Secret Leeds: Hidden gems and stories of the city

Andy Hutchinson explores some of the hidden gems and stories of Leeds which you may not have known about.

Transcript

00:00It's easy to take our city for granted and walk or drive by its many secrets.

00:05There are many hidden gems to enjoy both in Leeds City Centre and the city suburbs. Some of them are hidden in plain sight.

00:14During the next three minutes we're going to discover some of the surprising stories and hidden gems of the city

00:19starting here at Leeds Town Hall, which is currently under renovation.

00:23Did you know it was once home to a police station called the Bridewell?

00:27There are many cells underneath this grand building with some concealed below the front steps.

00:32You may have strolled past one of these air vents in Leeds, which is just one sign of a huge underground network of tunnels.

00:40Leeds station itself was built on top of a former station called Central Station and disused platforms and offices still linger below.

00:48Dating back to 1850, this lifting tower is a signal of the city's rich rail heritage.

00:54It was one of a pair which stood either side of a viaduct running into Leeds Central Station.

01:00Have you spotted this before? This is Winifred by Russell Meacham, better known in the street art world as Quebec.

01:09It's an elephant with armour inspired by the Royal Armouries. It's named after Russell's late grandmother.

01:17And it's located between York Place and Park Place in Leeds City Centre.

01:22As well as an underground subway below Merrion Street, there's believed to be one here, underneath Briga, installed in the 1960s.

01:32It was in a bid to keep pedestrians safe from traffic when cars used to drive up and down here.

01:36And yes, that's perhaps another gem you may not have known about.

01:41There are lots of murals around Leeds City Centre. This is one of my favourites.

01:45It's Cornucopia by Graham Wilson, which was unveiled near the Corn Exchange in October 1990.

01:52Welcome to Penny Pocket Park, opposite Leeds Minster, an easily missable spot off Kirkgate.

01:58In 1912, part of the park became the responsibility of the Thomas Wade Trust,

02:03who since 1530 have worked to ensure the provision of open spaces to the people of Leeds.

02:10Let's venture a bit further out of Leeds City Centre now, and this sign on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal reads,

02:16The remains of a wooden icebreaker lie submerged.

02:19And it's found near the Leeds Industrial Museum in Armley.

02:23Staying on the waterside theme, have you ever spotted this hidden gem in the form of a grey heron,

02:28which was designed to be submerged and then reappear as the river level changes on the waterside by the coals?

02:35Another of my favourite hidden gems is the Horsforth Hall Park Japanese Garden, which originally opened in 1987.

02:41It uses features and materials to represent the mountains, woodland areas, waterfalls, lakes and open grasslands found in Japan.

02:53Thanks for joining us on this tour of Leeds' best kept secrets, and there's plenty more where that came from.