Leeds in Your Lunch Hour

We are pleased to welcome Leeds Civic Trust and noted Leeds historian Dr Kevin Grady to present his 16^th 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.

In this lively and wide-ranging lecture Kevin Grady reflects on Leeds as it was when he arrived here as a student just over fifty years ago. It was then a bustling smoke-blackened industrial city with few hotels, few cafes, few nightclubs, a polluted semi-derelict waterfront, and almost no one lived in the city centre. On the other hand, it had great character, an outstanding football team, splendid parks, and – as he found out – a wonderful university.

This is the fourth in a series of lectures:

• 1st February, The Gateway to Leeds: The Story of Leeds Bridge and Bridge End, 1700 to 2023
• 8th February, Millennium Square: Leeds’ Grand Project for the Year 2000
• 15th February, Banks, Libraries, Museums and Shopping à La Mode: The Story of Commercial Street, Leeds, 1806 to 2023
• 22nd February, University Days: Discovering Leeds 1969 to 1975