leeds uk

Leeds is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. It is the urban core and administrative centre of the wider metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds^{[citation needed]}. The county borough of Leeds was awarded city status in 1893. Since 1974 city status has been held by the wider City of Leeds district. Thus Leeds, although commonly referred to as a "city", does not have this legal status unless the wider area is being discussed.

Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the recorded history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the Kingdom of Elmet was covered by the forest of "Loidis", the origin of the name Leeds. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major industrial centre for the production and trade of wool, before emerging as a centre for commerce and higher education, being the location of the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Trinity and All Saints. Today Leeds is one of the largest financial and legal centres outside London.^[1]

According to the 2001 UK census, the population of the Leeds Urban Sub-division (an ONS measure) was 443,247,^[2] whereas the wider City of Leeds metropolitan borough has a population of 761,200 (mid-2007 estimate) and is one of the eight largest English cities outside London that form the English Core Cities Group.^[3] Leeds lies near the centre of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county which was estimated to have a population of 2.2 million in 2007.^[4] The Leeds city region has a population of roughly 3 million.

The name "Leeds" is thought to be derived from "Loidis", a word of Celtic origin.^[5] Bede wrote: "...regione quae vocatur Loidis" — region known as Loidis. This root also survives in the nearby place names of Ledston and Ledsham. Leeds was mentioned as "Ledes" in the Domesday Book of 1086, after which the name evolved into "Leedes" and finally "Leeds". ^[6]

Leeds was an agricultural market town in the Middle Ages, and received its first charter in 1207. In the Tudor period Leeds was mainly a merchant town, manufacturing woollen cloths and trading with Europe via the Humber estuary. The population grew from 10,000 at the end of the 17th century to 30,000 at the end of the 18th. At one point nearly half of England's total exports passed through Leeds. At the time of the Industrial Revolution Leeds grew rapidly and the population rose to over 150,000 by 1840. The city's industrial growth was helped by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699, Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816 and the railway in 1848. In 1893 Leeds was granted city status. The industries that developed in the Industrial Revolution included making machinery for spinning, machine tools, steam engines and gears as well as other industries based on textiles, chemicals, leather and pottery. Coal was extracted on a large scale and the Middleton Railway, the first successful commercial steam locomotive railway in the world, transported coal from Middleton colliery into the centre of Leeds. The first permanent set of fully automatic traffic lights in the world were installed at the junction of Park Row and Bond Street, Leeds, in 1928.

By the 20th century this social and economic base started to change as Leeds saw the creation of the academic institutions that are known today as the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Trinity & All Saints. This period also witnessed expansion in medical institutions, particularly the Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital. Following World War II there was a decline in the secondary industries that had thrived in the 19th century. In 1951, half the workforce was still occupied in manufacturing; by 1971 the figure was a third. Leeds lost a third of its manufacturing jobs during 1971–1981.^[7] In 1991, 64,000 were employed in manufacturing. In 2003, 2,103 firms employed 44,500 (10% of workforce).^[8] However there are still some large engineering firms, the largest of which make turbine blades, components, alloys, valves and pipelines for the oil industry, switchgear, printers' supplies, copper alloys, surgical and hospital equipment, pumps, motors and radiators.

In the 1980s, the Conservative government designated Urban Development Corporation status on a number of areas of UK cities: some declining areas were taken out of local authority control and government funding was provided with the aim of speeding up and concentrating private sector investment in the most run-down areas. Leeds Development Corporation ran from 1988–1995 and helped to focus attention on two decayed industrial areas, the lower Kirkstall Valley and the riverside area to the south east of the city centre. Achievements of LDC included refurbishment of many riverside properties, the opening up of Granary Wharf and the Royal Armouries development.

Leeds is generally regarded as the dominant city of the ceremonial county of West Yorkshire, although the presence of other large cities and towns (such as Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield) means that this dominance is less pronounced than in most other English metropolitan areas.