• last year
Andy Hutchinson wanders down Leeds’ most famous street and steps back in time with some archive photography.

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Transcript
00:00 Hi and welcome to Leeds then and today. Here I am on Bustling Brigate, the Leeds City Centre
00:05 shopping street loved by generations of visitors and residents. I'm Andrew Hutchinson and I've
00:11 been looking at some photographs from the 1940s showcasing this street and the shops
00:18 it offered back in the day.
00:20 If you look closely at the pictures you can pinpoint exactly where certain shops were.
00:36 At the bottom end of Brigate we had Saxon shoes on the corner, we also had Wallace costumers
00:43 and also Tetley & Son tobacconists. In the 1940s shops on the east side of Brigate were
01:02 predominantly bootmakers as well as the entrance to the Bay Horse Hotel yard which is still
01:07 visible today. It's important to remember that back in the 1940s right up to the early
01:29 mid 1990s you could drive up Brigate. It was pedestrianised in 1993 and later on during
01:37 that same decade it was filled with granite and Yorkshire stones.
01:55 Woolworths found a home on Brigate in the late 1920s and would be part of the retail
01:59 scene on this street for generations until it closed in May 1987. Indeed I actually used
02:06 to work at Woolworths back in the day. Pick and mix anyone?
02:17 Brigate is constantly evolving and in most recent times Debenhams and House of Fraser
02:23 are undergoing massive transformations.
02:33 Brigate continues to be bustling and thriving and alive and very much has been part of people's
02:41 lives for generations from those coming shopping on a weekend and throughout the week to those
02:46 looking for bargains at the numerous different shops and also those looking for an opportunity
02:52 to have something to eat and also to drink thanks to the numerous historic pubs as you
02:57 wander down. And let's hope that Brigate remains to be part of people's lives for many years
03:03 to come.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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