408 LEEDS
of the articles he wants, and these are delivered to him without passing through the halls. Thus a picturesque and characteristic feature of life in Leeds seems likely at no distant date to become extinct. At one period it seemed probable that the business of the cloth trade would assume the west of England type. Mr William Hirst, a very skilful manufacturer, introduced goods of superior texture and quality, and by his success induced many capitalists to erect mills on a large scale, in which all the processes of the manufacture and finishing were conducted. The change was, however, only temporary. Many of these mills are now occupied for finishing only, and some have been devoted to other branches of the local manufactures. The spinning of flax by machinery was commenced in the township of Holbeck (in the borough of Leeds) more than one hundred years since, by Mr John Marshall, who was one of the first to apply the principle of Sir Richard Arkwright's water frame, invented for the cotton manufacture, to the spinning of linen yarn. The works of Messrs Marshal & Company are very extensive, and one portion of them is an object of attraction to all strangers visiting the town. It is a vast room 400 feet by 220, filled with machinery, all of which is turned by shafting which requires two coupled engines of 350 horse-power to impel it. Light is admitted by glass cupolas. The whole building is held together by a double series of iron ties, uniting the iron pillars which sustain the many-arched roof. The external form is Egyptian.
The spinning of worsted yarn and the weaving of worsted goods were formerly carried on to a considerable extent in Leeds, but have now nearly died out, Bradford, Bingley, and Keighley, with the villages immediately adjoining, having attracted almost the entire trade. Amongst the smaller branches of the textile manufactures carried on in Leeds must be enumerated those of silk and carpeting, neither of them unimportant, though falling far short of the flax and woollen trades.
It is probable that the iron trade in its different branches, including the casting of metal, and the manufacture of steam-engines, of steam-ploughs, of machinery of every kind, and of mechanical tools, now gives employment to a larger number of persons within the borough of Leeds than any other branch of industry. The great works founded by the late Sir Peter Fairbairn, as well as those of Messrs Kitson & Co. and of Messrs John Fowler & Co., in the last-named of which the Fowler steam-plough is the staple article of manufacture, occupy places in the front rank of such establishments in the country; while Messrs Greenwood & Batley and other tool-makers give employment to a large number of hands, and export the goods they produce to all parts of the globe.
Leeds was at one time famed for the production of artistic pottery, and very fine specimens of old Leeds ware are still occasionally to be discovered among the residences of the poor in the town. This branch of manufacture, however, became extinct about eighty years ago. Within the last three years it has been revived, and once more attention has been directed to the high artistic merit which the pottery of the town has attained.
In addition to these particular branches of industry, the manufacture of ready-made clothing has become one of great importance. In some of the establishments for this purpose such as that of Messrs John Barrow & Sons, the number of hands employed is so large that from a thousand to twelve hundred suits of clothing can be produced daily. Machinery is now used in all the departments in these places, and the work is conducted with a rapidity and at a price which would have seemed incredible thirty years ago. Leeds has in recent years become famous as the chief seat of the cap manufacture in the United Kingdom. The leather trade is also one of great importance in the borough, many large tanning establishments being erected on the outskirts, while the wholesale manufacture of boots and shoes for army and other purposes is carried on in workshops which are the largest of their kind in the United Kingdom.
No religious census has been taken in Leeds since that of 1851. There are, however, 181 places of worship in the town, these being divided as follows: – Church of England, 46; Wesleyan Methodist, 40; Primitive Methodist, 30; United Methodist Free Church, 12; Congregational, 12; Baptist, 11; Methodist New Connexion, 10; Catholic, 6; Unitarian, 3; Presbyterian, 2; Friends, 2; various, 5. The Leeds school board, which was established immediately after the passing of the Education Act in 1870, has now (1882) 47 schools under its control within the limits of the borough, and these accommodate 30,000 children. In addition to these there are 34 national and parochial schools, 8 Roman Catholic schools, and 6 Wesleyan schools. The educational institutions of a higher order in the town are numerous and important. Of these the principal is the Yorkshire College, established in 1875 for the purpose of supplying instruction in the arts and sciences which are applicable to the manufactures, engineering, mining, and agriculture of the county. It has a staff of 19 professors, instructors, and assistant lecturers, and upwards of 350 day and 160 evening students. The college, which has carried on its operations hitherto in temporary premises, will shortly remove to permanent buildings designed by Mr Waterhouse, A.R.A. These buildings, which when completed will cost upwards of £100,000, will occupy a site of about 3½ acres, and will comprise extensive laboratories and workshops, large lecture theatres, and a college library and museum. The Leeds Public Library, established under the Public Libraries Act, now takes the first place amongst similar institutions in the borough. The reference library contained 26,000 volumes at the close of 1881, and the lending libraries 83,000 volumes, the expenditure for the year being £4150. The issue of volumes during the year reached the large total of 639,616. The Leeds Old Library, a private institution, founded in 1768 by Dr Priestley, who was at that time minister at the Unitarian chapel in the town, contains a very valuable selection of books, numbering about 75.000 volumes, and is in possession of commodious premises in Commercial Street. The Philosophical and Literary Society, established in 1820, possesses a handsome building in Park Row, containing a laboratory, a lecture room, and a museum, with many fine specimens in natural history, geology, and archæology. The society also possesses a library of upwards of 16,000 volumes, chiefly rare scientific works. During the winter months, lectures on scientific and literary subjects are given in the lecture hall by men of eminence. The Leeds Mechanics' Institute in Cookridge Street is a striking building in the Italian style. It comprises a large circular lecture room, with gallery, capable of seating 1500 persons, besides a library, reading, committee, and class rooms. The foundation stone was laid in 1865, and the total cost of the building has been nearly £30,000. Day and evening classes and an art school are carried on within the building, and are largely frequented. The Young Men's Christian Association, another educational institute of importance, occupies the building in South Parade formerly used as a mechanics' institute. The Grammar School, a handsome building, erected at Woodhouse Moor, has endowments producing over £3000 yearly. There are six exhibitions of £50 a year, each tenable for four years at Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham. It provides education for about 280 scholars. There is also a large training college for students purposing to enter the Wesleyan Methodist ministry at Headingley, one of the suburbs of Leeds. The principal charitable institution of the town is the general infirmary in Great George Street, a Gothic building, built of brick, with stone dressings, from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott. It is arranged upon the pavilion system, each ward being isolated from the rest of the building, and has a highly ornamental exterior, whilst the internal accommodation is suited to the requirements of the patients and the medical staff. The total cost of the erection was more than £100,000. The house of recovery for fever patients, founded in 1802, now occupies a handsome building at Burmantofts. There are also a large building used as a public dispensary in North Street, an institution for the blind, deaf, and dumb in Woodhouse Lane, a School of Medicine and other hospitals and charitable institutions.
The town and borough of Leeds was incorporated by letters patent, 2 Charles I., but this charter was cancelled or surrendered. A new charter was granted, 13 Charles II., under the style of mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Leeds. The corporation consisted of a mayor, 12 aldermen, 24 assistants, and a staff of 13 officials. The Municipal Act of 1834 gave Leeds a corporation of 16 aldermen and 48 councillors, which has effected great improvements in the management of local matters. In addition to the powers granted to it by the Municipal Reform Act, the town council has acquired, through successive Improvement Acts,
