Leeds

Leeds, city, administrative centre of Leeds unitary authority, on the River Aire, West Yorkshire, northern England, midway between the west and east coasts. Leeds is located between an agricultural region to the north and east, and a manufacturing region to the south and west, and is the area's commercial and industrial heart. Population 715,500 (2001 estimate).

Excellent rail, road, and canal facilities make Leeds an important distribution point. The city's economy is extremely diversified with no predominant industry. About 20 per cent of the workforce is employed in manufacturing, and about 75 per cent in the service sector. Leeds is a major centre for finance and banking, and is the second most important English legal centre after London. A large number of people are employed in the healthcare industry and medical services, particularly based at St James's Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in Europe, and the Leeds General Infirmary. BBC Television and Yorkshire Television both have broadcasting centres in the city, as does Yorkshire Post Newspapers.

Located in Leeds are the Grand Theatre, which is the home of Opera North; the West Yorkshire Playhouse (1990), the largest English production theatre outside London and Stratford-upon-Avon; the City Art Gallery, which has a Henry Moore study centre; the Leeds City Museum, specializing in the history of Yorkshire; and the Museum of Leeds, an open-air industrial museum. In 1996 Elizabeth II officially opened the Royal Armouries Museum, a new museum of international importance that houses a vast range of weaponry from the Middle Ages onward, and Thackray's Medical Museum was opened in the same year. Historic sites include Temple Newsam House, which was the birthplace of Lord Darnley (the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots), and the ruins of 12th-century Kirkstall Abbey. Leeds is the seat of the University of Leeds (1904), Leeds Metropolitan University (1992), and Leeds Grammar school (1552). It is also home to the City of Leeds College of Music, and the city's musical background is also reflected in the annual Leeds International Concert Season as well as Leeds International Piano Competition held every three years. The city has strong sporting links: Headingley cricket ground is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and is also a venue for Test matches; Leeds rugby league club is also based in Headingley, and is a founding member of the Stones Super League; and Leeds United, a major Premiership football club, play at Elland Road.

During the Middle Ages, Leeds was an agricultural market town, receiving its first charter in 1207. In the 14th century, Flemish immigrants introduced wool manufacturing. The scientist Joseph Priestley was a dissenting minister at Mill Hill Chapel in the mid-18th century. The city's modern industrial growth was enhanced by the opening of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816 and by the arrival of the first railway in 1848. Leeds became a city in 1893. Since the 1950s it has undergone a major urban, economic, and cultural revival, with slums replaced by housing estates and with the implementation of modern urban planning.