Leeds Kirkgate Market (Outdoor)

The markets first opened in 1822 as an open-air market, and between 1850 and 1875 the first covered sections of the market had been constructed after the market moved from Briggate. The Central Market hall, built alongside Duncan Street, was surrounded on three sides by shops that were mainly rented to butchers and fishmongers. Inside the hall, stalls were erected for the sale of fruit, vegetables, and dairy produce, with the balcony being used for selling fancy goods. The South Market, bordering Hunslet Lane and Meadow Lane, was used by butchers, various goods shops, open stalls, nine slaughterhouses and eighteen homes. Plans for a market on the Kirkgate site were first unveiled in 1850 by…

The current building frontage opened in 1904. Fire ravaged the rear halls in December 1975 and these were rebuilt soon after, giving the rear halls a more modern open-plan feel, albeit lacking the character of the 1904 hall. To the very rear of the site there is an outdoor market. Crammed in between the 1904 hall and the rear modern halls is the oldest hall, from 1875, which contains both Butchers' Row and Fish and Game Row. The 1875 hall is not an open hall, as the others but acts as a series of passages between the 1904 hall and the more modern 1976 and 1981 halls.