Secret Leeds

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Royal Armouries is one of the best attractions in Leeds. It’s five floors crammed full of amazing relics, trinkets and treasures from the National Collection of Arms and Armour. Through these exhibits, it brings the history of warfare and combat to life in front of your eyes, from the Danzig, one of the world’s earliest handguns, to a full-blown suit of armour made especially for an elephant. It also hosts frequent jousting tournaments and arms displays – but best of all, it’s free to enter! You can find the entrance in The Merrion Centre, Merrion Way, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 8NG. Find out more about the lost cinema in the Hyde Park Picture House heritage project, Hiding In Plain Sight. The buried dead at the University of Leeds The welcome from Henry Moore’s Reclining Woman outside the entrance merely hints at the artistic flair on show once you step inside Leeds Art Gallery. It’s home to one of the finest collections of 20th-century British art in the UK, covering everything from paintings to photography, sculpture to multimedia – you won’t be able to see works by Francis Bacon and Jacob Kramer anywhere else in Leeds, and you shouldn’t miss Alison Wilding’s major work ‘Arena (2000)’.

Brittania Hotel, Mill Green View, Ring Road, Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS14 5QF. The modern stone circle that’s in use today Leeds is a big city and like any other big city, it has a few secrets under its belt – some better hidden than others. But what could they possibly be? Well, wonder no more, because we’ve found them all out so you don’t have to. From mysterious underground worlds to forgotten cinemas and remnants of ancient history, not everything is as it seems around these parts. So find out what you’ve been missing all this time as we expose the 15 things you probably never even knew were here. The 500-foot organ inside Leeds Town Hall As City Centre Pubs go there was never any trouble in there, drunks or rowdy folks were just not allowed, same as in The Whip and The Viaduct in Lower Briggate. they were just "Ale Houses" Previously the Leeds General Cemetery, St George’s Field is a space where the dead and the living coexist. Between 1835 and 1969, over 97,000 people were interred at the cemetery. Meanwhile, today the area sits on the University of Leeds campus and is open to the public – chances are you’ll catch a few students on their breaks here. Over 100 casualties from the First and Second World Wars lay here, though the majority of headstones and memorials have been removed and the land grassed over.Over 500 years of history set amidst 1,500 acres of parkland, Temple Newsam should be at the top of your sightseeing list for Leeds. First, enter the house and experience what it was like for the well-to-do to live here before experiencing one of the most important collections of fine and decorative art in Britain. Then head outside to explore the grounds with landscaped gardens by Capability Brown and acres of woods. There’s even a farm for the kids to meet pigs and sheep! When the old Odeon picture house opened in The Merrion Centre in 1964 it was the first cinema to be built in the city for 30 years. It was a modern and luxurious cinema compared to others in Leeds at the time, but it only welcomed cinema-goers for 13 years before closing in 1977. Strangely enough, it’s been left largely untouched ever since. The former entrance is where you’ll find cash machines, but head upstairs to the upper balcony and you’ll encounter a set of sealed double doors that would take you into what remains of the old cinema. There were various Characters used to come in there early evening. One i remember was an old lad , only known as "Blossom", he would shuffle in selling shoelaces or similar, one thing he sold was "Bluebird" razor blades which accounted for a few unwary to carry scars for some time after use. they would have been o.k. for trimming Privet hedges, we usually gave a shilling or so and refused what he was selling, Nice old chap really.

If you’re looking for things to see in Leeds with all the family, Lotherton is a wonderful place to visit. The beautiful Edwardian mansion house sits amidst acres of beautifully landscaped greenery – you might enjoy wandering around the incredible history and fashion-themed exhibitions inside, but there’s plenty for the kids too. There are straw bale mazes and adventure playgrounds outside, as well as Wildlife World, a small zoo home to Humboldt penguins. The Leeds Town Hall organ is one of the finest and largest instruments of its kind in Europe. It was played publicly for the first time when the building was opened in 1858 by Queen Victoria, but the instrument was not completely finished until the following year. Measuring a staggering 12-metres high by 12-metres wide and weighing 40 tonnes, it’s played a key role in the story of music making in the city. To this day, it’s an integral part of the Leeds International Concert Season and features each year in the Leeds International Film Festival. Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 3AD. The Scheduled Monument in Gipton WoodGipton Wood is an ancient replanted woodland, but you’ll find more than just natural beauty here. In fact, the D shaped earthworks hidden in the woods are a Scheduled Monument, which means they’re both protected and of national significance. The monument includes a late prehistoric enclosed settlement and the surviving part of another, situated in Potter Newton at the north end of the wood. Together, they make a rather important contribution to the understanding of late prehistoric settlement and land use in northern England. Cool, ey? As one of the Treasure Houses of England, you know you’re in for a treat when you visit Harewood House. This 18th-century estate holds within it an almighty collection of contemporary art collected over 200 years, as well as an ever-changing programme of exhibitions. You can also take a tour of the house itself, but don’t forget to pop outside – it’s home to an adventure playground, a farm and over 1,000 acres of beautiful gardens, designed by Capability Brown. There’s more to Leeds than meets than eye, but what secrets is it hiding? We’ve uncovered some of the best… Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens sits on Cardigan Road, Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS6 1DW. The long lost cinema in a shopping centre