In transcribing the following passage from the Internet Archive online version I have expanded abbreviations and added paragraphing, links, and illustrations. — George P. Landow
The Aire goes windingly through the town, from west to east; and cuts it into a smaller section on the south, and a larger one on the north. The southern section is suburban to the township, or to Leeds proper; comprises Holbeck and Hunslet; contains a great number of streets, most of them short and narrow, but some tolerably long and spacious; and presents, on the whole, an inferior and uninviting appearance.
The north section occupies the summit and slopes of an eminence; extends nearly 2 miles from west to east, and about 1 mile from south to north; and exhibits much variety of character. The central part of it, forming Briggate, Kirk-gate, and Swinegate, with intermediate short streets and lanes, is the most ancient, and was once surrounded with a wide extent of open fields.
Briggate [marked in red on the map] goes nearly due north; may be regarded, in some degree, as the backbone of the town; is spacious, well built, and picturesque; and displays, in a somewhat striking manner, intermixtures of ancient small houses with modern magnificent buildings. Kirkgate goes from the upper part of it, as a main artery, to the southeast. Vicar-lane goes from Kirkgate, parallel with the northern part of Briggate; North-street is a continuation of Vicar-lane, to the north; George-street and High-street lead out toward the east northeast; York-street runs nearly parallel to High-street, at some distance to the south; Marsh-lane goes nearly in the same direction, further to the south; and all these, as well as some others, are considerable thoroughfares. Swinegate goes curvingly, from the lower part of Briggate, to the west. Boar-lane and other streets go from Briggate, in the same direction, into communication with Wellington-street, Infirmary-street, Bond-street, Park-place, West-street, Park-square, Park-lane, and other principal thoroughfares or places; and both these streets and those to which they lead are crossed, mostly at right angles, bystreets running north and south.
The west part of the town generally is well-aligned and well built; and contains some very excellent spacious streets, and a large aggregate of highly respectable dwelling-houses. Wellington-street, running westward througn its southern portion, is a long, spacious, modem thoroughfare; formerly the great avenue for stage coaches from Bradford, Halifax, and Manchester; and now notable for immense factories at its west extremity, and for the railway stations contiguous to its centre. This thoroughfare is a noble business one for the west wing of the town; and a corresponding one further E was formed, in 1867-8, by the reconstruction of Boar-lane. The greater part of the property there was purchased by the town-council; the carriage-way was greatly widened; nearly all the old buildings were taken down; and splendid new buildings were erected.
The general aspect of Leeds is unmistakably that of a great, rich, energetic seat of trade. Its blaze of industry, its huge factories, its splendid warehouses, its superb public buidings, instantly strike the eye of every intelligent stranger. Yet, when entered from the south or from the east, or when seen in detail, much of it looks far from handsome or pleasant The part north of the river, or Leeds proper, was officially reported, in 1839, to contain 586 streets, of which only 244 were in good sanitary condition, while 109 were middling, 137 bad, and 96 very bad; and the part south of the river had probably a less proportional extent of good streets.
Great improvements, indeed, have been made since that time, at a cost to the Corporation of not less than about £200,000 or upwards, from 1849 till 1868; and these, besides including better sewerage and higher cleanliness, have considerably altered the aggregate character and appearance of the houses. The general building material is brick, tinged of a deep red colour from the presence of iron in the clay; and this makes the old streets look very dingy. But the new streets, new buildings in the old ones, and particularly the new warehouses and the public buildings, greatly redeem the general aspect. The outskirts and the environs, also, show many interesting features. Numerous handsome villas and mansions are in the suburbs and in the neighbourhood; charming spots, ornamented with wood and water, are on the north and west sides; and several vantage-grounds, especially on the road to Bradford, looking toward Kirkstall abbey, command very fine views.
Bibliography
Wilson, John M. (John Marius). The imperial gazetteer of England and Wales: embracing recent changes in counties, dioceses, parishes, and boroughs: general statistics: postal arrangements: railway systems, &c.; and forming a complete description of the country. 8 vols. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton, 1870.Internet Archive online version of a copy in the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Web. 17 September 2022.
Last modified 16 September 2022