City Of Industry

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Holbeck was the cradle of the industrial revolution in Leeds, home to trend-setting entrepreneurs ahead of the curve who bequeathed a legacy of fascinating buildings and legends.

During the Industrial Revolution Holbeck’s foundries and mills manufactured machinery, steam engines, cloth and equipment for companies across the world. The area was home to three of the greatest innovators of the time: Colonel Thomas Harding, John Marshall and Mathew Murray.

Not only did these men change the face of industry in Britain but they left behind a rich architectural legacy, including Italianate towers and an Egyptian temple, alongside mills, foundries and some of the greatest feats of engineering still dominating the city’s skyline.

However, from the late 1800s, Holbeck’s world importance in manufacturing and engineering steadily declined leaving behind landmark buildings that today form an impressive monument to a bygone age.

There are 33 listed buildings within the Holbeck Urban Village conservation boundary, including one Grade I, and two Grade II* buildings, all waiting to welcome today’s generation of innovators in the high value creative and digital media sector.