 km) around Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from City Square, Leeds, but is mainly rural with extensive views in ...
is a waymarked circular walk of through the rural outskirts of the city, never more than from City Square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
. The Meanwood Valley Trail leads from Woodhouse Moor
Woodhouse Moor is an open space approximately one mile (1.6 km) from Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. Today it consists of 3 parts: a formal park, Woodhouse Moor (often referred to as Hyde Park - see below), of around 26 hectares ...
along Meanwood Beck
The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Ca ...
to Golden Acre Park
Golden Acre Park is a public park in Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (), administered by Leeds City Council. It is on the A660 Otley Road and covers an area of .Leeds City Council ''Golden Acre Park Guide and Map'' (undated)
History
T ...
. The Leeds extension of the Dales Way
The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'lead ...
follows the Meanwood Valley Trail before it branches off to head towards Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
and Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...
. Leeds is on the northern section of the Trans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...
for walkers and cyclists, and the towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
is another popular walking and cycling route. The White Rose Way walking trail to Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
begins at City Square. In addition, there are many parks and public footpaths in both the urban and rural parts of Leeds, and The Ramblers
The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...
' Association, YHA and other walking organisations offer sociable walks. The Ramblers' Association publish various booklets of walks in and around Leeds.
Education
Museums
Leeds has over 16 museums and galleries including 9 that are council-run. Smaller museums in Leeds include Otley Museum; Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 at the ...
Village Museum; ULITA, an Archive of International Textiles; and the museum at Fulneck Moravian Settlement
Fulneck Moravian Settlement is a village in Pudsey in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The village (grid reference ) lies on a hillside overlooking a deep valley. Pudsey Beck flows along the bottom of the val ...
.
Leeds City Museum
Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine ...
opened in 2008 at Millennium Square. It is a major museum for the city: showcasing its designated collections of local history; world cultures; natural history; archaeology and fine and decorative arts plus a diverse programme of special exhibitions.
Abbey House Museum is housed in the former gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...
, and includes walk-through Victorian streets and galleries describing the history of the abbey, childhood, and Victorian Leeds.
Armley Mills Industrial Museum
The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills is a museum of industrial heritage located in Armley, near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, Northern England. The museum includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amon ...
is housed in what was once the world's largest woollen mill, and includes industrial machinery and railway locomotives. This museum also shows the first known moving pictures in the world which were taken in the city, by Louis Le Prince
Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (28 August 1841 – disappeared 16 September 1890, declared dead 16 September 1897) was a French artist and the inventor of an early motion-picture camera, possibly the first person to shoot a moving picture sequ ...
, of a ''Roundhay Garden Scene
''Roundhay Garden Scene'' is a short silent motion picture filmed by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in the north of England on 14 October 1888. It is believed to be the oldest surviving film. The cam ...
'' and of '' Leeds Bridge'' in 1888. These short film clips can be found on YouTube.
The Thackray Museum is a museum of the history of medicine, featuring topics such as Victorian public health, pre-anaesthesia surgery, and safety in childbirth. It is housed in a former workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
next to St James's Hospital
St. James's Hospital ''Confirms spelling of name as "James's" and Irish name'' ( ga, Ospidéal Naomh Séamas) is a teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital ...
.
The Royal Armouries Museum
The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a national museum which displays the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries family of museums, with other sites at the Royal Armouries' traditio ...
, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour, opened in 1996 in a dramatic modern building when this part of the collection was transferred from the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
. It is located a short distance from the city centre at Leeds Dock.
Thwaite Mills Watermill Museum is a fully restored 1820s water-powered mill on the River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
to the east of the city centre.
Nearby is the Leeds Museum Discovery Centre (formerly housed at the Leeds Museum Resource Centre in Yeadon),[National Archives](_blank)
Leeds Museum Discovery Centre the major storage of items not currently on display in museums, and open to the public by appointment.[Leeds Discovery Centre](_blank)
website
Universities and colleges
Further education in Leeds is provided by Elliott Hudson College
Elliott Hudson College is a sixth form located in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The college offers A-Level courses for up to 1000 students from the Leeds City Region.
Elliott Hudson College is part of The GORSE Academies ...
, Leeds City College
Leeds City College is the largest further education establishment in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England with around 26,000 students, 2,300 staff, with an annual turnover of £78 million. (formed by a merger in 2009 and having over 60,000 students), Leeds College of Building, University Technical College (UTC) Leeds, and Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College.
The city is served by five universities, has the UK's fourth-largest student population and the country's fourth-largest urban economy. Institutions providing higher education include:
*The University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, which received its charter in 1904 having developed from the Yorkshire College which was founded in 1874 and the Leeds School of Medicine of 1831;
*Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
, formerly Leeds Polytechnic, which became a university in 1992 as Leeds Metropolitan University, and can trace its roots to the Mechanics' Institute of 1824;
*Leeds Trinity University
Leeds Trinity University is a public university in Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally established to provide qualified teachers to Catholic schools, it gradually expanded and now offers foundation, undergraduate, and postg ...
, which began in 1966 as two teacher training colleges which merged in 1980 to form Trinity and All Saints College and became a university in 2012;
*Leeds Arts University
Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds.
History
It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Scho ...
, formerly Leeds College of Art, which was founded in 1846 as the Leeds School of Art, and became a university in 2017;
*The University of Law
, motto_lang = lat
, mottoeng = Let us know the laws and rights
, established = ,2012 (university status)
, closed =
, type = Private, for-profit
, endowment ...
, formerly the College of Law, which became a university in 2012 and moved to its current Leeds centre campus from York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in 2014;
*Leeds Conservatoire
Leeds Conservatoire (formerly known as The Leeds Music Centre, the City of Leeds College of Music, and Leeds College of Music) is a higher education music conservatoire based in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds, England. It was founded in 19 ...
;
* Northern School of Contemporary Dance;
* University Centre Leeds, part of Leeds City College.
The University of Leeds has about 31,000 students, of which 21,500 are full-time or sandwich undergraduate degree students, Leeds Beckett University has 25,805 students of which 12,000 are full-time or sandwich undergraduate degree students and 2,100 full-time or sandwich HND students. Leeds Trinity University has just under 3,000 students. The city was voted the Best UK University Destination by a survey in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' newspaper.
Schools
At the time of the 2001 census Leeds had a population of 183,000 young people aged 0–19 of whom 110,000 were attending local authority schools. In 2008 Education Leeds, a non-profit company owned by Leeds City Council, provided for 220 primary schools, 39 secondary schools and 6 special inclusive learning centres. Under the government Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...
initiative, Leeds secured £260m to transform 13 secondary schools into high achieving, e-confident, inclusive schools. The first three of these schools at Allerton High School, Pudsey Grammar School and Rodillian School were opened in September 2008. The demand for primary school places in Leeds has recently hit a 15-year peak, with an estimated 10,500 new starters this year. The city's oldest and largest private school is the Grammar School at Leeds, which was legally re-created in 2005 following the merger of Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physicall ...
, established 1552, and Leeds Girls' High School
Leeds Girls' High School (LGHS) was an independent, selective, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 founded in 1876 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It merged with Leeds Grammar School in 2005 to form The Grammar School at Le ...
, established 1876. Other independent schools in Leeds include faith schools serving the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Leeds was one of a number of local authorities to try the three-tier system with first, middle and secondary schools. It reverted to the two-tier system in 1992.
Culture and community
In 2018, Leeds embarked on a five-year cultural investment programme, culminating in a year of cultural celebration in 2023. In 2023 the city will hold an international cultural festival which will harness the energy, creativity and momentum of the bid to be European Capital of Culture 2023, from which Leeds and other candidate UK cities were disqualified following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union.
Art
Leeds Art Gallery
Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...
, which opened in 1888, houses the best twentieth century collection outside London and a colourful wall painting for the Victorian staircase by Lothar Götz. The gallery is owned and operated by Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
and is free to members of the public. Just next door, The Henry Moore Institute hosts a year-round programme of historical, modern and contemporary exhibitions presenting sculpture from across the world.
Located in the art deco headquarters of the former brewery, The Tetley is a centre for contemporary art. The Gallery at 164 is an independent art gallery exhibiting artists, illustrators, photographers and designers working in all types of media.
The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery offers art exhibitions from the University Art Collection and Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery.
Art is taught in Leeds at Leeds College of Art
Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds.
History
It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Scho ...
which has alumni including Henry Moore and Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
.
Leeds city centre has a variety of statues and sculptures on public display. The city also features and ever-growing host of street art and urban murals, including the UK's tallest mural 'Athena Rising'. This mural is part of a city-wide project 'A City Less Grey', initiated by East Street Arts, which won a national award at the Planning Awards 2018.
Events
Leeds West Indian Carnival is Western Europe's oldest West Indian Carnival, and the UK's third-largest after the Notting Hill and Nottingham Carnival. It attracts around 100,000 people over 2 days to the streets of Chapeltown and Harehills. There is a large procession that finishes at Potternewton Park, where there are stalls, entertainment and refreshments. The Leeds Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
, featuring some of the biggest names in rock and indie music, takes place every year in Bramham Park
Bramham Park is a Grade I listed 18th-century country house in Bramham, between Leeds and Wetherby, in West Yorkshire, England.
The house, constructed of magnesian limestone ashlar with stone slate roofs in a classical style, is built to a li ...
. The Leeds Asian Festival, formerly the Leeds Mela, is held in Roundhay Park. The Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...
Folk Festival (patron: Nic Jones
Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians.
Biography ...
), Walking Festival, Carnival and Victorian Christmas Fayre are annual events. Light Night Leeds takes place each October, and many venues in the city are open to the public for Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days (also known as HODs) is an annual celebration of England's architecture and culture that allows visitors free access to historical landmarks that are either not usually open to the public, would normally charge an entrance fee, ...
in September. The Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, established in 1963 by Fanny Waterman and Marion Stein
Maria Donata Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmine Stein, CBE (18 October 19266 March 2014), known as Marion Stein, and subsequently by marriage as Marion Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, and later Marion Thorpe, was an Austrian-born British ...
, has been held in the city every three years since 1963 and has launched the careers of many major concert pianists. The Leeds International Concert Season, which includes orchestral and choral concerts in Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...
and other events, is the largest local authority music programme in the UK.
The Leeds International Film Festival
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitor ...
is the largest film festival in England outside London and shows films from around the world. It incorporates the highly successful ''Leeds Young People's Film Festival'', which features exciting and innovative films made both for and by children and young people. Garforth
Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...
is host to the fortnight-long festival The Garforth Arts Festival
The Garforth Arts Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Garforth, Leeds, England. The events take place over a two-week period in June and July, ending with a full-day ‘Playground Party’ on the final Saturday. The festival fea ...
which has been an annual event since 2005. The Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...
Arts Festival is a week-long music and arts event starting in 1998 and held the week after August Bank Holiday each year.
The Leeds Festival Fringe is a week long-music festival created in 2010 to showcase local talent in the week prior to Leeds Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
.
Light Night, one of the UK's largest annual arts and light festivals, takes place in the first week of October, turning the entire city into an art installation with light shows, projections, installations and lots more.
Leeds Pride is an annual LGBT+
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
festival held since 2006 supported by the city council and local business. In 2018 attendance was 40,000 with over 100 floats and benefits the city by over £3.8 million. The city has a sponsorship scheme for its 15 Rainbow Plaques commemorating places and events that are of significance to the LGBT+ community organised through Leeds Civic Trust
Leeds Civic Trust is a voluntary organisation and registered charity established in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in 1965. Affiliated to the national charity Civic Voice, its stated purpose is "to stimulate public interest in and care for the ...
.
Other festivals include Transform and Thought Bubble.
Film
In October 1888 Louis Le Prince
Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (28 August 1841 – disappeared 16 September 1890, declared dead 16 September 1897) was a French artist and the inventor of an early motion-picture camera, possibly the first person to shoot a moving picture sequ ...
filmed moving picture sequences ''Roundhay Garden Scene
''Roundhay Garden Scene'' is a short silent motion picture filmed by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in the north of England on 14 October 1888. It is believed to be the oldest surviving film. The cam ...
'' and a '' Leeds Bridge'' street scene using his single-lens camera and Eastman's paper film. These were several years before the work of competing inventors such as Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ''Ciném ...
and Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
.
Today, Leeds International Film Festival
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitor ...
's International Short Film Competition is named after Louis Le Prince. The 2015 documentary film '' The First Film'', which first aired at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
, documents Le Prince's pioneering status.
Wordsworth Donisthorpe
__NOTOC__Wordsworth Donisthorpe (24 March 1847 – 30 January 1914) was an English barrister, individualist anarchist and inventor, pioneer of cinematography and chess enthusiast.
Life and work
Donisthorpe was born in Leeds, on 24 March 1847. ...
who was also from Leeds, filmed the second-oldest-surviving film. It is not known if he and Louis Le Prince ever met but they both had a strong connection to the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society
Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society is a Learned society in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1819, and its museum collection forms the basis of Leeds City Museum, which reopened in September 2008. The printed works and ...
. Donisthorpe's patent for a camera to capture the moving image pre dated Le Prince's by twelve years.
Leeds has a rich film exhibition culture. In addition to the Leeds International Film Festival and Leeds Young Film Festival, the city hosts numerous independent cinemas and pop-up venues for film screenings. The Cottage Road Cinema and Hyde Park Picture House have continuously been showing films since 1912 and 1914, respectively, which ranks them among the oldest still-running cinemas in the UK.
Literature
Leeds has produced many writers of note, including celebrated author and playwright Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...
. J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, author of ''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'', lived and taught in Leeds from 1921 to 1925.
Leeds Central Library
Leeds Central Library is a public library in Leeds. Situated in the city centre, on Calverley Street, it houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection and hosts the Leeds Art Gallery.
Services avai ...
, the city's public library is located on Calverley Street, near many of Leeds' other municipal buildings. The Leeds Library
The Leeds Library is the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK. It was founded in 1768, following an advertisement placed in the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' earlier that year. The first secretary was Joseph Priestley. In 1779, ...
in Commercial Street is a private subscription library, and the oldest surviving library of this kind in the UK. The British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
houses a significant portion of its collection just outside Boston Spa
Boston Spa is a Village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Wetherby, Boston Spa is on the south bank of the River Wharfe which separates it from Thorp Arch. According to ...
, a village within the City of Leeds. The Boston Spa location is home to the library's newspaper archive, which contains over 20 million items. The library also plans to open a facility in Leeds City Centre, potentially in the Grade I listed Temple Works
Temple Works is a former flax mill in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was designed by the engineer James Coombe a former pupil of John Rennie; the painter David Roberts; and the architect Joseph Bonomi the Younger. It was built ...
in the South Bank area.
In 2019 and 2020, Leeds hosted the Leeds Lit Fest, a "non-traditional" literature festival, incorporating talks, panels & workshops.
There are plans to create a National Poetry Centre in Leeds.
Parks and open spaces
Leeds has many large parks and open spaces. Roundhay Park
Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.Only Richmond Park (London), Phoenix Park (Dublin) and Silesian Culture and Recreation Park ( Chorzów, Poland) are larger. It covers more than of park ...
is the largest park in the city and is one of the largest city parks in Europe. The park has more than of parkland, lakes, woodland and gardens which are all owned by Leeds City Council. Other parks in the city include: Beckett Park, Bramley Fall Park, Cross Flatts Park, East End Park, Golden Acre Park
Golden Acre Park is a public park in Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (), administered by Leeds City Council. It is on the A660 Otley Road and covers an area of .Leeds City Council ''Golden Acre Park Guide and Map'' (undated)
History
T ...
, Gotts Park, the gardens and grounds of Harewood House
Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation ...
, Horforth Hall Park, Meanwood Park, Middleton Park, Potternewton Park, Pudsey Park, Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam (historically Temple Newsham), () is a Tudor- Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.
The estate lends its name to the Temple Newsam ward of Leeds City Council, in which i ...
, Western Flatts Park and Woodhouse Moor
Woodhouse Moor is an open space approximately one mile (1.6 km) from Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. Today it consists of 3 parts: a formal park, Woodhouse Moor (often referred to as Hyde Park - see below), of around 26 hectares ...
. There are many more smaller parks and open spaces scattered around the city, which make up around 21.7% of the city's total area. A 2017 survey ranked Leeds 7th among the ten largest UK cities (by population) for the amount of green space, although published comments on the survey pointed out major inconsistencies in the city boundaries used.
As part of the South Bank regeneration project, plans are in development for Aire Park, a new 3.5 hectare city centre park located close to the former Tetley Brewery site. Planning permission for the first phase to be undertaken by Vastint UK was granted in December 2018.
Arts
Leeds is home to the refurbished Grand Theatre where the only national opera company outside London, Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
, is based. The City Varieties Music Hall is one of the UK's few remaining music halls, and famously hosted performances by Charlie Chaplin and Harry Houdini. It was also the venue of the BBC television programme '' The Good Old Days''. The newest theatre, containing two auditoriums, is the Leeds Playhouse
Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...
, which had formerly been known as the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Just south of Leeds Bridge once stood The Theatre
The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It was the first permanent theatre ever built in England. It was built in 1576 after th ...
which hosted Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified".
She was the elder sister of Joh ...
and Ching Lau Lauro
Ching Lau Lauro and Professor Ching were the stage names of a juggler and magician (1806?–1840; flourished 1827–1839) who performed outdoors and in theatres in London and the provinces. His real name is unknown; he was possibly Cornish and ...
in 1786 and 1834, respectively.[Leodis, Discovering Leeds: The Theatre]
Retrieved 17 December 2013[Playbill for Theatre, Leeds, Monday 22 September 1834. See :File:Ching Lau Lauro 1834.jpg]
Leeds is also home to Phoenix Dance Theatre, who were formed in the Harehills area of the city in 1981, and Northern Ballet Theatre. In autumn 2010 the two companies moved into a purpose-built dance centre which is the largest space for dance outside London. It is also the only space for dance to house a national classical and a national contemporary dance company alongside each another.
The First Direct Arena opened in September 2013. The 13,500-seater stadium is rapidly becoming the city's number one venue for live music, indoor sports and many other events. Concerts are also held at the O2 Academy, Elland Road, which has hosted groups such as Queen and Kaiser Chiefs, among others and at the universities. Roundhay Park
Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.Only Richmond Park (London), Phoenix Park (Dublin) and Silesian Culture and Recreation Park ( Chorzów, Poland) are larger. It covers more than of park ...
in north Leeds has seen some of the world's biggest artists including Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
.
Popular musical acts originating from Leeds include Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their pla ...
, Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
, The Pigeon Detectives
The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock band from Rothwell in Leeds, West Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. The band have released five albums from 2007 to present.
They performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006, where they we ...
, The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, ...
, The Sunshine Underground
The Sunshine Underground (often shortened to TSU) were an English alternative dance band based in Leeds, England. Their style developed from indie, alternative to electronic music, and they released four full-length albums; '' Raise the Ala ...
, The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasi ...
, Hadouken!, Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...
, Dinosaur Pile-Up
Dinosaur Pile-Up are an English alternative rock band formed in late 2007. Hailing from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Current members are lead singer and guitarist Matt Bigland, drummer Mike Sheils and bassist Jim Cratchley. Their past members include ...
, Pulled Apart by Horses
Pulled Apart by Horses are an English alternative rock band from Leeds. They formed in early 2008.
The band were signed by Transgressive Records in 2009, and released their debut self-titled album '' Pulled Apart by Horses'' on 21 June 2010. I ...
, Gang of Four, Hood
Hood may refer to:
Covering
Apparel
* Hood (headgear), type of head covering
** Article of academic dress
** Bondage hood, sex toy
* Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt
Anatomy
* Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris
* Hood, a flap of ...
, The Rhythm Sisters, Utah Saints
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...
, Alt-J and Melanie B of the Spice Girls.
On Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
1970, The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
performed and recorded their album ''Live at Leeds
''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by English rock band The Who. It was recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970, and is their only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and p ...
'' at the University of Leeds Refectory
The University of Leeds Refectory is a 2,100-capacity music venue located on the University of Leeds main campus in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
In the mid-20th century, the building operated as the university's main canteen. Notable past ...
. Since its initial reception, ''Live at Leeds'' has been cited by several music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
as the best live rock recording of all time.
Pink Floyd's popular second single "See Emily Play
"See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of ...
" was written in Leeds in 1967 after a gig in the old Leeds City College Technology Campus, then known as Kitson College.
Leeds is the only city outside of London to have its own repertory theatre, ballet, and opera companies.
Nightlife
Leeds is Purple Flag accredited to indicate an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night.
Leeds has the fourth largest student population in the country (over 200,000), and is therefore one of the UK's hotspots for night-life. There are a large number of pubs, bars, nightclubs and restaurants, as well as a multitude of venues for live music. The full range of music tastes is catered for in Leeds. It includes the original home of the famous club nights Back 2 Basics, Speedqueen and Vague
In linguistics and philosophy, a vague predicate is one which gives rise to borderline cases. For example, the English adjective "tall" is vague since it is not clearly true or false for someone of middling height. By contrast, the word "prime" is ...
. Morley was the location of techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
club The Orbit. Leeds has a number of large 'super-clubs' and there is a selection of independent clubs such as Club Mission and Mint Club, which is consistently ranked as one of the world's best clubs by DJ Magazine. Two other Leeds clubs, The Warehouse and The Garage, featured in the Top 100 Clubs list from 2013. The Garage has since closed.
The F Club
The F Club (later known as Fan Club) was a punk rock and post-punk club night in Leeds that ran between 1977 and 1982. It was held at various venues across the city during its tenure, including Leeds Polytechnic, the Ace of Clubs, the Continent ...
was club night that ran in Leeds between 1977 and 1982 and specialised in punk rock and post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
. It would prove highly influential to the development of the goth subculture, due to it leading to the formation of seminal gothic rock bands like The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasi ...
, The March Violets
The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven ...
and Southern Death Cult
Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/ gothic rock band in the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead singer and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band the Cult. Despite the similarities in ...
. The now-defunct club Le Phonographique was located in the Merrion Centre and was the first gothic nightclub in the world.
Leeds has a well established LGBT+ nightlife scene, predominantly located in the Freedom Quarter on Lower Briggate. The New Penny is one of the UK's longest running LGBT+ venues, and Leeds oldest gay bar. The Viaduct Showbar holds drag cabaret, live shows and DJs. Other places include The Bridge, Blayds Bar, Tunnel Leeds and Queens Court.
Popular areas for nightlife in Leeds include Call Lane, Briggate and the Arena Quarter. Towards Millennium Square is a growing entertainment district providing for both students and weekend visitors. The square has many bars and restaurants and a large outdoor screen. Millennium Square is a venue for large seasonal events such as a Christmas market
A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
, gigs and concerts, and citywide parties. It is adjacent to the Mandela Gardens, which were opened by Nelson Mandela in 2001. A number of public art features, fountains, and greenery can be found here.
Yorkshire has a great history of real ale, but several bars near the railway station are fusing traditional beers with a modern bar. Popular bars such as this include The Hop, The Cross Keys and The Brewery Tap. Leeds also hosts an annua
Leeds International Beer Festival
held at Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...
every September.
Media
Yorkshire Post Newspapers
Yorkshire Post Newspapers are publishers of the '' Yorkshire Post'' and ''Yorkshire Evening Post''. They were based at offices in Wellington Street, but in November 2012 they moved to Number 1 Leeds, Whitehall Road, where they took four floors in ...
Ltd, owned by Johnston Press plc, is based in the city, and produces a daily morning broadsheet, ''The Yorkshire Post
''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...
'', and an evening paper, the ''Yorkshire Evening Post
The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' is a daily evening publication (delivered to newsagents every morning) published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The paper provides a regional slant on the day's news, and traditi ...
'' (YEP). The YEP has a website which includes a series of community pages which focus on specific areas of the city. The '' Wetherby News'' covers mainly areas within the north eastern sector of the district, and the ''Wharfedale & Airedale Observer
The ''Gazette & Observer'', in full the ''Ilkley, Wharfedale and Aireborough Gazette & Observer'', was a weekly newspaper published by Wharfedale Newspapers of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, and part of the Newsquest group. It began publicati ...
'', published in Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
, covers the north-west, both appearing weekly. The two largest universities both have student newspapers
A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also rep ...
, the weekly ''Leeds Student
''The Gryphon'' is the student newspaper of the University of Leeds. It is published monthly during term time and its editor, the newspaper's only paid position, is elected annually by Leeds University Union members. The articles are written ...
'' from the University of Leeds and the monthly '' The Met'' from Leeds Beckett University. '' The Leeds Guide'' was a fortnightly listings magazine, which was established in 1997 and ceased publication in 2012. Free publications include the ''Leeds Weekly News'', produced by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in four geographic versions and distributed to households in the main urban area of the city, and the regional version of ''Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' which is distributed on buses and at railway stations.
Regional television and radio stations have bases in the city: BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Television and
ITV both have regional studios and broadcasting centres in Leeds, in addition to
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
having recently announced that their national HQ will be located in Leeds.
ITV Yorkshire
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network. Until 1974, this was prima ...
, formerly Yorkshire Television, broadcasts from
the Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 20 ...
on Kirkstall Road. There are a number of independent film production companies, including the not-for-profit cooperative Leeds Animation Workshop, founded in 1978; community video producers Vera Media and several small commercial production companies.
BBC Radio Leeds,
Pulse 1
Pulse 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Leeds, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the West Yorkshire.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 131,000 list ...
,
Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire
Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire (previously Magic 828 and Radio Aire 2) is a local radio station serving West Yorkshire on 96.3 FM, DAB, Online and App.
History
Magic 828
Magic 828 was launched by Roger Kirk at 8:28 am on 17 July 1990. ...
,
Capital Yorkshire
Capital Yorkshire is a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire from studios in Leeds, West Yorkshire, E ...
and
Heart Yorkshire
Heart Yorkshire (previously Real Radio Yorkshire) is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to South and West Yorkshire from studios in Leeds. broadcast from the city.
LSRfm.com, is based in
Leeds University Union
Leeds University Union (LUU) is the representative body for the students at the University of Leeds, England.
It is led by a group of student sabbatical officers known as the Student Executive, and supported by around 140 full-time staff membe ...
, and regularly hosts outside broadcasts around the city. Many communities within Leeds now have their own local radio stations, such as
East Leeds FM and
Tempo FM for
Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
and the surrounding areas.
Leeds has a local television station called
Leeds TV which is required to broadcast 37 hours a week of first-run local programming. The station had launched in 2014 as ''Made in Leeds'' which launched across the city in 2014. A privately owned television station: Leeds Television is run by volunteers and supported by professionals in the media industry.
Sport
![Elland_Road_Stadium_Leeds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Elland_Road_Stadium_Leeds.jpg)
The city has teams representing all the major national sports.
Leeds United F.C.
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
is the city's main
football club, additional clubs include
Guiseley AFC,
Farsley Celtic and
Garforth Town
Garforth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Wheatley Park.
History
The club was established in 1964 as Miners Arms, a Sunday league team based at ...
.
Leeds United was formed in 1919 and plays at the 37,890-capacity
Elland Road Stadium in
Beeston. The team rejoined the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, following a sixteen-year stint in lower divisions, after they won promotion by winning the
EFL Championship in 2019–20.
Guiseley
Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.
It sits in th ...
was formed in 1909 and plays at the 4,000 capacity
Nethermoor Park Stadium in
Guiseley
Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.
It sits in th ...
; the team plays in the
Northern Premier League.
Farsley Celtic was formed in 1908 and plays in the
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
and their stadium is
Throstle Nest.
Garforth Town
Garforth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Wheatley Park.
History
The club was established in 1964 as Miners Arms, a Sunday league team based at ...
was formed in 1964 and plays in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division; their stadium is Wheatley Park.
Leeds Rhinos
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...
are the most successful
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
team in Leeds. In 2009, they became first club to be
Super League champions three seasons running, giving them their fourth Super League title.
They play their home games at the
Headingley Rugby Stadium
Headingley Rugby Stadium shares the same site as Headingley Cricket Ground and is home to Leeds Rhinos. Headingley is the 5th largest rugby league stadium in England.
History
1889-1980s: Construction and development
Leeds St Johns, who ...
.
Hunslet
Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past.
It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...
, based at the
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It consists of the South Leeds Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Indoor Athletics Centre and Tennis Centre. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium (a ...
, play in the
Co-Operative Championship One.
East Leeds and
Oulton Raiders play in the
National Conference League
The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...
.
Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes RLFC is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.
History
At the end of the 1999 season Bramley RLFC resigned from the Northern Ford Premiership to become a feeder team for Leeds, b ...
(previously
Bramley), and
Leeds Akkies were members of the
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England ...
.
Leeds Tykes
Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1.
The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...
were the foremost
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
team in Leeds and they previously also played at Headingley. They play in
National League 1
National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...
having been relegated from
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...
at the end of the 2019–20 season.
Otley RUFC are a rugby union club based to the north of the city and compete in
National League 2 North
National League 2 North is one of three, level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two counte ...
, whilst
Morley RFC, located in
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
currently play in
National Division Three North.
Headingley Cricket Stadium is home to
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...
which is the most successful
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
team in England, with 33
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
wins (including one shared). Their main rivals are
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
.
Leeds City Athletic Club competes in the
British Athletics League and UK Women's League as well as the Northern Athletics League.
Leeds is home to a number of
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
clubs that compete in the
North Hockey League,
Yorkshire Hockey Association League and
BUCS leagues. These include Leeds Hockey Club,
Leeds Adel Carnegie Hockey Club
Leeds Adel Hockey Club is a field hockey club based in Adel, Leeds, England. The club is also known as 'Leeds Adel' and was renamed from Leeds Adel Carnegie Hockey Club in 2012.
The club is one of the largest in the Leeds area with over 300 me ...
, the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
Hockey Club and
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
Hockey Club.
Leeds Hockey Club Men's 1s gained promotion at the end of the 2016–17 season to become Leeds's first hockey team competing in a National League.
The City of Leeds Synchronised Swimming Club train at the
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It consists of the South Leeds Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Indoor Athletics Centre and Tennis Centre. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium (a ...
and are represented by swimmers throughout the whole of the North East. The club was founded in 2008 and only compete in National and International Competition.
The city has a wealth of sports facilities including the
Elland Road football stadium, a host stadium during the
1996 European Football Championship
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
; the
Headingley Carnegie Stadiums, adjacent stadia world-famous for both
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
and
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
and the
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It consists of the South Leeds Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Indoor Athletics Centre and Tennis Centre. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium (a ...
with an
Olympic-sized pool in its Aquatics Centre and includes a multi-use stadium. Other facilities include the Leeds Wall (climbing) and Yeadon Tarn sailing centre. In 1929 the first Ryder Cup of Golf to be held on British soil was competed for at the Moortown Golf club in Leeds and Wetherby has a
National Hunt
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...
racecourse
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
. In the period 1928 to 1939 speedway racing was staged in Leeds on a track at the greyhound stadium known as Fullerton Park, adjacent to Elland Road. The track entered a team in the 1931 Northern league.
![Tour de France Grand Depart marker Leeds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Tour_de_France_Grand_Depart_marker_Leeds.jpg)
The
2014 Tour de France
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race ...
Grand Départ took place from the Headrow in Leeds city centre on 5 July 2014.
Leeds is well known for its divers and features some of the best diving facilities in the UK. ''City of Leeds Diving Club'', who train at the
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It consists of the South Leeds Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Indoor Athletics Centre and Tennis Centre. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium (a ...
, has trained many athletes who have competed at international and
Olympic level, with
Jack Laugher
Jack David Laugher ( ; born 30 January 1995) is a British diver competing for Great Britain and England. A specialist on springboard, he competes in individual springboard events, and in synchronised events with Chris Mears, Daniel Goodfello ...
and
Chris Mears making history by becoming the first ever divers from Great Britain to win an Olympic gold medal, a feat they accomplished at the
2016 Rio Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
.
Leeds has an
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
team, the
Leeds Chiefs; they play at the Planet Ice Arena in
Beeston, Leeds in the
National Ice Hockey League
The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called th ...
.
Teams
Religion
![Leeds Cathedral](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Leeds_Cathedral.jpg)
The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves as
Christian.
Leeds does not have a
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
Cathedral: it is in the
Anglican Diocese of Leeds (formerly in the
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...
), headed by the
Bishop of Leeds, which has cathedrals in
Bradford,
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
although the
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
's residence has been in Leeds since 2008. The most important Anglican church is
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 ...
, although
St. George's has the largest congregation by far. Leeds has a Roman Catholic
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
, the
episcopal seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds is a Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite centred on Leeds Cathedral in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley, which h ...
. Many other Christian denominations and new religious movements are established in Leeds, including
Assemblies of God,
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
,
Christian Scientist
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known ...
,
Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...
("LDS" or "
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...
"),
Community of Christ,
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
,
Jehovah's Witnesses,
Jesus Army,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
,
Moravian,
Nazarene,
Newfrontiers
Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a neo-charismatic church network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s co ...
,
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement ,
Salvation Army,
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
,
Society of Friends ("Quakers"),
Unitarian,
United Reformed,
Vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
, an ecumenical Chinese church,
Winners' Chapel
Living Faith Church Worldwide (also known as Winners' Chapel) is an Evangelical charismatic Christian denomination and a megachurch. The headquarters is located in Ota, Nigeria. The organization has since become a global network of churches w ...
and several independent churches.
![SikhTempleLS7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/SikhTempleLS7.jpg)
The proportion of
Muslims in Leeds is slightly above average for the country (5.4% as of 2011).
Mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s can be found throughout the city, serving Muslim communities in
Chapeltown,
Harehills,
Hyde Park and parts of
Beeston. The largest mosque is
Leeds Grand Mosque in Hyde Park.
The
Sikh community is represented by
gurdwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...
s (temples) spread across the city, the largest being in
Chapeltown. There is also a colourful religious annual procession, called the Nagar Kirtan, into
Millennium Square in the city centre on 13–14 April to celebrate
Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...
—the Sikh New Year and the birth of the religion. It is estimated that around 3,000 Sikhs in Leeds take part in this annual event.
Leeds's
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community is the third-largest in the United Kingdom, after London and Greater Manchester. The areas of
Alwoodley and
Moortown contain sizeable Jewish populations.
There are eight active synagogues in Leeds.
The
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
community in Leeds has a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
(mandir) at
Hyde Park. The temple has all the major Hindu deities and is dedicated to the Lord
Mahavira of the
Jains
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
.
Various
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
traditions are represented in Leeds, including:
Soka Gakkai,
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
,
Tibetan,
Triratna Buddhist Community
The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)) is an international fellowship of Buddhists and others who aspire to its path of mindfulness. It was founded by Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward ...
and
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
. The Buddhist community (
sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
) comes together to celebrate the major festival of
Wesak
Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemora ...
in May.
There is also a community of the
Bahá'í Faith in Leeds.
Public services
Water supply and
sewerage services in Leeds are provided by
Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its ...
, part of the
Kelda Group
Kelda Group is a British utility company. It is based in Bradford, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but was taken private by a group of investors, Saltaire Water, in 2008. Sa ...
. Prior to 1973 water and sewerage services had been provided by the Leeds Corporation. Leeds City Council has a target of 11MW of renewable energy from onshore wind by 2010 and an aspirational target of 75MW by 2020. There are currently no operational wind farms in Leeds, but a planning application by
Banks Renewables Ltd for five turbines at Hook Moor near
Micklefield
Micklefield is a village and civil parish east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Garforth, Aberford and Brotherton and is close to the A1 Motorway. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The population as of the 2 ...
was approved in 2011.
![Leeds central library 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Leeds_central_library_001.jpg)
The area is policed by the
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.
History
West Yor ...
. The force has five policing districts covering the West Yorkshire area, one of which covers Leeds. The Leeds District Headquarters is located at Elland Road in the south of the city. In the north-west of the city the main stations are
Weetwood
Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the sout ...
and Woodhouse Lane; in the north-east, the main stations are Stainbeck near
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...
and
Killingbeck; in the south the main stations are Leeds Central, located on Park Street in the city centre, and the District Headquarters itself. Fire and rescue services are provided by the
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is administered by a joint authority of 22 people who are appointed an ...
. The fire stations in Leeds are:
Cookridge,
Gipton
Gipton is a suburb of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, between the A58 to the north and the A64 to the south.
It is in the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. The separate area ...
,
Hunslet
Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past.
It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...
,
Stanks
Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...
,
Moortown,
Stanningley
Stanningley is a district of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Leeds city centre on the A647 road, the original main road from Leeds to Bradford. The appropriate Leeds Metropolitan Ward is Bramley and Stann ...
and the "Leeds" fire station (near the city centre, on Kirkstall Road).
NHS health services are provided by the
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS hospital trust in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The Trust was formed in April 1998 after the merger of two previous smaller NHS trusts to form one citywide organisation. The former trusts were United ...
, Leeds Primary Care Trust and Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services.
Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Its previous name The General Infirmary at Leeds is stil ...
("LGI") is a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
with more recent additions and is in the city centre.
St James's University Hospital
St James's University Hospital ''Confirming name as "St James's"'' is in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's. It is one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals due to its coverage on television. It is managed ...
, known locally as "Jimmy's",
[In the background section of page](_blank)
additional text. is to the north east of the city centre and is the largest teaching hospital in Europe. Other NHS hospitals are
Chapel Allerton Hospital
Chapel Allerton Hospital is located in the area of Chapel Allerton, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is operated by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The main entrance is on Chapeltown Road, with vehicle exits onto Harehills Lane and Ne ...
,
Seacroft Hospital
Seacroft Hospital is based in York Road in the area of Seacroft, Leeds, LS14 West Yorkshire, England and is operated by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
History
A decision was made in 1893 to establish a facility to care for people w ...
,
Wharfedale Hospital in Otley, and
Leeds Dental Institute
Leeds Dental Institute is a dental health facility located in the Worsley Building, Clarendon Way, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is jointly managed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds.
History
The institute ha ...
. The new NHS Leeds Website provides information on NHS services in Leeds.
West Yorkshire Joint Services
West Yorkshire Joint Services (WYJS) provides a range of public services to the five districts of West Yorkshire, England (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield). It is jointly funded by the five district councils, pro rata to their p ...
provides analytical, archaeological, archives, ecology, materials testing and trading standards services in Leeds and the other four districts of West Yorkshire. It was created following the abolition of the county council in 1986 and expanded in 1997, and is funded by the five district councils, pro rata to their population. The Leeds site of the archives service is in the former public library at
Sheepscar
Sheepscar is an inner city district of Leeds in West Yorkshire England, lying to the north east of Leeds city centre. The district is in the City of Leeds Metropolitan Council. It is overlooked by the tower blocks of Little London and Lovel ...
, Leeds.
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
is responsible for over 50 public libraries across the whole city, including 5 mobile libraries. The main
Central Library is located on the
Headrow
The Headrow is an avenue in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England.
It is one of the most important thoroughfares in central Leeds, hosting many of the city's civic and cultural buildings including Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Central Libra ...
in the city centre.
Freedom of the City
The following people, military units and organisations and groups have received the
Freedom of the City of Leeds.
Individuals
*
Field Marshal Rt Hon Lord Haig : 23 January 1920.
*
Admiral of the Fleet Rt Hon Lord Beatty : 18 October 1922.
*
Rt Hon David Lloyd George : 21 October 1922.
*
Rt Hon E.F.L. Wood : 5 March 1923.
*
Stanley Baldwin : 13 March 1925.
*
Rt Hon Lord Asquith : 13 March 1925.
*
Rt Hon Lord Moynihan : 6 October 1926.
*
Sir William Middlebrook : 6 October 1926.
*
Sir Edward Brotherton : 6 October 1926.
*
Rt Hon Philip Snowden : 11 September 1930.
*
Rt Hon Arthur Greenwood : 11 September 1930.
*
HRH Princess Royal: 7 July 1932.
*
Rt Hon H. V. Evatt : 7 July 1943.
*
Rt Hon Sir Winston Churchill : 28 October 1958.
*
Major Rt Hon Lord Milner of Leeds : 1967.
*
Nelson Mandela: 30 April 2001.
*
Dame Fanny Waterman
Dame Fanny Waterman (22 March 192020 December 2020) was a British pianist and academic piano teacher, who is particularly known as the founder, chair and artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was also president of ...
: April 2004.
*
Jane Tomlinson : 20 May 2005.
*
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...
: 12 March 2006.
*
James Heselden : 26 January 2011. (Awarded Posthumously)
*
Beryl Burton : 12 September 2014. (Awarded Posthumously)
*
Rob Burrow
Robert Geoffrey Burrow (born 26 September 1982) is an English former professional rugby league player. An England and Great Britain representative, he spent his entire 16-year professional career with Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, making ...
: 20 December 2022
*
Kevin Sinfield
Kevin Sinfield (born 12 September 1980) is the defence coach for the England national rugby union team. He is a former professional rugby league footballer, captain and director of rugby for the Leeds Rhinos. Sinfield also represented England ...
: 20 December 2022
Military units
*
HMS Ark Royal,
RN: 4 November 1941.
*
RAF Church Fenton
Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...
: 1971.
*
HMS Ark Royal,
RN: 25 October 1973.
* 5th Battalion
The Rifles
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...
: 1 August 2009.
*
4th Battalion The
Parachute Regiment: 9 December 2020.
*
Leeds Rifles
The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Fron ...
*
Leeds Pals
*
51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot
Organisations and Groups
*
Leeds United FC 1967–74: 4 December 2019.
See also
*
BrassNeck Theatre
*
Canopy Housing, community housing charity in Leeds inner city
*
List of people from Leeds
List of people from Leeds is a list of notable people from the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. This list includes people from the County Borough of Leeds, historic settlement, and the wider City of Leeds, metropolitan borough, and thu ...
*
Leeds (Whitehall Road) power station
Leeds power station, also known as Whitehall Road power station, supplied electricity to the city of Leeds and the surrounding area from 1893 to 1965. It was initially built, owned and operated by the Yorkshire House-to-House Electricity Company ...
Notes and references
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Leeds Initiative city partnershipLeeds City Council
{{Authority control
Leeds Blue Plaques
Leeds City Region
Towns in West Yorkshire
Unparished areas in West Yorkshire