On Leeds Bridge

This is a detail from the Grade 11 listed Leeds Bridge, which dates from 1730 and where a wool cloth market once operated on either side of a wide road leading from the river called Bridge Gate, now Briggate, Leeds. In the late 17th Century, Leeds became the centre of the wool trade for the West Riding of Yorkshire and Leeds Bridge was built at the site of a ferry crossing on the River Aire. It was rebuilt in 1870-73 to a design by T. Dyne Steel M.I.C.E , Engineer, by David Nichols, Contractor, Leeds as stated on the plaques. The balustrade is of cast iron in an intricate design of rings and flowers, and the plaque below shows the arms of the Corporation of Leeds (crowned owls and fleece).