Leeds Then and Today: Thornton’s Arcade

Andy Hutchinson delves into the history of Thornton’s Arcade, the Ivanhoe Clock and meets two independent traders.

Transcript

00:00Hi and welcome to the latest edition of Leeds Den and today with me Andrew Hutchinson.

00:05It's the city centre's first arcade of attraction.

00:08Thornton's Arcade between Lands Lane and Brigate has been welcoming generations of shoppers for more than a century.

00:15The Victorian era gem first opened in May 1878 and was the vision of proprietor Charles Thornton,

00:22owner of the City Varieties, who submitted plans for the arcade on the site of the old Talbot Inn.

00:28Around the time of the arcade opening, a portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire was stolen,

00:33leading owner Charles Thornton to commission a likeness of her head in the arcade.

00:38A lot of shoppers who've walked along this arcade down the decades will be aware of this gem.

00:43The Ivanhoe clock is an example of a clock made by Potts, the famous clockmakers,

00:48and chimes on the hour and every quarter.

00:52The life-size figures are a Friar Tuck, Richard Coeur de Lion, Robin Hood and Gert the Swineherd

01:02from Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe.

01:05In the 1950s Thornton's Arcade received a much-needed lick of paint and in the 1990s the rotten roof was replaced.

01:12Leeds has forged a reputation as the Knightsbridge of the North over the years

01:17and Thornton's Arcade has been home to a range of fiercely independent traders down the decades.

01:23The first time when we came here was in the 1990s.

01:26It was a different business then where now I just feel that it's changed dramatically, is better.

01:35Leeds is a lot tidier, the city's a lot tidier, a lot of development going off,

01:40which brings a lot more people to this beautiful arcade.

01:44It's one of the oldest arcades in Leeds and people love coming here.

01:47The arcade has a real history and heritage, what's it like being right at the heart of that?

01:51It's fantastic. I've got my counter here and I've got the window right there

01:56and we can see into the arcade and we see families stopping to look at the clock,

01:59the way I did with my grandma when I was a kid before we used to nip into scorefields for some fish fingers.

02:05It's really nice to be part of Leeds history.

02:09We've got some people who started shopping with us when they were kids

02:12and now they've got kids of their own. It's just great, it's nice to have that sort of longevity.

02:16You won't find an arcade like this anywhere due to its history

02:21and because before it were dwellings, houses and so many fantastic shops here, so many independents.

02:27Leeds is full of arcades that are more than shopping centres, they're more like a working shopping street.

02:33It's a Victorian shopping street, it just happens to have a roof on it and they're fairly unique.

02:39And a bright future?

02:40Yeah, let's hope so.

02:42Thorntons Arcade is an example of a city gem which has been thrilling shoppers for generations.

02:50As shopping habits change, I really do hope that it has a future to continue what is a wonderful, wonderful shopping experience.