Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a market town in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production centre, including of carbonated water, which was invented there in the 1760s, and trading centre for the 17th and 18th centuries.
Image: Leeds Town Hall (30th January 2019)
Image: County Arcade (2022)
Image: Granary Wharf Flickr 16 June 2023 2
Image: Leeds Dock Flickr 4 August 2022
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of cities. As of 22 November 2022, there are 76 cities in the United Kingdom—55 in England, seven in Wales, eight in Scotland, and six in Northern Ireland. Although it carries no special rights, the status of city can be a marker of prestige and confer local pride.
Until the 19th century, city status in England and Wales was associated with the presence of a cathedral, such as York Minster.
Birmingham was the first English town without an Anglican cathedral to be granted city status. Birmingham City Council meets at the Council House.