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Town HallTown Hall · Photo: Andrew roberts uk · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+History Grade
History of Leeds · Historic England

1,223 listed buildings, 12 of them Grade I

On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Leeds’s built-up area, 23 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 12 scheduled monuments. We have photos of 71 of its listed buildings and 8 old views of the town. 18% of its homes were built before 1919. Leeds grades B+ for history: #27 of 91 in West Yorkshire.

12Grade I58Grade II*1819old map12scheduled monuments9on Harrogate Road
Listed buildings
1,223
23 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
12
exceptional interest
Grade II*
58
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
12
7 registered parks & gardens
Homes built before 1919
18%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures

Leeds in 90 photos and old views

Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.

Harewood HouseHarewood HouseGrade I park or gardenCity MarketsCity MarketsGrade I listedTruck Lifting Tower Aireside CentreTruck Lifting Tower Aireside CentreGrade II listedHighbury WorksHighbury WorksGrade II listedBramley BathsBramley BathsGrade II listed+85See all photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.

Through time

Leeds from 1819 to 1947

An old map and 8 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.

Roundhay Park from J. Thorp's Map of the town of Leeds 1819-21 (including Goodman House - later Beechwood)c. 1819
Old mapRoundhay Park from J. Thorp's Map of the town of Leeds 1819-21 (including Goodm…Map: J. Thorpe · Public domain
Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Leeds, Cattle and Implement Sheds as seen from Armley-Hill-Sidec. 1861
VictorianMeeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Leeds, Cattle and Implement Sheds …Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
The Implement-Yard at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Leedsc. 1861
VictorianThe Implement-Yard at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at LeedsPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
James Valentine The Briggate Leedsc. 1880
VictorianJames Valentine The Briggate LeedsPhoto: James Valentine · Public domain
Leeds Town Hall postcard 1902-1914c. 1902
EdwardianLeeds Town Hall postcard 1902-1914Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
2-a Brita Kongreso de Esperanto Leeds 19091909
Edwardian2-a Brita Kongreso de Esperanto Leeds 1909Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
Foyer, Majestic Cinema, City Square, 19231923
Between the warsFoyer, Majestic Cinema, City Square, 1923Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
View of Leeds from the air in 1933c. 1933
Between the warsView of Leeds from the air in 1933Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
City Square, Majestic, 1947c. 1947
War and afterCity Square, Majestic, 1947Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain

Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.

The map

Where Leeds’s history is

Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.

Armley House (Gott's Park), registered park or gardenBeckett Street Cemetery, registered park or gardenHarewood House, registered park or gardenHunslet Cemetery, registered park or gardenRoundhay Park, registered park or gardenTemple Newsam, registered park or gardenYork Gate Gardens, registered park or gardenCup, ring and groove marked rock 15m from south wall of Gab Wood 300m east of Moseley Farm, Cookridge, scheduled monumentFormer World War I National Filling Factory, Barnbow, scheduled monumentGritstone pillar with three cup marks in the north pavement of the A65 at Horsforth, 440m south east of the roundabout at Low Fold, scheduled monumentKirkstall Abbey and precinct including a prehistoric cup and ring marked rock, scheduled monumentLate prehistoric enclosed settlements in Gipton Wood, at the southern end of Oakwood Drive, scheduled monumentLength of Grim's Ditch 260m west of Brown Moor Farm, scheduled monumentLength of Grim's Ditch from Cotton Road East to the A63, Colton Common, scheduled monumentLength of Grim's Ditch immediately east of Barrowby Road, scheduled monumentMedieval farmstead in Ireland Wood, 150m north east of Cookridge Hospital, scheduled monumentShrunken medieval village of Colton, scheduled monumentStone hut circle settlement in Clayton Wood on the south west side of Iveson Drive, scheduled monumentStone hut circle settlement in Iveson Wood, scheduled monumentAdult Education Centre, University of Leeds, Grade II*Armley Mills Main Range, Grade II*Armley Prison: Entrance Range and Flanking Walls, Grade II*Armley Prison: Inner Range, Grade II*Armley Prison: Revetment Wall on East Side of Gloucester Terrace, Grade II*Austhorpe Hall, Grade II*Chadwick Lodge and Attached Walls and Railings, Grade II*Church of All Souls with Boundary Wall and War Memorial, Grade II*Church of St Aidan, Grade II*Church of St Bartholomew, Grade II*Church of St Chad, Grade II*Church of St Matthew, Grade II*Church of St Matthias, Grade II*Church of St Michael, Grade II*Church of St Wilfrid, Grade II*City Varieties, Grade II*Civic Court and Attached Railings, Grade II*Civic Hall, Grade II*Denison Hall, Grade II*First Leeds Cloth Hall, Grade II*Former Flax Warehouse to Marshall Mills, Grade II*Former Foundry Building for Fenton Murray and Wood Engineers, Grade II*Former Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company Warehouse, Grade II*Former Machine and Fitting Shops for Fenton Murray and Wood Engineers, Grade II*Gate Lodge to Temple Mill, Grade II*Gatehouse at Kirkstall Abbey (Abbey House Folk Museum), Grade II*Gledhow Hall, Grade II*Grand Theatre Including Former Assembly Rooms, Grade II*Hunslet Mill, Grade II*Leeds City Museum, Grade II*Leeds Club Premises and Basement Railings, Grade II*Marshall Mills, Grade II*Memorial to Queen Victoria, Grade II*Mill Hill Chapel, Grade II*Municipal Buildings Including City Museum, Public Library and Attached Railings, Grade II*Numbers 1-43 and Cross Arcade, Grade II*Numbers 16-20 Including Leeds Library (18), Grade II*Remains of North West Range of White Cloth Hall Including Entrance, Grade II*River Lock and Retaining Walls to River Aire, Grade II*Roger Stevens Building, Grade II*Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Anne, Grade II*Spenfield, Grade II*St Margarets Church, Grade II*St Marys Convent Church, Grade II*St Paul's House and attached railings and gates, Grade II*Statue of the Black Prince, Grade II*The Garden Gate Public House, Grade II*The Grange, Grade II*The Manor House Cad Beeston, Grade II*The Round House (Leeds Commercial Van and Truck Rental Premises), Grade II*Time Ball Buildings, Grade II*Tower Works, Boiler House Chimney, Grade II*Tower Works, The Giotto Tower Dust Extraction Chimney, Grade II*University of Leeds School of Medicine, Grade II*Waterloo House North East Range of White Cloth Hall with Assembly Rooms over, Grade II*Weetwood Hall, Grade II*Whitelock's Ale House, Grade II*99, Water Lane, Grade II*Church of St John, Grade IChurch of St John the Baptist, Grade IChurch of St Mary, Grade IChurch of St Saviour, Grade IChurch of the Epiphany, Grade ICity Markets, Grade ICorn Exchange, Grade IHoly Trinity Church, Grade IOriginal Infirmary and Corson's Pavilion Wing, Grade IParish Church of St Peter, Grade ITemple Mill, Grade ITown Hall, Grade I
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monumentPark or garden400 m from Leeds Kirkgate Market
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
5 of 12Grade I buildings stand within 400 m of Leeds Kirkgate Market, a five-minute walk. So do 119 of the 1,223 listed buildings.
51 of 325neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 96% were built before 1919.

Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.

1,223 listed buildings by grade
12 Grade I58 Grade II*1,153 Grade II

Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.

Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings. Neighbourhood dots: the population-weighted centre of each Census 2021 output area, coloured by its neighbourhood’s (LSOA’s) share of homes built before 1919 (Valuation Office Agency, March 2025).

Grade I

The 12 Grade I listed buildings in Leeds

Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings; 5 of these stand within 400 m of Leeds Kirkgate Market. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.

Public · listed 1951Leeds Town HallOn the list as Town HallPhoto: Andrew roberts uk · CC BY-SA 3.0
House · listed 1970Leeds General InfirmaryOn the list as Original Infirmary and Corson's Pavilion WingPhoto: astroman3D · CC BY-SA 3.0
Church · listed 1963Leeds MinsterOn the list as Parish Church of St PeterPhoto: Jungpionier · CC BY-SA 3.0
Inns & shops · listed 1951Temple WorksOn the list as Temple MillPhoto: Sarah Grice · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grade II*

The 58 Grade II* listed buildings in Leeds

Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 56 are photographed.

House · listed 1963Hostel of the ResurrectionOn the list as Adult Education Centre, University of LeedsPhoto: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0
Walls & gates · listed 1963Chadwick LodgeOn the list as Chadwick Lodge and Attached Walls and RailingsPhoto: Stanley Walker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Walls & gates · listed 1963All Souls, Blackman LaneOn the list as Church of All Souls with Boundary Wall and War MemorialPhoto: Chemical Engineer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Church · listed 1963St Aidan's ChurchOn the list as Church of St AidanPhoto: Chemical Engineer · Public domain
Show the other 46
Public · listed 1976Leeds Civic HallOn the list as Civic HallPhoto: Jungpionier · CC BY-SA 3.0
Walls & gates · listed 1976Granary BuildingsOn the list as Former Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company WarehousePhoto: Samshots1 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Walls & gates · listed 1963Abbey House MuseumOn the list as Gatehouse at Kirkstall Abbey (Abbey House Folk Museum)Photo: Jungpionier · CC BY-SA 3.0
Public · listed 1975Gledhow HallPhoto: Chemical Engineer · Public domain
Public · listed 1960Grand TheatreOn the list as Grand Theatre Including Former Assembly RoomsPhoto: Rcsprinter123 · CC BY 3.0
Inns & shops · listed 1986Hunslet MillPhoto: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0
Street furniture · listed 2000Leeds ClubOn the list as Leeds Club Premises and Basement RailingsPhoto: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0
House · listed 1987Marshall's MillOn the list as Marshall MillsPhoto: Steve Buxton · CC BY-SA 4.0
Public · listed 1963Leeds Central LibraryOn the list as Municipal Buildings Including City Museum, Public Library and Attached RailingsPhoto: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Public · listed 1951Leeds LibraryOn the list as Numbers 16-20 Including Leeds Library (18)Photo: Michael D Beckwith · CC BY 3.0
House · listed 1963Leeds CathedralOn the list as Roman Catholic Cathedral of St AnnePhoto: Jungpionier · CC BY-SA 3.0
House · listed 1975SpenfieldPhoto: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0
Walls & gates · listed 1963St Pauls HouseOn the list as St Paul's House and attached railings and gatesPhoto: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0
House · listed 1986The RoundhouseOn the list as The Round House (Leeds Commercial Van and Truck Rental Premises)Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0
Public · listed 1974Old Medical SchoolOn the list as University of Leeds School of MedicinePhoto: Chemical Engineer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic streets

The Harrogate Road and Queen Square have the most listed buildings

Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.

Harrogate Road9 listed
Queen Square9 listed
Boar Lane8 listed
Park Place7 listed
Town Street7 listed
Dock Street6 listed
Headingley Lane6 listed
Albion Place5 listed
Briggate5 listed
Commercial Street5 listed
Low Moor Side5 listed
Upper Town Street5 listed

Of the 1,223 entries, 245 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.

What’s protected

The largest group of Leeds’s listed buildings is homes

Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.

Houses, terraces & villas590
Walls, gates & bridges195
Public & civic buildings153
Street furniture88
Churches, chapels & priories87
Inns, shops & warehouses74
Memorials, crosses & tombs36

590 entries (48%) are houses, terraces and villas. 87 are churches, chapels and priories, including 7 of the 12 Grade I buildings.

Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.

Grade II

1,153 Grade II listed buildings

Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.

The first 150 of 1,153 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
'A Celebration of Engineering Sciences' relief mural, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Woodhouse Lane, LeedsAbbey InnAbbey VillaAbtech HouseAcorn Glass Merchants PremisesAcorn InnAdel ReformatoryAgricultural Sciences Building, University of Leeds, And Attached RailingsAire and Calder Navigation Cut and LocksAlbion HouseAlder Hill CottagesAlexander Memorial Approximately 14 Metres South of Church of St MarkAlf Cooke Ltd Packaging (Cookes Printers)All Souls HouseAllerton HallAllerton LodgeAlwoodley Lodges, Gates and Flanking WallsAmbler HouseArmley GrangeArmley Park CourtArmley Park Plaque Approximately 40 Metres East of FountainArmley Park Plaque Approximately 40 Metres West of FountainArmley Public LibraryArncliffeAsh CottageAshfieldAshling and Ashling CottageAshwoodAthenaeum HouseAtlas HouseAudus Hirst Memorial Approximately 30 Metres South of Church of St John the BaptistAusthorpe Lane Bridge, HUL4/21Balks HouseBalmoral TerraceBank HouseBank Mills B and DBank Mills C and Attached Tow WarehouseBaptist Church and Church HallBaptist Church, with Chapel Cottage attachedBaptist Sunday School and Attached HouseBarclays Bank and ChambersBardon GrangeBardon Grange LodgeBardon HillBarley Mow Public HouseBarn and Outbuildings to East of Park FarmhouseBarn at Ings Hall Farm Upper Moor SideBasin Lock to West of Bridge 226 on Leeds and Liverpool CanalBasin of New Dock Clarence DockBeckett Family Mausoleum Immediately East of Church of Holy TrinityBeckett Street Cemetery Monument to Sarah KidneyBeech Grove HouseBeech HouseBeeston Hill War MemorialBelle Vue HouseBethel First United Church of Jesus ChristBlemann House and Attached Railings Kings HouseBlenheim Baptist ChurchBlenheim Terrace Number 15 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Number 16 Richmond House with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Number 17 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Number 18 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Number 2 with Boundary WallBlenheim Terrace Number 20Blenheim Terrace Number 22Blenheim Terrace Number 24Blenheim Terrace Number 25Blenheim Terrace Number 26Blenheim Terrace Numbers 11 and 12 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Numbers 13 and 14 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Numbers 3 and 4 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Numbers 7 and 8 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlenheim Terrace Numbers 9 and 10 with Gate Piers and Boundary WallsBlock to East of Thoresby Building with Attached RailingsBoiler House ChimneyBollard at Entrance to Number 5 Kingston TerraceBollard at Junction with Oxford PlaceBollard at North East Corner of City Art GalleryBollard at West End of Swan StreetBollard near Corner with St Pauls StreetBollard on Street CornerBollards and Railings to Front Garden of Headingley Parish HallBoundary Stone at Ngr 2927 3767Boundary Wall and Gateway to East of Number 1 Grosvenor TerraceBoundary Wall and Railings to Church of St GeorgeBoundary Wall and Railings to Leeds General Infirmary with Gate Piers and GatesBoundary Wall and Two Sets of Gate Piers to Fairbairn HouseBoundary Wall of Marshall Mills with Workshop and RailingsBoundary Wall to Church of St Andrew with Three Pairs of Gate PiersBoundary Wall to Church of St Bartholomew with Lych GateBoundary Wall to Grosvenor House, Grosvenor MountBoundary Wall to Lawns House with Gate Piers and GatesBoundary Wall to Number 20 Clarendon HouseBoundary Wall to Numbers 66, 68 and 70 (Newton Villa)Boundary Wall to West of Number 5 Grosvenor TerraceBoundary Wall to West of Parish Church of St Peter with South West GatewayBoundary Wall with Gate Piers Gates and Gateway to North of Church of St SaviourBoundary Wall with Gate Piers and Gates to Chadwick LodgeBoundary Wall with Gate Piers and Gates to Spring Hill and ElmfieldBoundary Wall with Gate Piers and Gates to Trinity Congregational ChurchBoundary Wall with Gate Piers to St Matthews Community CentreBoundary Wall with Gate Piers to Sycamore LodgeBoundary Wall with Piers and Railings to Church of St MatthiasBoundary Wall, Gate Pier and Gates to South of St Johns ChurchyardBoundary Walls to Numbers 1, 3 and 5Boundary wall to St Johns School and AlmshousesBoundary wall with railings, gate piers and gates to former Beeston Hill Board SchoolBoyne Engineering Works OfficesBraime Pressings LimitedBramley BathsBridge 223 over Leeds and Liverpool CanalBridge 225 on Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Gate Piers and Retaining WallsBridge 226 over Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Attached WallBridge HouseBridge over Gledhow Lane at Ngr 3151 3712Bridge over Head Race at Armley MillsBridge over Hol BeckBridge over Mill Stream to East of Thwaite Mill with Retaining Wall on South Side of Mill RaceBritannia BuildingsBritannia Public House Including Adjoining Stables to South EastBroad Lane Canal Bridge (Bridge 222)Broadcasting HouseBrodrick Court Numbers 1 and 2Brodricks BuildingsBronte Hall Leeds Metropolitan UniversityBrookfoot House Pear Tree CottageBuckingham HouseBuilding Approximately 30 Metres North East of Entrance to Carr MillsBurley Branch Library, including front railingsBurley HouseBurley Methodist ChurchBurley Methodist Church HallBurley Mills Main RangeBurley Wood WorksBurton HouseBust of John Scott, Scott's AlmshousesCad BeestonCaedmon Hall Leeds Metropolitan UniversityCarr Manor CottagesCarr Manor HouseCastle Grove Masonic HallCastleton MillCathedral CourtCavendish Hall Leeds Metropolitan UniversityCemetery Wall with Blocked Gateway on North West SideCentaur Clothing FactoryCentenary HouseChapel Allerton Library and Police StationChapel Allerton Primary SchoolChimney Stack on North Side of Tail Race at Armley Mills

Search the rest on Historic England’s list →

Conservation areas

1 conservation area covers 100% of Leeds

Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.

No data available for publication by HE12,001 ha
12,001 hain conservation areas, of 12,001 ha inside the built-up area.

1,223 of the 1,223 listed buildings stand in one.

Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.

How the list grew

375 of Leeds’s 1,223 listed buildings were added in 1976

The year each building now on the list was first listed.

1976 · 3751996 · 360
19501960197019801990200020102020

The first 41 entries were listed in 1951, 3 of the 12 Grade I buildings among them. 375 came in 1976, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 19 have been added in the last 15 years.

Monuments & landscapes

Monuments, parks and gardens

Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.

12 scheduled monuments

Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.

Gritstone pillar with three cup marks in the north pavement of the A65 at Horsforth, 440m south east of the roundabout at Low Fold
Kirkstall Abbey and precinct including a prehistoric cup and ring marked rock
Stone hut circle settlement in Clayton Wood on the south west side of Iveson Drive

7 registered parks and gardens

Armley House (Gott's Park)
Beckett Street Cemetery
Harewood House
Hunslet Cemetery
Roundhay Park
Temple Newsam
York Gate Gardens
History Grade

Leeds grades B+ for history

Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.

Protected heritage, for its size and in all (1,338 points, 25 per 10,000 residents)More than 69% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (18%)More than 55% of UK towns

Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.

Born here

259 notable people born in Leeds before 1900

The 20 best known on one timeline, earliest first.

John Smeaton
Richard Anthony Salisbury
Joseph Aspdin
Barry Cornwall
Alfred Austin
John Atkinson Grimshaw
Philip Henry Wicksteed
William Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson
Wordsworth Donisthorpe
William Eagle Clarke
Herbert Hall Turner
Thomas Byles
Arthur Greenwood
William Morton
Mary Gawthorpe
E. R. Eddison
Arthur Ransome
Lily Elsie
May Warden
Violet Heming
170017501800185019001950
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome1884–1967 · English author and journalist (1884–1967)
John Smeaton
John Smeaton1724–1792 · English engineer (1724-1792)
Alfred Austin
Alfred Austin1835–1913 · British writer and poet (1835–1913)
John Atkinson Grimshaw
John Atkinson Grimshaw1836–1893 · English painter (1836-1893)
JA
Joseph Aspdin1778–1855 · British mason, bricklayer and inventor (1778–1855)
Richard Anthony Salisbury
Richard Anthony Salisbury1761–1829 · British botanist and gardener (1761-1829)
HT
Herbert Hall Turner1861–1930 · British astronomer and seismologist (1861–1930)
Philip Henry Wicksteed
Philip Henry Wicksteed1844–1927 · English economist (1844–1927)

Everyone born in Leeds → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.

Neighbours

Listed buildings in the places around Leeds

TownPeopleListedGrade IHistory
Leeds536,2621,22312B+
Shadwell1,452100B
Morley32,562491B
Gildersome6,27870C−
Pudsey34,853581B
Rothwell20,964270C+
Scholes (Leeds)2,27000D−
Bramhope3,593151C
In brief

Leeds in brief

The official list counts 1,223 listed buildings in Leeds, 12 of them Grade I, including Leeds Town Hall. Its Grade I buildings cluster together: 5 of them stand within 400 m of Leeds Kirkgate Market. On Harrogate Road alone there are 9 listed buildings. A conservation area protects part of it.

Arthur Ransome (1884), John Smeaton (1724) and Alfred Austin (1835) are among the 259 people born here before 1900. It also has 12 scheduled monuments, the archaeology and ruins the law protects. Beyond that, it has 12 Grade I buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 13); per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and 18% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 15% in the typical UK town.

Questions about Leeds’s history

How many listed buildings are there in Leeds?

Historic England lists 1,223 buildings inside Leeds’s built-up area: 12 Grade I, 58 Grade II* and 1,153 Grade II.

What are the Grade I listed buildings in Leeds?

12, including Church of St John, Church of St John the Baptist, Church of St Mary, Church of St Saviour, Church of the Epiphany and City Markets.

Which street in Leeds has the most listed buildings?

Harrogate Road (9), Queen Square (9) and Boar Lane (8) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.

Are there scheduled monuments in Leeds?

Yes, 12 scheduled monuments, including Cup, ring and groove marked rock 15m from south wall of Gab Wood 300m east of Moseley Farm, Cookridge, Former World War I National Filling Factory, Barnbow, Gritstone pillar with three cup marks in the north pavement of the A65 at Horsforth, 440m south east of the roundabout at Low Fold and Kirkstall Abbey and precinct including a prehistoric cup and ring marked rock.

How many conservation areas are there in Leeds?

1, covering about 12,001 hectares of the town. The largest is No data available for publication by HE.

When were Leeds’s buildings listed?

The first in 1951; the most, 375, in 1976.

Are there old photos of Leeds?

Yes: 8 public-domain photos and postcards from 1861 to 1947, and an old map from 1819, all on this page.

Who was born in Leeds?

Among people born before 1900: Arthur Ransome (1884), John Smeaton (1724), Alfred Austin (1835), John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836) and Joseph Aspdin (1778).

How old are the homes in Leeds?

18% of homes were built before 1919 and 39% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.

Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.