Banks, Libraries, Museums and Shopping à La Mode: The Story of Commercial Street, Leeds, 1806 to 2023
Lecture by Dr Kevin Grady
Organized by Leeds Civic Trust
We are pleased to welcome Leeds Civic Trust and noted Leeds historian Dr Kevin Grady to present his 16th annual series of free lunchtime lectures every Wednesday in February.
An introduction to today’s lecture may be found below. Entry is free and open to all. There will be a retiring collection, split between Leeds Civic Trust and the Minster.
For much of its life Commercial Street’s shops have commanded the highest rentals per square foot of any in Leeds. Its creators in 1806 intended it to become a street of fine shops and important institutions, linking the exclusive residential streets of the Park Estate to the vibrant market street of Briggate. It soon became home to high-class shops, the architecturally impressive premises of Nicholson & Brown’s Bank and the prestigious Leeds Library, which remains there today, and Calvert’s Museum. This lecture traces the fascinating development of Commercial Street and its vicinity to the present day.
This is the third in a series of lectures:
