Briggate

It is noted for the yards between some older buildings with alleyways giving access and Victorian shopping arcades, which were restored in late 20th century.

[3] When Leeds became a borough, land on either side of Briggate was allocated into 30 burgage plots for tradespeople to carry out their business, setting the style and layout of the street today.

The street developed as the commercial centre, fairs and markets were held there by the end of the 13th century, when the woollen industry was beginning to grow.

[5] In 1533, Leeds was described as "a praty market" consisting of four streets, Briggate, Kirkgate, Swinegate and Boar Lane, plus the "Head Rows".

John Harrison, a wealthy cloth merchant and the King's Bailiff, owned land north of Briggate.

[5] A surviving example is Queen's Court (1714), a former cloth merchant's house and business premises with packaging workshops and warehouses behind.

Many merchants moved their homes away from Briggate to Park Square leaving their properties to be subdivided and converted for commercial use or multiple residences.

[11] Leeds' commercial success led to the construction of many fine buildings, including the Grand Theatre on New Briggate in 1878.

[19] Debenhams department store arrived in 1936 on the corner with Kirkgate with an unusual zigzag pattern of windows.

[20] Developments often required the demolition of old buildings,[19] including the Empire Theatre in the 1960s, to make a very plain arcade.

A feature of Briggate is its yards: more open areas behind the buildings on the street, accessed by a narrow alley or through a covered way.

[37] The back entrances to the yards were called 'low ins', or 'loins', which is where the term Loiner (a resident of Leeds) is suspected to originate.