LEEDS AND CYCLING
Anyone who thinks that cycling is a recent import to the UK is far from the truth. In women’s cycling, Beryl Burton, a native of Leeds, was in the 1960s and 1970s the equivalent of France’s Jeannie Longo or Dutchwoman Marianne Vos in the decades that followed. World road champion in 1960 and 1967, she also won five world titles in the pursuit and set numerous world records, not to mention her 90 national titles. An unrivalled time-trial specialist, she even went so far as to set a men’s and women’s world record in the 12-hour event in 1967. Married at a very young age to Charlie Burton, an amateur cyclist, she raced both with and against their daughter Denise, who beat her at the 1976 British Championships. The woman whom Jean Bobet had nicknamed ‘The Lady on the Bicycle’, and who remained an amateur throughout her life, died prematurely in 1996 of a cardiac arrest whilst cycling. Her home village of Morley has dedicated a garden and a race to her, the Beryl Burton Trophy.
Another legend of British women’s cycling, Lizzie Deignan, was born and raised in Otley, 18 km from Leeds. A 2015 world road champion and four-time national road champion, her list of achievements also includes the Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Strade Bianche and, above all, Paris–Roubaix, which she became the first woman to win in 2021.
Leeds hosted the Grand Départ of the 2014 Tour de France, with Marcel Kittel winning the stage in Harrogate – the future host city of the World Championships. Mark Cavendish suffered a heavy crash on the finish line that day.
The city has hosted the Tour of Yorkshire on three occasions, most recently in 2019 when Greg Van Avermaet claimed the stage victory, and five editions of the Wincanton Classic between 1992 and 1996.
Leeds and the surrounding area have produced some of the greatest names in the history of British cycling, starting with Brian Robinson, the first British rider to win a Tour de France stage in 1958 in Brest, before repeating the feat the following year in Chalon-sur-Saône. Then there is Barry Hoban, with his eight stage victories in the Tour de France between 1967 and 1975. And today, Tom Pidcock, multiple world champion in cyclo-cross and mountain bike, Olympic mountain bike champion and winner at Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France in 2022.
SIGHTS
Kirkgate Market
Built: 19th century.
Style: Flemish Art Nouveau.
History: the building’s current façade was unveiled in 1904. A fire ravaged the rear market halls in December 1975; these were rebuilt shortly afterwards, giving them a more modern look and an open-plan layout, although they have not retained the character of the 1904 market hall. At the very back of the site is an open-air market. Nestled between the 1904 market hall and the modern market halls at the rear is the oldest market hall, dating from 1875, which houses both Butchers’ Row and Fish and Game Row. Unlike the others, the 1875 market hall is not an open-air market, but serves as a series of passageways between the 1904 market hall and the more modern market halls built in 1976 and 1981.
Key features: built between 1822 and 1899, Kirkgate Market is now the largest covered market in Europe. It attracts over 100,000 visitors a week.
Distinguishing feature: it was within this market that Marks & Spencer was founded in 1894.
Listing: Grade I listed
Leeds Town Hall
Construction: mid-19th century.
Style: Neoclassical and Baroque.
History and features: designed as a municipal palace intended to symbolise the power and prosperity of the Victorian city of Leeds and opened by Queen Victoria at a lavish ceremony in 1858, it is one of the largest town halls in the United Kingdom. Standing 225 feet (68.6 m) tall, it was the tallest building in Leeds for 108 years, from 1858 to 1966, when it was surpassed by the Park Plaza Hotel, which stands 26 feet (8 m) taller at 253 feet (77 m). The Baroque clock tower, which is a landmark and symbol of Leeds, was not part of the original design but was added by Brodrick in 1856, as the city councillors wished to give the building an even more imposing appearance.
Notable feature:Leeds Town Hall has served as a model for many municipal buildings across Great Britain and the British Empire, as it is one of the largest and oldest of its kind. A true jewel of the city’s heritage, its history as a court and prison is highlighted during guided tours open to the public. Several regular cultural events use the Town Hall as a venue, such as the Leeds International Piano Competition.
Listing: Grade I listed since 1951.
Victoria Quarter
Construction: 1990 to 2016.
History and features:Victoria Quarter is a network of covered, interconnected retail spaces, forming a high-end shopping district. It was created as part of a regeneration programme involving the restoration of the existing Victorian and Edwardian arcades, as well as the creation of a contemporary arcade through the pedestrianisation and glazing of the adjacent Queen Victoria Street, featuring what was at the time England’s largest work of public art and the world’s largest secular stained-glass window, designed by artist Brian Clarke. Spanning three blocks between Briggate and Vicar Lane, the complex opened as the Victoria Quarter in September 1990. This project is widely cited as an example of successful and context-sensitive urban regeneration.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Leeds Minster
Construction: 19th century.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
History:Leeds Minster stands on the site of the city’s oldest church and is of both architectural and liturgical significance. There is evidence of a church on this site dating back to the 7th century, although the present building is in the Neo-Gothic style, designed by Robert Dennis Chantrell and completed in 1841. It is dedicated to St Peter and was the parish church of Leeds before being granted the honorary title of minster (cathedral) in 2012.
Characteristics: with a cruciform plan, the cathedral is built of cut stone and features slate roofs in a style imitating late 14th-century English Gothic, a transitional period between the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. The church is 180 feet (55 m) long and 86 feet (26 m) wide, and its tower rises to a height of 139 feet (42 m). The chancel and nave each comprise four bays of equal length, featuring cloisters and high side aisles.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Leeds Corn Exchange
Built: 1864.
Style: Italianate.
History:Leeds’ first corn exchange had stood at the northern end of Briggate since 1829. Deemed too small, it was replaced by a new building designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, the architect of Leeds Town Hall, in the Italianate style. Built of stone and adorned with diamond-shaped rustication, the building was completed in 1863. In the late 1980s, the building was converted into a shopping centre. Following a further refurbishment, the Corn Exchange reopened in November 2008 as a retail centre for independent traders.
Features: the oval-shaped building has two semi-circular porches, the entrances to which are flanked by Tuscan columns supporting cornices and features recessed semi-circular windows on both storeys. The design of the dome was inspired by the Halle aux Blés in Paris, a work by François-Joseph Bélanger and François Brunet, completed in 1811.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Harewood House
Date of construction: 18th century.
Style: Palladian.
History: this country house was built between 1751 and 1772 by the Lascelles family, who purchased the estate after making their fortune in the Caribbean as customs officers, through the slave trade and by lending money to white planters. The house was designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam. Much of the furniture in the house was crafted by Thomas Chippendale in the 18th century. The gardens were designed by landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Charles Barry added a large terrace laid out as a French-style garden in 1844.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Royal Armouries Museum
Opened in 1996, it displays royal arms and armour previously housed at the Tower of London. It is one of the three Royal Armouries museums, alongside the White Tower at the Tower of London (the original museum) and Fort Nelson in Hampshire.
Leeds Art Gallery and Henry Moore Institute
Opened: 1898.
Opened in 1898, the Leeds Art Gallery is one of the leading museums in England dedicated to late 19th- and 20th-century painting. It is flanked by the Henry Moore Institute. Its collection of 20th-century British art was designated in 1997 as a collection of ‘national importance’. Its collection also includes works of art from the 19th century and earlier. It is a Grade II listed building, owned and managed by Leeds City Council, connected to the Leeds Central Library to the west and, to the east via a bridge, to the Henry Moore Institute, with which it shares some sculptures. A sculpture by Henry Moore, Reclining Woman: Elbow (1981), stands in front of the entrance. The entrance hall houses Leeds’s oldest municipal sculpture, a marble statue of Queen Anne dating from 1712.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (1898-1986) is renowned for his large abstract sculptures in bronze and carved marble. Supported by the British artistic community, Moore played a part in introducing a form of modernism to the United Kingdom, drawing inspiration from the so-called ‘primitive’ styles of ancient civilisations observed at the British Museum. His talent was recognised as early as 1950, the year he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. He was subsequently awarded honorary doctorates by a large number of universities around the world. His works achieved very high prices on the international market after the war. However, Moore lived modestly and the bulk of his fortune was bequeathed to the Henry Moore Foundation, which supports art education and promotion. Most of his sculptures depict a reclining figure, often female, sometimes with a circular opening in the body. Increasingly monumental, increasingly abstract, and sometimes disarticulated, his sculptures were the subject of official commissions. Moore also produced a large number of drawings, some of which are collected in sketchbooks; the most famous of these is the Shelter Sketchbook, held at the British Museum, whose drawings were made in air-raid shelters during the bombing of London.
Live at Leeds
Live at Leeds is the first live album by the English rock band The Who, released in 1970.
This album is a recording of a concert held on 14 February 1970 at the University of Leeds.
This album was named the best live album of all time by the New York Times and is still regarded today as one of the very best concert recordings, even though legend has it that it was recorded in a studio. A commemorative plaque was unveiled in 2006 by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, guitarist and lead singer of The Who respectively. It reads: ‘The University Refectory is a legendary concert venue. The Who’s performance here on 14 February 1970 was recorded and released as Live at Leeds, the most celebrated live album of its generation.’
MANCHESTER AND CYCLING
The second or third largest city in Great Britain with a population of 2.5 million (it vies for this position with the Birmingham conurbation), Manchester is nonetheless the undisputed cycling capital of the United Kingdom. It is home to the British National Cycling Centre and the headquarters of British Cycling, the governing body which, over the past quarter of a century, has made cycling one of the country’s flagship sports. The National Cycling Centre is centred around the Manchester Velodrome, which opened in 1994 and where 15 world records have been broken, including Chris Boardman’s hour record in 1996 (56.376 km before the new bicycle regulations came into force) and Alex Dowsett’s in 2015 (52.937 km). The velodrome was also the headquarters of Team Sky (now Netcompany-Ineos) until 2019, during the period of their victories in the Tour de France.
The National Cycling Centre also includes a BMX complex and mountain bike trails.
Manchester has hosted the Tour of Britain 14 times, most recently in 2023, when Olav Kooij won a brunch sprint finish ahead of Wout Van Aert and Sam Bennett. Among active riders, Mathieu van der Poel also claimed victory there in 2019.
The most recent city finish saw Ruby Roseman-Gannon claim victory in the Women’s Tour of Britain in 2024.
Manchester is also a stronghold of women’s cycling thanks to Mandy Jones, the 1982 road world champion in Greenwood, where she held off a late charge from the peloton to win by a clear margin. She had already finished third two years earlier in Sallanches. A two-time national road champion (1981 and 1983), as well as national time trial champion (1982) and national pursuit champion (1980, 1981 and 1982), she ran a cycle shop in Oldham for many years. She was succeeded by another Manchester-based rider, Marie Purvis, a five-time British road champion between 1991 and 1995. Purvis was also the first British woman to win a stage of the Women’s Tour de France in Vaujany in 1993. She repeated the feat in 1995. We should also mention Monica Greenwood, who resumed her professional career in her thirties after coaching the national track team.
Among the men, the Yates brothers hail from Bury, one of the boroughs of Greater Manchester, situated 15 km from the city of Manchester. Finally, Graham Jones, who competed in five Tours de France in the 1980s (finishing 20th in 1981) before becoming one of the race’s most prolific consultant for the British media, is also from Greater Manchester.
SIGHTS
National Cycling Centre (see cycling)
Town Hall
Built: 19th century.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
Features: this is the headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses various local government bodies. To the north of the Town Hall lies Albert Square and to the south St Peter’s Square, where the Manchester Cenotaph stands, facing the building’s southern entrance. Completed by architect Alfred Waterhouse in 1877, the building features imposing murals by artist Ford Madox Brown depicting significant events in the city’s history. The entrance and the Sculpture Hall contain busts and statues of notable figures such as Dalton, Joule and Barbirolli. The exterior of the building is dominated by the clock tower, which stands 85 metres tall and houses a bell known as Great Abel. In 1938, an extension was built, connected to the original building by two covered walkways.
Note: the building and Albert Square have been closed for renovation since 2018 and were due to reopen completely in spring 2027.
Listing: Grade I since 1952.
Manchester Cenotaph
Date built: 1924.
History: this is a war memorial situated in St Peter’s Square, opposite the Town Hall. The project, launched in 1922, was entrusted to Sir Edwin Lutyens, who produced a variation on his design for the London Cenotaph. The memorial consists of a central cenotaph and a Stone of Remembrance flanked by two twin obelisks, characteristic of Lutyens’s work. It is crowned by the effigy of a soldier who fell in battle and adorned with reliefs depicting the Imperial Crown, the coat of arms of Manchester and inscriptions commemorating the dead. The memorial was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by the Earl of Derby, assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local resident whose three sons had perished during the war. In 2014, Manchester City Council dismantled the memorial and rebuilt it on the north-east corner of St Peter’s Square, next to Manchester Town Hall.
Listed: Grade II in 1952.
Old Trafford
Built: 1909. Architect:Archibald Leitch.
Capacity: 74,310 spectators.
History: built in 1909, it has been the home of Manchester United since 1910. During the Second World War, the stadium was destroyed by German bombing raids. Manchester United were then forced to share Manchester City’s former ground, Maine Road, with their rivals. Nicknamed the “Theatre of Dreams” by Sir Bobby Charlton, it is England’s third-largest stadium in terms of seating capacity, behind Wembley and Twickenham, with a capacity of 74,000 spectators. International matches, including those from the 1966 FIFA World Cup – which England won on home soil – and the 1996 UEFA European Championship, have been held at Old Trafford. The stadium also hosts rugby league matches and concerts.
Distinguishing features: a statue of former manager Sir Matt Busby stands above the department store. There is also a plaque in memory of the victims of the Munich air disaster on the southern edge of the East Stand. In 2008, a statue known as The United Trinity, depicting George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, was unveiled to mark the fortieth anniversary of Manchester United’s first European Cup victory. On 23 November 2012, a statue of Sir Alex Ferguson, Man Utd’s legendary manager, was erected near the entrance to the stand named after him.
Manchester Cathedral
Construction: 15th to 20th centuries.
History:Manchester Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, the seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city’s parish church. It is situated on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre. The former parish church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the years following the foundation of the collegiate chapter in 1421. Then, at the end of the 15th century, James Stanley II (prior from 1485 to 1506, then Bishop of Ely from 1506 to 1515) oversaw the reconstruction of the nave and the collegiate choir, which were fitted with tall windows. He also commissioned the late medieval wooden interior furnishings, notably the lectern, the choir stalls and the nave vaulting supported by angels holding gilded instruments. The collegiate church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester in 1847. It was extensively renovated, restored and extended during the Victorian era, and again following damage caused by bombing during the Second World War.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Manchester Art Galleries
Opened: 1824.
History and features: the museum occupies three buildings, the oldest of which is listed. It was originally the Royal Manchester Institution, whose building was designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1824. The museum was extended in 2002 to incorporate the former Manchester Athenaeum building, in the Palladian style, also designed by Barry in 1826. It houses many works specifically linked to Manchester, particularly in the eponymous gallery.
Collections: the combined collection of the Manchester Art Gallery and the Gallery of Costume comprises over 14,000 objects from the fine arts, decorative arts and costume. The fine arts collection contains 14,000 works of art, including 2,000 paintings, 350 sculptures, drawings, watercolours, prints and photographs. It notably includes works by Constable, Gainsborough, Hogarth, Gauguin, Renoir and 17th-century Flemish masters. The decorative arts are represented by 13,000 objects in ceramics, glass and other materials. Finally, the Gallery of Costume holds 21,000 items of clothing and accessories.
Listing: Grade I listed since 1952.
Whitworth Building
Built: 1902.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
History: the building was constructed between 1895 and 1902 by architect Paul Waterhouse in the Neo-Gothic style. It was opened in 1902 by the future King George V and his wife, the future Queen Mary. It forms part of the University of Manchester and is named after industrialist Joseph Whitworth, who bequeathed part of his fortune for the construction of public facilities in Manchester. This money was also used to build the adjacent Christie Library. The main hall of Whitworth Hall can accommodate nearly 700 people for public meetings.
Listing: Grade II listed since 1963.
Manchester Museum
Opened: 1835.
The Manchester Museum is part of the University of Manchester. Situated on Oxford Road (A34) in the heart of the campus’s neo-Gothic buildings, it houses around 6 million objects from all over the world and is a key resource for teaching and research, as well as being a public museum.
Collections: its natural history collections include 900,000 beetle specimens, a T. Rex skeleton, American frogs, Indian butterflies, Pacific birds, European plants and minerals, and armour and artefacts from ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean, the Americas and Oceania.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Midland Hotel
Opened: 1903
Style: Edwardian Baroque.
History: this grand hotel was completed in 1903 on behalf of the Midland Railway, the railway company that operated services to Manchester Central Station from St Pancras Station in London. It overlooks St Peter’s Square. The hotel was designed by architect Charles Trubshaw in the Edwardian Baroque style. In the year it opened, the hotel is said to have welcomed 70,000 guests. It housed a 1,000-seat theatre, and a chamber orchestra used to play on its open-air roof terrace.
Trivia: legend has it that Adolf Hitler, an architecture enthusiast, dreamt of making the Midland Hotel the headquarters of the Nazi Party in England. This is said to be the reason why the hotel and its surroundings were spared from German bombing raids during the Second World War. It was also at the Midland that Charles Rolls and Henry Royce are said to have decided to join forces to create a car-making company. Finally, the Beatles were refused entry to the hotel’s famous French restaurant for “inappropriate attire”. The hotel has been bought and restored several times in the 21st century.
Features: famous for its red brick, terracotta and granite structure, materials chosen for their resistance to pollution. The hotel comprises 312 rooms and 14 suites, a fitness centre and two restaurants: The French, one of the UK’s first Michelin-starred restaurants, and the Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Listing: Grade II.
The Triangle or Corn Exchange
Construction: 1903, 2000 and 2015.
Style: originally Baroque.
Features: the Corn Exchange is a former covered market and shopping centre that has been converted into a food court. Originally, the building served as a grain exchange and was formerly known as the Corn & Produce Exchange, then The Triangle. Following an IRA bomb attack in Manchester city centre in 1996, it was renovated and converted into a shopping centre until 2014. The building was sold to investors and refurbished to house a number of restaurants and cafés.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Beetham Tower
Construction: 21st century.
Features:Beetham Tower is a skyscraper in Manchester. Built between 2004 and 2006, it is 168 metres tall and has 48 storeys. The building is named after its developers, the Beetham Organisation. It was designed by architect Ian Simpson and built by Carillion. It is also known as the Hilton Manchester, after the hotel which occupies the first 23 floors
Distinguishing feature: this tower is notable for producing a loud noise in strong winds – an effect not anticipated by the architect during the design phase.