Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire,England. Leeds is an extremely lively city, rich in culture and heritage with lots to explore. More than 750,000 people live within our city boundaries and over 100,000 people come to work in the city centre every day. Many thousands more tourists and visitors come to shop, eat out or enjoy the range of attractions Leeds has on offer.

History of Leeds

Being a major shopping city isn’t something new to Leeds as this city was orginally a market town. This was where a large quantity of England’s wollen cloth was produced and then sold on from. The development of local transport networks increased the trade of cloth both nationally and internationally. One of the first factories built here was Marchall’s Mill in 1790.  After these first textile factories came more diverse ones.  By 1914, there were factories dedicated to chemical production, printing, clothing manufacuring and engineering. These products were of course replaced during World War II with those required by the military. Before the war manufactoring was in decline and long after the war had finished, by the 1970s, the industrial boom ended. In recent years the city has redeveloped itself not as an industrial city but as an impressive financial centre. One of Englands strongest, just behind the capital city, London.

Attractions

The diverse array of landmarks, which includes rural open spaces and impressive buildings, reflects both its industrial past and its many current roles. The multicultural nature of the city is evidenced in the range of religious buildings and cultural festivals present. The city is a major centre of higher education, being the seat of the internationally acclaimed University of Leeds as well as Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Trinity University College. The student population has stimulated growth of the nightlife in the city and there are ample facilities for sporting and cultural activities, including classical and popular music festivals, and a varied collection of museums.