Price: Free
Exactly 150 years after the opening of Victorian Leeds Bridge, learn how the waterways & crossing points relate to the long story of Leeds – with Rachael Unsworth
The River Aire was a vital resource in the establishment and flourishing of a settlement at this spot in Yorkshire. It is also a barrier. The crossing point here in the middle of Leeds has been in use for centuries.
In the mid-Victorian era, with serious congestion becoming intolerable, the Medieval stone bridge – for centuries the only road bridge in Leeds – was at last replaced with a modern metal bridge.
Learn about the changing economic and water environment, the harnessing of the river, the investment in channels, weirs, wharfs, flood defences and the all-important bridges.
Exact location: https://what3words.com/craft.drank.form
Finishes at Granary Wharf at about 16:30.
Please note that there are some unlevel sections and some steps.
Members of LPLS only. You are welcome to become a member (£25 a year. Free for anyone under 25). A public tour is scheduled for 11:00 on the same day – booking here.
Your guide Rachael Unsworth beside the plaque commemorating the opening of Leeds Bridge on 9 July 1873
Rachael first crossed Leeds Bridge when visiting the city in 1988, just as the waterfront was starting to be rediscovered. She didn’t know then that by the mid-1990s she would be a part-time lecturer at the University of Leeds and starting to draw on the city as an example in teaching about long-term urban development. Since the turn of the millennium she has researched and written about topics relating to the city’s past, present and future as well as being involved in a range of organisations and initiatives.
After 19 years as a lecturer, she left to become freelance. She worked with local historian Steve Burt on ‘Leeds – Cradle of Innovation’ (published 2018) and started Leeds City Walking Tours later that year.
Not available to book at this time.
