LEEDS, the first. t. in Yorkshire and fifth in England in point of population, is a parliamentary and municipal borough, returning three members to the house of commons. It is situated in the n.w. of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the valley of the Aire, and is the seat of important manufactures, especially of clothing. The woo!en trade carried on here exceeds in extent that of any other part of England. It has been estimated that general goods to the annual value of L11,000,000 pass throughthe warehouses in Leeds. The staple manufactures are superfine broad and coarse narrow cloths, pelisse cloth, shawls, blankets, and Scotch millets. At Holbeck, a suburb of Leeds, there is a flax mill. the largest of the kind in Europe, which employs upwards of 2,500 hands. About 2,500 hands are employed in the worsted and silk trades. The manufacture of leather is carried on in some of the largest tanneries in the kingdom, and about 50 firms are engaged in making boots and shoes. The iron industries, which have been largely developed, employ about 15,000 person. The other chief manufactures are those of glass, paper, tobacco, oil, chemicals, and earthenware. There are 34 elmrches in Leeds, S Roman Catholic and about 80 dissenting places of worship. The chief church is St. Peter's, which is in Kirkgate, and was rebuilt in 1838 at a cost of £29,770. It is 180 ft. long by 86 ft. wide; the tower is 189 ft. high, and contains a peal of 13 hells. It is a very noble edifice. The principal windows are of beautiful stained glass. It also con tains some fine statues, one of which is erected in memory of those natives of Leeds who fell in the Crimea; the church has a good choir. The most interesting church in the town is St. ,John's, New Briggate, consecrated by archbishop Neale, A.D. 1614, an unique example of a " Laudian" church, and still retaining the original fittings. The other principal buildings are chiefly of recent erection. The town-hall, completed in 1838, is 250 ft. long, 200 ft. broad, and the tower is 225 ft. high. It covers 5,600 square yards. The great hall is 161 ft. long, 72 ft. wide, and 75 ft. high. It is richly decorated, and contains one of the largest and most powerful organs in Europe, also statues of Edward Baines and Robert Hall, formerly members for the borough. • There is also a colossal statue of the queen in the vestibule, and of Wellington in the front of the build ing. Kirkstall abbey, about 3 in. from Leeds; was Ibunded between 1147 and 1153 by Henry de Ladle for the Cistercian order of monks. It is a fine old ruin, remarkable for
its simple grandeur and unity of design. Adel church, about 4 m. from 'Leeds, is an interesting building, erected 1140. Near it was a Roman station, where several antiqui ties have been found. The general infirmary was erected in 1868 from designs by sir G. G. Scott, at a cost of £100,000, and contains accommodation for 300 in-patients. The mechanics' institute, erected in 1867, at a cost of £25,000, contains a lecture-ball accom modating 1700 persons. The free library, established in 1870 (under the free libraries act), contains 30,000 volumes. The grammar-school was built in 1859, at a cost of £13.000; it is built in the shape of a cross in the Gothic style, decorated period, and was designed by E. M. Barry, esq. The borough jail is a large castellatdd building at Armley, admirably adapted for its purpose. The corn exchange, a handsome building of an oval form; the post-office, formerly the court-house, near which is a statue of sir Itobert Peel; the Queen's hotel, recently erected by the Midland Railway company; the philosophical hall, built in the Doric order of architecture, and having a fine museum; the Wesleytm training college, in the Gothic style, erected in 1868; Turkish baths (cost £14,000); Beckett's hank, a fine work by sir G. G. Scott, etc. There is also a library of 30,000 volumes, fonnded by Priestley in 1768. The number of subscribers is limited to 506. Among charitable institutions may be mentioned the dispensary; house of recovery; hospital for women and children; tradesman's benevolent society; industrial school; convalescent home; a handsome new workhouse; the reformatory at Adel, where about 60 juvenile criminals are usefully employed in agricultural and other occupations. Leeds has also a royal exchange, which was opened in 1876, a stock exchange, 2 general markets—one of which is a handsome structure of iron and glass—a cattle-market, colored and white cloth halls, 5 railway stations, 11 banks, 2 theaters, 4 daily and 5 weekly newspapers. Roundhay park, one of the most beautiful demesnes in England, at a distance of 2 in. from Leeds, was bought by the corporation of the town in 1872 at a cost of £140,000, and converted into a recreation-ground for the use of the public. It covers 733 acres, and a lake with an area of 83 acres. Pop. in 1871, 209,212; 111 1878, about 800,000.