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Leeds Leasing

Did You Know?

The first commercially successful steam locomotive, the Salamanca, was built in 1812 by Matthew Murray. The train transported coal along the Middleton railway, between Middleton and Leeds. This Leeds-based invention helped shape modern train travel as we know it today.

Carbonated water was first discovered in Leeds. The inventor Joseph Priestley is thought to have created carbonated water by accident in 1767 at a brewery in the area. This discovery began to be produced on a large scale in 1781, with the first factory being built in Manchester.

Perhaps a more well-known fact, the leading British retailer Marks & Spencers began in 1884 in Leeds as a penny bazaar. Staying true to their roots, the M&S Company Archive – which contains over 70,000 items about the company’s long and significant history.

The oldest flying aeroplane in Britain was made here in Leeds. Blackburn Type D was a pioneering aircraft – a one seat single engine monoplane, it was built by Robert Blackburn for Cyril Foggin in 1912, just 10 years after the famous first flight of The Wright Brothers. Incredibly, the plane is still flying over 100 years on and is kept in the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire.

The Ryder Cup is the biggest event in golf, but did you know it once took place in Leeds? The second event in its history and the first to be held in Europe teed off at Moortown Golf Club in 1929. Even though it took place in April, snow and cold weather caused mayhem with the players, but it worked out okay for the Great Britain team led by George Duncan because they defeated the Americans 7-5.

Hippos once walked the same streets in Leeds we do now and we have the proof. In 1984, during the construction of the Armley Gyratory, the bones of an ancient hippo believed to date back around 130,000 years were discovered. It’s one of the city’s most important historical discoveries and you can see the remains at Leeds City Museum today.

By 1998, the internet was already starting to take over our lives and Leeds had a huge role to play in that because it gave birth to the UK’s first internet service provider, Freeserve. Their free internet discs became a must-have. By the time it was sold to French company Wannadoo in 2000, it was worth a hefty £1.65 billion and had accumulated nearly 2 million active customers.

The Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds is one of a kind. The local landmark opened in 1914, just before the outbreak of World War One, and it’s still a must-visit to this day. It’s the last surviving gas-lit cinema in the UK, but that’s not the only original feature you’ll find here – from the external ticket booth to the barrel-vaulted ceilings and ornate balconies.