Map Leeds

For the larger local government district, see City of Leeds.
Leeds (pronunciation (help·info)) is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. It is the urban core and administrative centre of the wider metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds. The county borough of Leeds was awarded city status in 1893, but in 1974 this status was transferred to the larger new metropolitan borough named "City of Leeds". Thus Leeds, although commonly referred to as a "city", does not have this legal status unless the wider area is being discussed.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the recorded history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the Kingdom of Elmet was covered by the forest of "Loidis", the origin of the name Leeds. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major industrial centre for the production and trade of wool, before emerging as a centre for commerce and higher education, being the location of the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University. Today the city is one of the largest financial and legal centres outside London.
According to the 2001 UK census, the population of the Leeds urban area was 443,247, whereas the wider City of Leeds metropolitan district has a population of 750,200 (mid-2006 estimate) and is one of the eight largest English cities outside London that form the English Core Cities Group. It is at the centre of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county with a population of over 2.1 million.