It's great up north: twenty reasons to love Leeds
Chelsy Davy, on-off girlfriend of Prince Harry, is apparently ready to quit her course at Leeds University because she cannot bear the city. How could she be so wrong? Jonathan Brown and James Macintyre spell out what she's missing
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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1 History
It was the Venerable Bede who first drew the wider world's attentions to the delights of Leeds. Known as Loidis, it was, according to the scribe, the place where the northern Saxon kings chose to establish their country seat. The city as we know it today began to take shape in 1694 with the construction of the cloth market in modern-day Briggate. By the time of the industrial revolution, Leeds was one of the most dynamic and exciting places on the planet, a centre for wondrous new enterprises and industries from textiles to coal.
2 Shopping
As a place dedicated to the noble pursuit of making brass, Leeds has also enjoyed a proud history of persuading people to part with it. The city's covered Victorian market places are among the finest examples of their kind. The three-storey Thornton's Arcade was opened in 1878, and proved a breathtaking masterpiece with its glass roof and life-sized figures from Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Queen's and the Grand Arcade came later, as did the County Arcade, part of the city's upmarket Victoria Quarter, the reputation of which was sealed in 1996 with the arrival of Harvey Nichols' first store outside of London earning Leeds the soubriquet the Knightsbridge of the North.
3 Nightlife
The renaissance of the centre in the 1990s saw a return to form for Leeds' nightlife. Today, the 30 nightclubs, 150 pubs and 75 restaurants draw in people from across northern England.
4 Alan Bennett
Son of a Co-op butcher from Armley, Bennett eschewed his natural career plans as a Church of England clergyman to team up with Dudley Moore, Peter Cooke and Jonathan Miller in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe. Having written classics such as The Madness of George III and The History Boys, Bennett has been elevated to the ranks of National Treasure.
5 Football
They may never have been beautiful but Don Revie's Leeds United of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought football glory and not a little brutal notoriety. Revie staffed his ranks with no-nonsense war horses such as Jack Charlton, Billy Bremner and Norman "Bite Your Legs" Hunter. The team became the dominant force in English football, collecting a trophy room of silverware and offering a gruff Northern counterpoint to their nearest rivals, Chelsea.
6 Cricket
Yorkshire County Cricket Ground, better known to lovers of leather on willow as Headingley, has built a reputation as an arena for thrilling Test finishes. None, however, can compare to that of 1981 when Ian Botham almost single-handedly won the Ashes from Australia. Sir Beefy, recently stripped of the England captaincy, scored 149 to force Australia back into bat before Bob Willis ripped through the line-up with 8 for 43. England won by 18 runs.
6 University
The city has long sought to temper its reputation for rugged practicality by promoting itself as a world-class place of learning. Leeds University, now proving an unhappy refuge for the royal squeeze, was set up in 1904. As well as having the longest bar in Britain, it remains one of the most popular universities and part of the elite Russell Group. Along with Leeds Metropolitan, it helps boost the number of students studying in the city to 50,000.
8 Music
Though often overshadowed by Manchester and Liverpool, Leeds has proved an enduring breeding ground for bands. Gang of Four, the Mekons and the Three Johns sprung out of West Yorkshire in the post-punk years, firmly putting the city on the musical map. The 1980s saw talents as diverse as Soft Cell, Chumbawumba (best-known for when Danbert Nobacon threw a pitcher of water over John Prescott at the 1998 Brit awards), the Wedding Present and Whitesnake sally forth. Leeds has re-established its musical credentials today with names such as the Kaiser Chiefs and Corinne Bailey Rae.
9 Live at Leeds
The Who's only live album was recorded in the student refectory at the University of Leeds' Students Union in 1970 and remains one of the finest examples of the band at the top of their power.
10 Tower Works
New York may have the Empire State Building and London Big Ben, but only Leeds has the Tower Works. Built in 1864 by Colonel Thomas Harding, the former pin factory in Globe Road, Holbeck, was influenced by Harding's love of Italy. Today after many years of desolation – it was closed in 1981 – the mighty, listed factory building cuts a figure of hope for the future.
11 Tetley
Anyone brought up on a diet of gassy South African Castle lager must have been bowled over with their first taste of Leeds' finest ale. Joshua Tetley set up his brewery in the city in 1822 and went on to become a titan of the Victorian age. Today his legacy lives on in the sign of the monocled huntsman and the sight of one of his crystal-clear pints with trademark two inch head.
12 Opera North
Founded in 1977 as an offshoot of English National Opera, Opera North – based at the Grand Theatre in Leeds – has been heavily garlanded for bringing the upmarket art form beyond the confines of Covent Garden.
13 Roundhay Park
The former deer park on the north-eastern edge of the city was handed over to the people of Leeds in 1872 when more than 100,000 people turned up for the opening. Today, its 700 acres make it one of the largest urban parks in Europe, visited by one million people a year. It has hosted some of the most famous acts in the world, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, the Rolling Stones and U2.
14 Middleton Railway
The Middleton draws trainspotters from around the country. The world's oldest working railway (at first horse-drawn and on wooden rails) was founded as long ago as 1758. It is run by enthusiasts and shuttles passengers on a nostalgic mile every weekend and public holiday from Moor Road to Middleton Park in the south of the city. The railway line was the first to successfully use steam locomotives in 1812.
15 Countryside
Among the finest landscapes in Britain lie close to the city's doorstep. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is just a short drive to the north, where those seeking a fix of rolling Pennine hills, sheep and dry stone walls can luxuriate in bucolic splendour. Elsewhere, the countryside immortalised in Wuthering Heights, complete with the Brontės' home at Haworth, provides a more literary experience.
16 Jimmy Savile
Now then, now then. Sir Jimmy, unlike many that were born there, has remained a devoted inhabitant of his native city with a penthouse suite overlooking Roundhay Park where he can still be occasionally glimpsed out jogging – complete of course with gold lamé tracksuit, though he saves the trademark cigar for later. At 81, Savile's career has seen him become one of the most instantly recognisable faces and voices in British broadcasting. As well as raising millions for charity he also enjoys the distinction of having hosted the first and the last Top of the Pops.
17 Harewood House
The Grade I listed Harewood House, north of Leeds, built from 1759 to 1771 by Lancelot "Capability" Brown and adorned with furniture by the renowned local Thomas Chippendale, from nearby Otley, is one of the most stunning examples of the English country house movement. It is still home to the Earl of Harewood, George Lascelles, but is open to the public and remains a hugely popular tourist attraction.
18 Barbara Taylor Bradford
Born in Armley in 1933, the author hammered out her first words in the typing pool of the Yorkshire Evening Post. A Women of Substance, written in 1979, went on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time with more than 30 million copies printed. With 23 best-sellers to her name, Taylor Bradford is a woman of substance in her own right, with her estimated fortune of £145m.
19 Leeds-Liverpool Canal
Building a waterway over the Pennines once presented engineers with a technological challenge as complex as getting man to the Moon. But conquer it they eventually did. The Leeds-Liverpool canal derived from an 18th-century drive for trade between the Merseyside city and its wealthy Yorkshire counterpart. In 1770, an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the canal, and in 1777 a waterway was opened from Liverpool to Wigan and from Leeds to Gargrave – 40 years after it was first dreamed of and by which time two other canals had got there first. However, at 127 miles, the connection is the longest of its kind in northern England, passing through Aintree near the racecourse and some 91 locks, including the spectacular Five Rise Locks at Bingley. Today, a £17m project is under way for the canal to be connected to Liverpool's South Docks by 2008, with boats set to pass by the city's Three Graces on the waterfront into the Albert Dock.
20 Diversity
With its well-established population of ethnic minorities and 70 languages spoken among them, Leeds offers a dizzying variety of cultures to sample. The West Indian Chapeltown Carnival recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and pre-dates its upstart cousin down south in London's Notting Hill. The city also hosts a celebration of all things Asian at the annual Mela, which is held in Roundhay Park.
