European Leader. Leeds Kirkgate Market became the largest indoor market in Europe when it opened in 1857. But it's not just it size that sets it apart as a truly unique shopping experience. It was designed by the celebrated architect Joseph Paxton who was responsible for the iconic Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London.
1975 fire. On 13 December 1975 a fire broke out in the market hall. The cause of the fire has never been determined, although stallholders have speculated over several causes including an electrical fault and an overturned paraffin heater.
But did you know Kirkgate is the oldest street in Leeds? At over 1,000 years old, Kirkgate has seen the growth of Leeds from a number of farm dwellings, to a thriving city with a population of over 800,000.
Following several high-profile public consultations and several years of increasingly strained relations between some traders and market management, Leeds city council, which owns the market, has plans for a £12.3m revamp.
One of the largest indoor markets in Europe, Kirkgate is a shopper's paradise from fresh food, drink and fashion to jewellery, flowers, hardware and haberdashery.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least the time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester, which held a market in late Roman Britain.
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century.
Leeds Kirkgate Market became the largest indoor market in Europe when it opened in 1857. But it's not just it size that sets it apart as a truly unique shopping experience. It was designed by the celebrated architect Joseph Paxton who was responsible for the iconic Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London.
Which supermarket giant was founded in a Leeds market in 1884?
M&S started life in 1884, when the immigrant Michael Marks came to the north of England and managed to secure a stall at Kirkgate Market in Leeds. Having arrived with little money and limited English, he built his success using the slogan “Don't ask the price, it's a 'Penny”.
Leeds developed as a mill town during the Industrial Revolution alongside other surrounding villages and towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was also known for its flax industry, iron foundries, engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving Victorian era arcades, such as Kirkgate Market.
Leeds is first mentioned in Anglo-Saxon times when it was called Loidis. By the time the settlement is mentioned in the Domesday (ie Doomsday) Book of 1086 it is spelt Ledes.
Leeds and Lille became partner cities in 1968 as part of post-war efforts to nurture peace between the nations of Europe. With regular exchanges between young people, academics and businesses, the partnership with Lille is now one of Leeds' most active city twinnings.
Widely accepted as Leeds' oldest pub at over 300 years, Whitelock's Ale House dates back to 1715. Initially called The Turk's Head, it was taken over by the Whitelock family in the 1880s and has been a favourite Leeds institution ever since.
The engineering, chemical, leather, clothing, footwear and printing industries all became successful in Leeds. These industries depended on each other for materials. For example, the woollen industry relied on the engineering industry for machinery and on the chemical industry for dyes.
Leeds United's predecessor club, Leeds City F.C., was formed in 1904, but was forcibly disbanded by The Football League in 1919 in response to allegations of financial irregularities regarding illegal payments to players during the First World War.
Then known as Marks' Penny Bazaar, it was the household goods, haberdashery, toy, and sheet-music business of Michael Marks, a Jewish refugee from Poland. His sign read “Don't ask the price—it's a penny.” In 1894 he took Thomas Spencer as a business partner.
Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home products and food products.
Michael Marks classified his merchandise according to price, with one section costing a penny and marked with the slogan 'Don't ask the Price, It's a Penny'. This was so popular that he quickly stopped selling anything that cost more than a penny.
After London and Birmingham, the third-largest city in the United Kingdom is Leeds. It is a city located in the northern county of Yorkshire and is the largest city in West Yorkshire.
It has a population of 809,036 (2021), making it technically the second largest city in England by population behind Birmingham, since London is not a single local government entity. Local governance sits with Leeds City Council and the city's 32 Parish Councils.
Leeds is great for shopping and is your typical modern big city. York is a tourist destination, it still has a lot of old architecture like The Shambles and has the old defensive wall surrounding the very centre of the city.
Founded in London in 1792, bookseller and stationers WHSmith is the world's oldest national retail chain. The 19th century was a "golden era" for High Street shops.
Nowadays, you won't find a Petticoat Lane on Google Maps. The Victorians felt the name was a little too risqué for their tastes. But the market is still very much in existence and it sells everything from knock-off designer clothing to cleaning products.
The Saltford Manor is a stone house in Saltford, Somerset, near Bath, that is thought to be the oldest continuously occupied private house in England, and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.
