History of Leeds
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History of Leeds
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Leeds began as a Saxon village. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086) it had a population of around 200.By the standards of the time it was a large village. Many were much smaller. Then in 1207 the Lord of the Manor, Maurice De Gant, founded a new town at Leeds. At that time trade and commerce were increasing in England and many new towns were founded. The Lord of the Manor created a new street of houses west of the existing village. He divided the land into plots for building. Craftsmen built houses and paid rent to the Lord for the land. The new street was probably called Bridge Gata (gata is an old word for street). In time it changed to Briggate.
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Everything changed in the 16th century. In the Middle Ages cloth manufacture was concentrated in the East Riding. Then in the 16th century wool manufacture moved to West Yorkshire. The population of Leeds soared. by the late 16th century it had reached 3,000 and by the middle of the 17th century was probably about 6,000. From being a small and insignificant town Leeds grew to be one of the largest towns in Yorkshire. In 1552 a grammar school was founded in Leeds. In 1626 the town was incorporated. In other words it was given a corporation and mayor.
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In the 18th century wool manufacture was still the lifeblood of Leeds but there were other industries. Leeds pottery began in 1770. There was also a brickmaking industry. There were also many craftsmen such as coachmakers, clockmakers, booksellers and jewellers as well as more mundane trades such as butchers, bakers, barbers, innkeepers, carpenters, blacksmiths and glaziers. In 1700 the rivers Aire and Calder were made navigable from Leeds to Wakefield. In 1794 work began on the Leeds to Liverpool canal. It was completed in 1816.
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In the early 19th century the manufacture of wool continued to boom. So did making linen. However in the late 19th century textiles became less important. But tailoring for a mass market flourished. So did a leather industry and there were many boot and shoe makers. Tetleys brewery was founded in 1822.
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| In the late 20th century tourism became a major employer. The Royal Armouries museum opened in 1995. The Thackray medical museum followed in 1997. The Monet Garden in Roundhay Park was opened in 1999. Merrion Shopping Centre was built in 1964. A new shopping arcade was built in the early 1970s. It was called The Bond Street Centre. Later it was refurbished and renamed Leeds Shopping Plaza. St Johns Shopping Centre was built in 1983. White Rose Shopping Centre opened in 1997. In the early 1970s the city centre was pedestrianised. Radio Leeds began broadcasting in 1968. In 1990 the West Yorkshire Playhouse theatre opened. The Royal Armouries Museum opened in Leeds in 1996. Today the population of the metropolitan district is about 724,000. The population of the actual city of Leeds is about 421,000.
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