The making of the University of Leeds

The story of how the Yorkshire College of Science became a giant of higher education

  Founded “to promote education of both sexes and to provide instruction in such sciences and arts as are applicable or ancillary to the manufacturing, mining, engineering and agricultural industries of Yorkshire”, the College started with 3 professors and 24 students.

  How did it become a place with more than 38,000 students and 8,000 staff?

  How has a former residential area been transformed to accommodate today’s vast range of research, teaching and learning?

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• Visiting Leeds with a view to studying here? 

• Are you and your fellow alumni returning for a reunion?

• Interested in our "open air exhibition of architecture & social change?" - historian Professor Maurice Beresford

​Book a tour of the campus - with its amazing range of buildings, spaces and art works.

Add a tour of parts of the city centre - right next to the campus.

​Get in touch to arrange a time & date. 

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I'm offering a mix of some favourite tours developed over the years & new topics - more info & booking here

Commission your own special tour?

Choose: 

• a general introduction to the city - with start and finish to suit you

• one of the topics you can find here

• a theme that fits with the interests and stamina of your family/friends

• a route that will strike a chord with your organisation's focus - such as engineering history, greening of the city, an aspect of architectural history. (I've taken on some interesting challenges). 

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Give me a call: 07712 739153

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​Want reassurance that this will be worthwhile and enjoyable? Read some of the reviews left by walkers since early 2019. 

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Stuck for a gift idea? Give a tour voucher

• as a welcome to Leeds

• as a birthday, anniversary or Christmas present 

   Request a voucher with the name of the recipient(s) - you can specify the wording and choose a topic or leave it up to the guest to choose.

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Walking through the centuries

  New to Leeds? Or lived here for ages without learning much about your city? Visiting for the weekend? You have visitors staying?

  Come with me from earliest times to the present day - Kirkgate to the West End. I'll explain how a little town where cloth was traded became the regional capital and a major centre for financial services, healthcare, cultural activities, learning and digital creativity.

  What was the importance of 'fulling'? What is the 'Navigation' and why was it so vital to Leeds? Why was Leeds well placed to become an early industrial town? When did Leeds become a city? These and many more questions will be answered.

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