Picture Post: Sun sets on proud city’s ever-changing skyline

Taken from the tower of Leeds Minster as the sun sets, it provides a bird’s-eye view of how some of the city’s most historic buildings stand side by side more contemporary developments.

In the foreground is the unmistakable circular design of the Corn Exchange, one of a number of grand developments which changed the look of the city forever during the Victorian period.

The brainchild of Cuthbert Brodrick, the Hull architect who was also behind Leeds Town Hall, it opened for business on July 28, 1863 when West Yorkshire was at the peak of its industrial powers.

A couple of centuries earlier, Leeds had been just a small market town on the River Aire, but the Industrial Revolution transformed the region, which emerged as an international powerhouse for the wool trade. Engineering works and iron foundries sprang up on every corner and Leeds also became a hub for printing businesses.

While a few grew rich on the back of industry, these were for the most part dirty jobs. Eventually, these old trades fell into decline, but even when the last of the foundries had shut and the engineering works had moved out, the city centre’s soot- clad buildings were a very visible reminder of what had been.

For a while during the 1970s and 80s, Leeds seemed like it was in a state of permanent decline. However, when the Corn Exchange reopened in 1990 it felt like a turning point. Newly scrubbed and housing independent shops, it gave the city a spring in its step.

As the decade continued, Leeds established itself as a major financial and legal centre, throwing off the industrial shackles of its past.

Some said change came too quickly and certainly when the latest downturn hit, leaving many new apartment blocks standing empty, it felt like the clock had been wound back to the bad old days.

However, Leeds has always been resilient and with last year seeing the opening of Trinity Leeds and the First Direct Arena, the city is very much back in business.

Technical details: Nikon D3s, 80-200mm Nikkor, 1/200th sec @f8

Picture: Bruce Rollinson

Words: Sarah Freeman