The Rotation Office (late 1700s – early 1800s) New Market Street This was a brick building in a narrow yard, named for the magistrates who attended here, in ‘rotation’, to hear cases that came within the jurisdiction of the borough – but which did not justify the need for a jury. They were able to…
Tag: power and protest
The 1926 General Strike
The General Strike (5-6 May 1926) The Corn Exchange On the 5th and 6th of May disturbances occurred in the town centre due to the continued operation of some trams and buses on a reduced service. On the first day, a tram was forced to stop as its windows were smashed by lumps of coal….
The 1844 Military Riot
The Military Riot (9-11 June 1844) Green Man Pub, Kirkgate & Green Parrot Pub, Harper Street In June 1844 reports of soldiers from the 70th Infantry attacking members of the public led to an outbreak of violence at the Green Man pub. Police arriving to arrest the soldiers were booed by an anti-police crowd and…
The Leeds Club
The Leeds Club (est. 1852) Albion Place Founded in 1849, moved into premises on Albion Place in 1852. Said to have been the equal of “any clubhouse out of London,” the Club ensured exclusivity with a very high annual subscription fee: approximately £6 a year, while the Leeds Radical Universal Suffrage Association, a working-class Chartist…
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism (1977) Leeds Polytechnic (Beckett University) Rock Against Racism (RAR) was the umbrella name for a series of concerts aimed at combating racism in 1970s Britain. The first RAR gig took place at the Princess Alice pub in London during late 1976 – while Leeds was home to the second, in 1977. Organised…
John De Morgan
John De Morgan (1877-1880) Calverley Street and Great George Street The Leeds School Board building was designed by George Corson and opened in 1881 (Corson was also responsible for the neighbouring Municipal Building). As well as a significant site of local power in its own right, the School Board was also briefly home to a…
Alice Mann (1791-1865)
Alice Mann (1791-1865) Central Street and Duncan Street This Leeds-born radical and publisher operated primarily from a bookshop based in the now-demolished Central Market on Duncan Street (near to Central Street). Alice married James Mann, a prominent West Riding political activist and bookseller, in 1807. After his death she took on his business to support…
The Leeds Tailoress’ Strike
Leeds Tailoress’ Strike (1889) 33 Park Square Messrs. Arthur & Co Ltd tailoring works were based at 33 Park Square: the scene of the 1889 Tailoress’ Strike. The strike began on October 22, when over 600 workers at Arthur & Co. stopped work. The workers were frustrated at a draconian system of fines and deductions, …
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