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Briggate


Coordinates: 53°47′49″N 1°32′33″W / 53.7969°N 1.5424°W / 53.7969; -1.5424

Briggate is one of the pedestrianised principal shopping streets in central Leeds, England.

Briggate is one of the oldest streets in the city of Leeds and was made in 1207, when the road led to the north side of Leeds Bridge which crossed over the River Aire. The name 'Briggate' means 'the road to the bridge'.

The Moot Hall in the centre of Briggate, built in 1615 as a courthouse, was demolished in 1825. A statue of Queen Anne that decorated its front is in the entrance hall of Leeds Art Gallery. The entrance to the churchyard of St John the Evangelist's Church, Leeds, built between 1632 and 1634, is off New Briggate and is the oldest church in the city centre.

During the English Civil War a pitched battle was fought for the control of Leeds along the length of Briggate. The Battle of Leeds on 23 January 1643 saw a Parliamentarian force under Sir Thomas Fairfax take the town from the Royalist forces of Sir William Savile. Fairfax lead his troops in an attack on a ditch and rampart the Royalists had dug running parallel to Briggate from St John's Church to the Aire, while a simultaneous attack took place on Leeds Bridge.


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