Loidis, from which Leeds, Yorkshire derives its name, was anciently a forested area of the Celtic kingdom of Elmet. The settlement certainly existed at the time of the Norman conquest of England and in 1086 was a thriving manor under the overlordship of Ilbert de Lacy. It gained its first charter from Maurice de Gant in 1207 yet only grew slowly throughout the medieval and Tudor periods. The town had become part of the Duchy of Lancaster and reverted to the crown in the medieval period, so was a Royalist stronghold at the start of the English Civil War.
J. M. W. Turner's 1816 painting of Leeds, from Beeston Hill. At the left-hand edge is Marshall's Mill, in the centre is Trinity Church, and further to the right, through the smoke, is the tower of Leeds Parish Church, now Leeds Minster.
Construction of the former Leeds Tramway along Roundhay Road in Harehills, Leeds.
Bridge End in Leeds city centre, 1869.
Leeds war memorial
Elmet, sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic Celtic
Cumbric speaking kingdom between about the 4th century and mid 7th century.
Yr Hen Ogledd (The Old North) c. 550 – c. 650