City Guides
Leeds
History
Leeds has a long history. First mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, Leeds existed as a town during the Middle Ages and was granted a Royal Charter to hold a market in 1207.
Already a busy merchant town, Leeds’ development accelerated during the Industrial Revolution and the canal and railway links became central to British industry. Leeds had a population of 150,000 by the middle of the nineteenth-century and was granted city status in 1893. As in many other Northern towns and cities, coal mining became an important employer in the area.
During the twentieth-century, the Leeds manufacturing industry declined dramatically, and the creation of three major academic institutions in the city created new employment in administration and teaching. Leeds is still home to a few large engineering firms, with nearly 15% of the population employed in construction or manufacturing jobs, but nearly a quarter of the population now work in finance, IT or other business services, well above the national average.
Leeds has 2330 listed buildings – more than the ancient town of York – and 58 scheduled ancient monuments, with the Leeds Civic Trust set up to protect the interests of the city’s historical buildings and sites. Ledsham Church is an eighth-century, Anglo-Saxon church, located in Castleford, and one of the city’s most impressive historical monuments. Kirkstall Abbey, on Abbey Road, dates back to the mid-twelfth-century. There is a visitors’ centre and historical exhibitions that can be visited free of charge.
There are fifteen museums and heritage centres in Leeds, exploring various elements of local and national history and housing artifacts as much as a thousand years old. The Leeds City Museum is due to open in 2008 in what was formerly the Leeds Institute building. The Grade II listed, four-floored property will house collections exploring Leeds’ social history.
The Royal Armouries Museum was opened in 1996 when a third of the collection of arms and armour from the Tower of London was transferred to the new museum. (Other exhibits were sent to Fort Nelson in Portsmouth, and the rest were retained in the Tower of London.) The museum has five themed galleries – War, Tournament, Self-Defense, Hunting and The Orient. Exhibits include instruments of torture and punishment in the Spanish Armoury collection, and trophy weapons from the era of the British Empire. Demonstrations of medieval martial arts are given in the gardens. For more information, contact the museum on 08700 344 344.
The Thackray Medical Museum is the largest medical museum in the country, and explores the social history of medicine and the impact it has had on modern civilization. Collections include surgical instruments and medical trade literature. There is also a life-size ‘Victorian street’ for visitors to stroll down and discover the impact of disease on Victorian life. For more information, call 0113 244 4343.
Already a busy merchant town, Leeds’ development accelerated during the Industrial Revolution and the canal and railway links became central to British industry. Leeds had a population of 150,000 by the middle of the nineteenth-century and was granted city status in 1893. As in many other Northern towns and cities, coal mining became an important employer in the area.
During the twentieth-century, the Leeds manufacturing industry declined dramatically, and the creation of three major academic institutions in the city created new employment in administration and teaching. Leeds is still home to a few large engineering firms, with nearly 15% of the population employed in construction or manufacturing jobs, but nearly a quarter of the population now work in finance, IT or other business services, well above the national average.
Leeds has 2330 listed buildings – more than the ancient town of York – and 58 scheduled ancient monuments, with the Leeds Civic Trust set up to protect the interests of the city’s historical buildings and sites. Ledsham Church is an eighth-century, Anglo-Saxon church, located in Castleford, and one of the city’s most impressive historical monuments. Kirkstall Abbey, on Abbey Road, dates back to the mid-twelfth-century. There is a visitors’ centre and historical exhibitions that can be visited free of charge.
There are fifteen museums and heritage centres in Leeds, exploring various elements of local and national history and housing artifacts as much as a thousand years old. The Leeds City Museum is due to open in 2008 in what was formerly the Leeds Institute building. The Grade II listed, four-floored property will house collections exploring Leeds’ social history.
The Royal Armouries Museum was opened in 1996 when a third of the collection of arms and armour from the Tower of London was transferred to the new museum. (Other exhibits were sent to Fort Nelson in Portsmouth, and the rest were retained in the Tower of London.) The museum has five themed galleries – War, Tournament, Self-Defense, Hunting and The Orient. Exhibits include instruments of torture and punishment in the Spanish Armoury collection, and trophy weapons from the era of the British Empire. Demonstrations of medieval martial arts are given in the gardens. For more information, contact the museum on 08700 344 344.
The Thackray Medical Museum is the largest medical museum in the country, and explores the social history of medicine and the impact it has had on modern civilization. Collections include surgical instruments and medical trade literature. There is also a life-size ‘Victorian street’ for visitors to stroll down and discover the impact of disease on Victorian life. For more information, call 0113 244 4343.
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