The main ones are cast aluminium 18 inches in diameter with lettering in relief and can be repainted when badly worn. Where space is limited a 14-inch one is used with fewer words. In the case of Whitkirk Manor House (155) a rectangular one was used to get more words in the restricted width. Four (60, 62, 63, 72) are millennium plaques of 20 inches with gold letters and edging.[1]
They are numbered according to the books given in the bibliography up to 180. 181 onwards are numbered according to the date of erection. There is one which is not numbered and green instead of blue. Some are photographed before mounting, others in situ.
There are also printed polymer ones celebrating the LGBT history in Leeds, referred to as Rainbow plaques.[2] They were officially launched on 1 August 2018 to be on display until 17 September.[3] Some were taken down, but some still remain as of September 2024,
Blue Plaques
Number
Image
Title
Location / Notes
1
Burley Bar Stone
Entrance to Leeds Building Society, 105 Albion Street, LS1 5AS
Unveiled on 29 March 2023 and will be erected on the entrance to Leeds Town Hall. It is the first of these plaques to include information in Braille[10]
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker.
Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It contains many historic buildings, including the oldest in the city, and others from the 19th and early-20th century, including two theatres. It is noted for the yards between some older buildings with alleyways giving access and Victorian shopping arcades, which were restored in late 20th century. The street was pedestrianised in the late-20th century.
Millennium Square is a city square in the Civic Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was Leeds's flagship project to mark the year 2000, and was jointly funded by Leeds City Council and the Millennium Commission. Total cost of production was £12 million.
Leeds Bridge is a historic river crossing in Leeds, England. The present cast iron road bridge over the River Aire dates from 1870. It is Grade II listed.
David Oluwale (1930–1969) was a British Nigerian who drowned in the River Aire in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1969. The events leading to his drowning have been described as "the physical and psychological destruction of a homeless Black man, whose brutal and systematic harassment was orchestrated by the Leeds City Police Force." Oluwale's death led to the first successful prosecution of British police officers for their involvement in the death of a Black person. The legacy of his life, experiences, and death has shaped discussions on systemic racism within British legal institutions, police brutality and practices, inequality, and mental health policy. He has inspired artworks, been the subject of several books and documentaries, and is commemorated by a blue plaque in Leeds.
The architecture of Leeds, a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, encompasses a wide range of architectural styles and notable buildings. As with most northern industrial centres, much of Leeds' prominent architecture is of the Victorian era. However, the City of Leeds also contains buildings from as early as the Middle Ages such as Kirkstall Abbey, one of Britain's best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries, as well as examples of 20th century industrial architecture, particularly in the districts of Hunslet and Holbeck.
Leeds Civic Trust is a voluntary organisation and registered charity established in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in 1965. Affiliated to the national charity Civic Voice, its stated purpose is "to stimulate public interest in and care for the beauty, history, and character of the city and locality, to encourage high standards of design, architecture and town planning; [and] to encourage the development and improvement of features of general public amenity".
The Calls is an area and street by the River Aire in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. This district falls within the City and Hunslet ward of the City of Leeds Council. Formerly an area of industry in Leeds, it has now been regenerated with a mixture of uses: primarily offices, residential and leisure.
Cottage Road Cinema is the oldest remaining cinema in continuous use in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Situated in the suburb of Headingley, Cottage Road was originally built in 1905 as a garage for the nearby Castle Grove mansion. Local newsreel cameraman Owen Brooks leased the garage with his friend George Reginald 'Reg' Smith and the two converted the building into a cinema, which opened as 'Headingley Picture House' on Monday, 29 July 1912. The cinema changed hands in the late 1930s, ultimately being purchased by Associated Tower Cinemas, who changed its name to Cottage Road Cinema and undertook building work.
Leeds Pride is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Leeds Pride is one of the biggest free pride events in the UK.
William Alfred Ismay was a librarian, writer and collector in Wakefield, West Yorkshire known for his significant collection of post-war studio pottery. The collection called the W.A. Ismay Collection was bequeathed to the Yorkshire Museum and is one of the world's largest collections of 20th-century studio pottery. It includes work by Bernard Leach, Hans Coper, Shoji Hamada, Takeshi Yasuda, David Leach Dan Arbeid and Lucie Rie.
Holy Trinity Church, on Goodramgate in York, is a Grade I listed former parish church in the Church of England in York and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
LGBT culture in Leeds, England, involves an active community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender/transsexual. A BBC News Online article published in 2012 stated that, while Leeds City Council has not published statistics relating to the number of LGBT residents, the figure can be estimated at 10% of the overall population, which currently suggests a total of at least 77,000. The tenth year of the Leeds Pride march and celebration, held in 2016, was attended by over 40,000 people.
Salem Chapel is a former Congregational church, located on Hunslet Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated opposite the former Tetley's Brewery.
Gertrude Maretta Paul was a teacher and advocate for the British Caribbean community in Yorkshire.
Fanny Juliet Passavant, FLA, was the first Librarian of the University of Leeds, in Leeds, England, having previously been librarian of its predecessor, the Yorkshire College. She was the only woman to hold a position of University Librarian when the college gained university status in 1904.
The rainbow plaque programme is a UK scheme to create commemorative plaques to highlight significant people, places and moments in LGBTQIA+ history. Emulating established UK blue plaque programmes run by English Heritage, local authorities and other bodies, the first permanent rainbow plaque was unveiled in York in July 2018. Some UK LGBT locations are denoted by pink plaques, an idea that predated rainbow plaques.
Hibiscus Rising (2023) is an outdoor sculpture in Leeds, England, by artist Yinka Shonibare which was unveiled on 24 November 2023 as part of LEEDS 2023. It commemorates the life and death of David Oluwale, a British-Nigerian man whose death in 1969 involved two members of Leeds City Police. Commissioned by LEEDS 2023 and the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA), in partnership with Leeds City Council, the sculpture is, according to academic Dr Emily Zobel Marshall the first public artwork in the city to reflect its cultural diversity.
↑ Palfery, Becky (26 July 2021). "The Unveiling of a Blue Plaque to Edith Pechey". Leeds Civic Trust. Retrieved 2 February 2022. We are pleased to announce that our 181st Blue Plaque has been unveiled.
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