Leeds and Manchester are two English cities, best known in New Zealand for their soccer teams.
Leeds was a Middle Ages wool centre, and the Yorkshire moors still provide wool for spinning and weaving in the city. It is now a modern industrialised city famous for its ornate shopping arcade built mainly in late Victorian times.
Manchester, the trade capital of the north of England, was the finest Victorian city in England. Many of the old buildings remain despite extensive damage caused by wartime bombing. For New Zealanders visiting Manchester, the number one attraction is the Granada Television Studios where ‘Coronation Street’ is filmed.
Pic: This painting from the rural areas outside Manchester in 1857 shows the effects of the many factories in the city.