Leeds Kirkgate Market

Kirkgate Market
The Vicar Lane entrance to Leeds Kirkgate Market
General information
Architectural style	various
Town or city	Leeds
Country	England
Construction started	1875
Completed	1981, 1976 hall under refurbishment (2015)
Design and construction
Architect	Joseph and John Leeming of London (1904 hall)
Engineer	J Bagshaw and Sons of Batley (1904 hall)

Leeds Kirkgate Market (pronounced /ˈkɜːrɡət/) is a market in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located on Vicar Lane. It is the largest covered market in Europe. There are currently 800 stalls which attract over 100,000 visitors a week

The markets are situated with their front facing onto Vicar Lane and the southern face onto Kirkgate. To the east is Leeds City bus station, while to the north is an open car park, which will become part of the Eastgate Quarters, should that development take place. To the south of the open market is the markets multi-storey car park operated by National Car Parks (NCP). From across Vicar Lane, the markets are connected to Briggate via the Victoria Quarter.

Local and regional buses heading out of the city centre, as well as long-distance National Express coaches, stop at Leeds City bus station, to the rear of the complex. First Leeds buses stop at various points on the bus-box of which Vicar Lane is a part. The Vicar Lane and Markets car park are situated close-by. The formerly proposed Leeds Supertram and Leeds Trolleybus schemes included a stop to serve both the markets and the bus station, however neither scheme succeeded in securing central government funding.

The markets first opened in 1822 as an open-air market, and between 1850 and 1875 the first covered sections of the market had been constructed after the market moved from Briggate. The Central Market hall, built alongside Duncan Street, was surrounded on three sides by shops that were mainly rented to butchers and fishmongers. Inside the hall, stalls were erected for the sale of fruit, vegetables, and dairy produce, with the balcony being used for selling fancy goods. The South Market, bordering Hunslet Lane and Meadow Lane, was used by butchers, various goods shops, open stalls, nine slaughterhouses and eighteen homes.