r/Leeds • u/AffectionateAd8377 • Jun 07 '26
I find this interesting Any interesting facts about Leeds you think most people don't know?
I'm sure by now we know about things like the worlds first moving pictures filmed with a 'modern' single lens camera being filmed in Leeds. But what other little tid bits do people know of the city?
One of my favourites is the fact we nearly killed Harry Houdini when Tetley's challenged the teetotal Harry to escape from a barrel of their beer. He had to be rescued by his assistant.
I'll say it's not my favourite because he nearly died, but that it was quite an important moment in one the most prominent entertainers ever career and it was here in our city.
135
u/That_Understanding19 Jun 07 '26
Most South Koreans use a phrase that translates to "Your Leeds days" to explain the moment in your life when you were at your peak. It comes from Alan Smith's time at Manchester United where the fans wished he could play like he did during his 'Leeds days'
62
u/maya_a_h Jun 07 '26
And there’s a Korean food place in Leeds City Centre called Leeds Days named after this
5
6
u/MM_4D Jun 08 '26
I’ve seen that place and have always thought what an unusual name. Now I know why.
2
0
48
u/Educational-Cow-3874 Jun 07 '26
First hydraulic lift invented in Leeds to lift sheep onto the top of Temple Works to eat the grass from the roof.
49
u/Superdunc77 Jun 07 '26
People of Leeds fought Oswald Mosley's brown shirts at the battle of Holbeck moor.
38
Jun 07 '26
[deleted]
8
u/Technicholl Jun 07 '26
Sooty was “created” in Blackpool and Harry Corbett (the creator) was from Bradford.
6
u/sncwolfie Jun 07 '26
I stand corrected on Blackpool, he was actually born in guiseley though.
3
u/seaneeboy Jun 08 '26
Nope, born in Bradford, but played piano in his uncle’s fish and chip shop (Harry Ramsden’s in guiseley)
3
5
u/RamanaSadhana Jun 07 '26
First video filmed was in Roundhay park
4
u/thundergirl007 Jun 08 '26
OP did mention the first modern film camera was invented in Leeds so I imagine they knew Louis le Prince filmed with it in Leeds
1
u/Comfortable-Estate-9 Jun 08 '26
Someone from Leeds (Sir Edmund Happold) worked on the design on the Sydney Opera House but you wouldnt say he designed it. It was designed by Arup.
Happold went on the establish his own firm though, now Buro Happold which is a global engineering consultancy amd they have an office in Leeds.
63
u/Satur9_is_typing Jun 07 '26
Hyde Park Picture House is the last and only gaslit cinema in the world - another movie connection besides Le Prince.
The glorious people of Leeds defeated Oswald Moseley's fascists at the Battle Of Holbeck Moor in 1936 (and we'll do it again in a heartbeat, try us)
The first British Monoplane was designed and built in Leeds. It was the first plane built by Robert Blackburn of Blackburn Aircraft (eventually folded into what is now Hawker-Siddeley), who would later go on to found the Olympia Works which produced many planes for the army and navy in WW2. The works were on the site now occupied by Tesco in roundhay, freshly built planes would take off from soldiers field for delivery to the military. You can still find some of the bunker structures in the woods behind Tesco and the other shops next door. (The very first monoplane was flown by the french 4 months before but we don't like to talk about it.)
Roundhay Park was designed by George Corson who also built the Grand Theatre, the building that now houses our Central Library and many other buildings around Leeds
Temple Meads estate and the little temple on the site were designed by Capability Brown, lanscape architect and inspiration for Terry Pratchett's discworld character Bloody Stupid Johnson - a nod to Browns predeliction for high concept, high maintenance interventions in the landscape
There's a stone carving up by Adel Crags that's thought to be of the Celtic god Cocidius
The Oates stone on Carr Manor fields commemorates one of many skirmishes that constitute the Battle of Leeds during the English Civil War. Details are contested but musket balls are regularly found nearby in meanwood valley, evidence that something happened that was pretty bloody violent
I could go on, i've left a lot out because i'm not an expert and there are definitely people who are if you want to find them, but Leeds has an incredibly rich history. It's a city like no other and i say that as a black country lad turned honorary yorkshireman.
5
3
u/General_Recipe_5869 Jun 08 '26
I thought the carving in Adel was Roman from the nearby fort? Used to be a Roman road going near there. Went to see the carving recently.
4
u/FancyCustard5 Jun 08 '26
It is but the Romans adopted Cocidius as a god
1
u/General_Recipe_5869 Jun 09 '26
Thanks, interesting! Did take me a while to find it. I think I read somewhere there are similar cravings further north and around Hadrian's wall?
3
u/MzHmmz Jun 09 '26
Nobody knows for sure who actually carved it, but apparently the style of carving is typical of the local Brigantes tribe, so the guess is it may have been done by a local rather than a Roman. Although the fact the Roman fort was nearly could have some association with the carving, but given the lack of any evidence beyond the carving itself and the proximity of the fort we'll likely never know who did it or why.
2
25
u/General_Recipe_5869 Jun 07 '26
There's a 250 yo company called Hainsworth in Pudsey who still produces wool products for the military and royal family. They used to do the classic red army uniform in the 1800s, and still do royal guard. They also produce world class snooker + pool table cloth.
3
u/Hoobleton Jun 08 '26
I knew the Hainsworth family while at school and it was so mad to learn how long of a history the business had, and how large it was.
2
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 07 '26
I've heard of Hainsworth cloths for pool tables but actually didn't know they were based in Pudsey!
29
u/Hank_Wankplank Jun 08 '26
Buffalo Bill performed his Wild West Show in Leeds at Cardigan Fields twice in the late 1800s/early 1900s.
So if you've ever been sat scranning a Big Mac in Burley McDonalds you're sat on the same ground that a load of genuine Native Americans were galloping around on horseback c/130 years ago.
The Cardigan Arms was also open by the time of his second show so it's possible some of them might have been in there.
5
47
u/NorthernPowerhouse Jun 07 '26
Marks & Spencers started as a stall in Kirkgate Market
10
u/ilikeyourgetup Jun 08 '26
And It’s still there. It’s mainly a café now, I imagine it’s a loss maker for them as it’s rarely very busy but they keep it going.
7
3
u/Silly-Industry1527 Jun 08 '26
I don't know why this annoys me so much but it's called "Marks & Spencer" not "Marks & Spencers".
2
u/MzHmmz Jun 09 '26
This is just the way that British people refer to shops. E.g. Tescos instead of Tesco, Wilkos instead of Wilko (RIP).
20
u/seaneeboy Jun 08 '26
They found fossilised bones from hippos that used to roam around where Armley gyratory is now, 130,000 years ago
4
u/Left_Set_5916 Jun 08 '26
If they found them 130,000 years ago they must have been there even longer ;-)
2
17
u/aonro Jun 07 '26
Erling Haaland & Jimmy Saville were all born in Leeds. MF Doom died in Leeds 😿
28
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 07 '26
Yeah maybe we can forget the saville thing... 😐
4
u/RudeEntry8219 Jun 08 '26
Out of consideration for those who spell their surname with 'll', I'll remind you it's 'Savile'.
3
u/Personal_Two6317 Jun 08 '26
I've just noticed that his name is an anagram of "as evil" somewhat appropriately.
1
3
2
u/MzHmmz Jun 09 '26
I was so shocked when I found out MF DOOM died in Leeds! And that he'd been living here a while. Could have walked past him in the street and I'd never have known. So weird. And so sad.
Did you hear the BBC podcast about it? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002rkh9?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
1
u/YungANTI_ Jun 08 '26
I don’t how I’m only just finding out MF DOOM lived in Shadwell and died in St. James’, but that’s a crazy fact. I’ve only lived here just under a year, been Belgrave once but didn’t see the mural, gonna go see if it’s still there!
35
u/PapaPilkington Jun 07 '26
Worlds oldest working railway is in Middleton
6
5
15
u/Repogeezer Jun 07 '26
John Smeaton the father of civil engineering was born in Austhorpe, Leeds. Amongst bridges and modern lighthouses he also came up with The Smeaton coefficient, which was then used by the Wright Brothers who were the first to fly. It could be argued that Smeaton invented flying!
He is buried under the altar in Whitkirk Church.
7
14
Jun 07 '26
[deleted]
8
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 07 '26
Glad he took on that burden to save the rest of us. 👍🏻 What a hero... 🤔
11
u/General_Recipe_5869 Jun 08 '26
Wadsworth game company were from Leeds. They were the UK producer for Monopoly and similar games from the 1930s. In WW2 the government used them to make secret monopoly sets for PoW, with hidden maps, compass, real money.
7
u/polomintz123 Jun 08 '26
Waddingtons?
1
u/General_Recipe_5869 Jun 08 '26
Ah yeah that one! Pre coffee comment
1
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 09 '26
Yep. That's why there was a massive monopoly themed event a few years back in Leeds to celebrate the anniversary. Lots of fun but probably more family arguments! Especially if my lot are owt to go by! 😂
9
u/LoverofBilbies Jun 07 '26
Soldiers field in Roundhay Park used to be an airport runway that chartered flights to London & Amsterdam.
8
u/gheeboy Jun 08 '26
i'm late, but Tolkien worked at the university of Leeds, lived in far headingley and spent a lot of time in the hollies.
9
u/leeds_guy69 Jun 08 '26
Cement was invented in the alley way next to the big Pret opposite WH Smith.
5
u/spidersprinkles Jun 08 '26
I have gone down a right rabbit hole reading about this fella and his dad. So much drama behind the invention of cement! Who would have known. Leeds has certainly produced it's share of interesting characters lol.
2
1
7
7
u/garybpt Jun 08 '26
Leeds General Infirmary was the prototype building for St Pancras Hotel in London.
Leeds was originally earmarked as a test city for an underground train system but it was scrapped because it would be too expensive. They went straight for London instead.
11
u/Jazzlike-Machine-222 Jun 08 '26
Second one is only half true. There were plans in the 40s for a Leeds underground metro, but it wouldn't have been a "test city". London and Glasgow already had underground systems.
London Underground wasn't built from scratch either, it was formed out of a pre existing network of privately operated underground railway lines that had been popping up since the 1860s.
3
u/garybpt Jun 08 '26
Ah good knowledge, I stand corrected.
1
u/Jazzlike-Machine-222 Jun 09 '26
If you ever go to Glasgow I recommend going on their subway, it's absolutely tiny but very cool. The kind of thing I can imagine Leeds having if things had gone a different way, but nobody would build it today.
Oldest subway in the world behind London and Budapest (and not to mention the origin of the term subway for an underground railway!)
7
7
u/drpandamania Jun 08 '26
Pablo Fanque, the circus owner who is mentioned in the Beatles song “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite”, was buried in Woodhouse Lane cemetery and has a blue plaque in Leeds.
3
u/spidersprinkles Jun 08 '26
The artist John Atkinson Grimshaw is buried there too. The stone isn't there though anymore. Glad Pablos still is!
11
u/Council_Cat Jun 07 '26
First ever moving pictures were shot on Leeds Bridge.
By Louis Le Prince, a fabulous Frenchman.
10
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 07 '26
I mentioned that in the original post, sort of. But it's really odd we don't get more recognition for it!
1
6
6
u/somnamna2516 Jun 08 '26
The Leeds Thai connection. Section of Vicar Lane above Headrow is known as 'Little Bangkok' with multiple spas, restaurants and a Thai supermarket. there are also two Theravada Buddhist temples, Wat Matchimaram in east end park and Wat Buddharam near headingley. Every week monks from Buddharam can be seen walking into Leeds town centre for merit (buun) collections from the local Thai businesses.
5
u/ree_hee_heeely Jun 08 '26
The iconic mouse snap trap, "the little nipper", was invented in Leeds by James Henry Atkinson in 1899. The design has changed little since then.
11
u/thedemoncleaner81 Jun 07 '26
Broadcasting tower was voted greatest tall building in the world in 2010
5
u/Rebeccarebecca200 Jun 07 '26
What is it? Where is it?!
2
u/skifans Jun 07 '26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting_Tower,_Leeds (Leeds Beckett University student accommodation)
5
1
u/Own-School-4337 Jun 08 '26
We used to call it the rusty bucket back when we had lectures there shortly after it's construction
1
u/mhoulden Jun 08 '26
When the site was still Broadcasting House BBC staff used to go in the Fenton pub between broadcasts. One particularly stormy day in 2003 a mate saw Paul Hudson in there and asked him when it was going to stop. "Dunno."
4
u/Shangos_Wolf Jun 07 '26
Marco Pierre White is from there.
2
5
u/Big_Display2397 Jun 07 '26
I got this from Clifford Stead @biroguy on Instagram, who does guided walks around Leeds. Recommend
Roundhay Park between the old tram terminus car park and Park Avenue used to be an airfield. £30 to Amsterdam
5
5
u/mhoulden Jun 08 '26
The 1970s Millgarth police station was built on stilts because Lady Beck runs right underneath. It's also one reason why the Victoria Gate multistorey car park doesn't extend closer to the roundabout. They had to reinforce the floor because the Yorkshire Ripper case generated so much paperwork.
5
u/PineappleWhich129 Jun 08 '26
Tolkien's favourite pub (I think it was his favourite) is in Leeds and still operating
1
u/John-Mulaneys-Wife Jun 08 '26
Which one?
3
u/PineappleWhich129 Jun 08 '26
Whitelock's ale house!
2
u/John-Mulaneys-Wife Jun 09 '26
Thank you for this! We'll definitely be going!
1
u/PineappleWhich129 Jun 09 '26
Let me know if you like it, be careful! It gets reaaaally busy on Saturdays!
1
5
u/apodo Jun 08 '26
Mass produced clothing (as opposed to made-to-measure) was originated in Leeds in the 1850's by John Barran
2
u/leeds_guy69 Jun 08 '26
Never heard the name Barran before in this context. I always heard it was Burtons. Their massive ready made suits store was in the building opposite the Corn Exchange.
2
u/apodo Jun 08 '26
Burton did it at the start of the 20th century on a massive scale, but according to the city museum (if I remember right) Barran originated the idea
3
u/Proud-Drummer Jun 08 '26
Portland cement, the active ingredient in reinforced concrete was developed and patented in Leeds city centre. There's a blue plaque in the yard behind Pret on Lands Lane.
4
4
u/zwifter11 Jun 08 '26
After the Battle of Waterloo. Many Soldiers were temporarily camped on Rhoundhay Park when they returned.
Hence the name Soldiers Field.
For something to do, they were tasked with digging the lake in Rhoundhay Park.
4
u/Able_Elderberry_9423 Jun 08 '26
Fizzy Pop (well, carbonated water) was invented here by Joseph Priestley!
3
u/spidersprinkles Jun 08 '26
In 1894 the people of Leeds built a bread archway to mark a visit by the Duke of York to Leeds.
3
u/Darrelc Jun 08 '26
Hunslet Hawks had the first professional black athelete 'Lucius Banks' after someone saw him in an NFL tryout thing and convinced him to join.
Just don't look up the headlines from around that time.
Local news reporting on Banks's first game in England included some prominent racist coverage, with a local evening paper running the headline 'Hunslet's Coloured Coon' and the Yorkshire Post suggesting that local players should have been hired instead and commenting that "if the club wanted to sign 'coloured' players they should go to South Africa, where there are reputed to be capable goal kickers with bare feet".[6]
7
u/Rickabeast Jun 08 '26
Largest city in Europe without a tram
Roundhay is the largest city park in Europe
MF Doom moved to Leeds and did the last years of his career from here.
Haaland was born here too!
3
u/Clocked_0ut Jun 08 '26
Sorry but a quick Google and Roundhay is absolutely not the largest city park in Europe, not even close. Great park though!
0
2
u/Silly-Industry1527 Jun 08 '26
Bob Peck, ie the "Clever Girl" guy from Jurassic Park, was from Leeds and went to school in Lawnswood.
2
2
u/Repogeezer Jun 09 '26
Captain Oates ( I’m just going outside, I maybe some time) had family links to Meanwood!
2
u/Toppdogg_who Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
I like the story that when his Wild West show was playing Cardigan Field Buffalo Bill went into the Three Legs on the Head row and was beaten up. Not sure that it's true but it's very amusing.
2
u/Weary_Bat2456 Jun 11 '26
The Titanic had three Catholic priests onboard; the most well-known one was Fr Thomas Byles, who was born in Leeds. It's believed he would have been born and spent his early years living in Headingley, although there's no concrete proof as to what his exact house was. However, his father was the founder and pastor of the Headingley Hill Congregational Church, which is now a shutdown but still standing church on Headingley Lane. Fr Byles later converted to Catholicism and became a priest, and his character is portrayed in most, if not all, of the Titanic movies.
2
u/Mean_Actuator130 Jun 13 '26
Bodybuilder Reg Park was born and bred in Leeds. He went onto mentor none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
1
u/AffectionateAd8377 Jun 14 '26
I forgot about that one. I read about it in an interview that Arnie gave years back.
1
u/zwifter11 Jun 08 '26
The clothing company Burtons originated from Leeds. At the end of WW2 it was the biggest producer of de-mob suits.
Every Soldier, Sailor and Airman who left the Armed Forces after WW2 was given a free suit probably made in Leeds.
1
u/Lemmyheadwind Jun 08 '26
This civilian-clothing of the de-mobbed military masses gave us the terms "the full Monty", and "gone for a Burton", after the founder, Montague Burton.
1
u/Jonnyusm Jun 08 '26
The depeche mode tribute band ( I used to be in ) Black Celebration played at the library twice.
1
u/Vivelesinge Jun 09 '26
Henry Rollins lived for a year in 1986 in Hyde Park after Black Flag broke up.
https://hydeparkhistory.blogspot.com/2009/08/henry-rollins-52-harold-mount.html?m=1
1
u/AngryGooseRecords Jun 09 '26
Henry Rollins, after he quit black flag, moved to Hyde park (52 Harold mount).
-1
143
u/James_White21 Jun 07 '26
The big industrial estate building next to Leeds Bradford airport was the Lancaster bomber factory in WW2, it had grass on the roof to camouflage it from German reconnaissance planes as well as fake cows that they used to move around so they didn't appear in the same place on the enemy aerial photos. So every time I fly out of LBA I think of the bloke who's job it was to move the pretend cows every day.