Leeds

From the records: “This name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the Brittonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century.”

From the records: “Evidence for major wealth and status comes from fragments of at least six stone crosses/other monuments, with the ninth- to tenth-century decoration characteristic of Anglo-Scandinavian culture, which were found in the fabric of the 14th-century Leeds Parish Church when it was demolished and replaced in 1838, now site of Leeds Minster.”

From the records: “This was evidently a regional name, but it subsequently occurs in the 1086 Domesday Book denoting a settlement, in the later Old English form Ledes.”

From the records: “In 1147, Cistercian monks settled at Kirkstall, and there from about 1152 began to build Kirkstall Abbey.”

From the records: “The Borough of Leeds was created in 1207, when Maurice Paynel, lord of the manor, granted a charter to a small area of the manor, close to the river crossing, in what is now the city centre.”

From the records: “At the time of the Poll Tax of 1379 it appears not to have exceeded three hundred persons at the very outside; it was certainly one of the smallest towns in Yorkshire, such places as Snaith, Ripon, Tickhill, and Selby exceeding it in importance.”

From the records: “By 1536, when John Leland visited it, he was able to report of it that it was a pretty market town which stood most by clothing and was as large as Bradford, though not so "quik", by which he evidently meant not so enterprising.”

From the records: “King James I granted the borough to his wife, Anne of Denmark, and in 1612, she ordered a survey of the borough; in 1615 she was petitioned to remove the strict Calvinist preacher Alexander Cooke as vicar of Leeds, but she refused.”

From the records: “The inhabitants petitioned Charles I for a charter of incorporation, which was granted in 1626.”

From the records: “But it was a very small Leeds which he occupied for the King in January 1643, having under him 500 horse and 1,500 foot.”

From the records: “Growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the creation of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 (with major additional works in the 18th century), and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816.”

From the records: “The city saw several firsts, including the oldest-surviving film in existence, Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), and the 1767 invention of soda water.”

From the records: “Leeds handled one-sixth of England's export trade in 1770.”

From the records: “Marshall's Mill was one of the first of many factories constructed in Leeds from around 1790 when the most significant were woollen finishing and flax mills.”

From the records: “Growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the creation of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 (with major additional works in the 18th century), and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816.”

From the records: “In 1831, a strike at Gotts Woollen Mill led to the establishment of the Yorkshire Trades Union.”

From the records: “The city's industrial growth was catalysed by the introduction of the Aire & Calder Navigation in 1699, Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816 and the railways from 1834 onwards; the first being the Leeds and Selby Railway opened on 22 September 1834.”

From the records: “The industrial revolution had resulted in the radical growth of Leeds whose population had risen to over 150,000 by 1840.”

From the records: “Leeds Borough Police force was formed in 1836, and Leeds Town Hall was completed by the corporation in 1858.”

From the records: “Alongside technological advances and industrial expansion, Leeds retained an interest in trading in agricultural commodities, with the Corn Exchange opening in 1864.”

From the records: “Cholera outbreaks in 1832 and 1849 caused the authorities to address the problems of drainage, sanitation, and water supply.”

From the records: “In October 1888, Louis Le Prince filmed moving picture sequences Roundhay Garden Scene and a Leeds Bridge street scene using his single-lens camera and Eastman's paper film.”

From the records: “It was awarded a city charter in 1893 by Queen Victoria.”

From the records: “The Cottage Road Cinema and Hyde Park Picture House have continuously been showing films since 1912 and 1914, respectively, which ranks them among the oldest still-running cinemas in the UK.”

From the records: “Notable non-conformist chapels include the Salem Chapel, dating back to 1791 and notably the birthplace of Leeds United Football Club in 1919.”

From the records: “Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, lived and taught in Leeds from 1921 to 1925.”

From the records: “Decline in manufacturing during the 1930s was temporarily reversed by a switch to producing military uniforms and munitions during the Second World War.”

From the records: “The Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, established in 1963 by Fanny Waterman and Marion Stein, has been held in the city every three years since 1963 and has launched the careers of many major concert pianists.”

From the records: “Pink Floyd's popular second single "See Emily Play" was written in Leeds in 1967 after a gig in the old Leeds City College Technology Campus, then known as Kitson College.”

From the records: “Leeds is also home to Phoenix Dance Theatre, who were formed in the Harehills area of the city in 1981, and Northern Ballet Theatre.”

From the records: “The Royal Armouries Museum, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour, opened in 1996 in a dramatic modern building when this part of the collection was transferred from the Tower of London.”

From the records: “Leeds City Museum opened in 2008 at Millennium Square.”

From the records: “In 2018, Leeds embarked on a five-year cultural investment programme, culminating in a year of cultural celebration in 2023.”