Leeds Then and Today: Briggate

Andy Hutchinson wanders down Leeds’ most famous street and steps back in time with some archive photography.

Transcript

00:00 Hi and welcome to Leeds then and today. Here I am on Bustling Brigate, the Leeds City Centre

00:05 shopping street loved by generations of visitors and residents. I'm Andrew Hutchinson and I've

00:11 been looking at some photographs from the 1940s showcasing this street and the shops

00:18 it offered back in the day.

00:20 If you look closely at the pictures you can pinpoint exactly where certain shops were.

00:36 At the bottom end of Brigate we had Saxon shoes on the corner, we also had Wallace costumers

00:43 and also Tetley & Son tobacconists. In the 1940s shops on the east side of Brigate were

01:02 predominantly bootmakers as well as the entrance to the Bay Horse Hotel yard which is still

01:07 visible today. It's important to remember that back in the 1940s right up to the early

01:29 mid 1990s you could drive up Brigate. It was pedestrianised in 1993 and later on during

01:37 that same decade it was filled with granite and Yorkshire stones.

01:55 Woolworths found a home on Brigate in the late 1920s and would be part of the retail

01:59 scene on this street for generations until it closed in May 1987. Indeed I actually used

02:06 to work at Woolworths back in the day. Pick and mix anyone?

02:17 Brigate is constantly evolving and in most recent times Debenhams and House of Fraser

02:23 are undergoing massive transformations.

02:33 Brigate continues to be bustling and thriving and alive and very much has been part of people's

02:41 lives for generations from those coming shopping on a weekend and throughout the week to those

02:46 looking for bargains at the numerous different shops and also those looking for an opportunity

02:52 to have something to eat and also to drink thanks to the numerous historic pubs as you

02:57 wander down. And let's hope that Brigate remains to be part of people's lives for many years

03:03 to come.

03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]