Palace Picture House
A 1920s-style cinema of just 26 seats, billed as the smallest in the north of England, screening family films in the school holidays.
In 1788 this building, squeezed onto a sliver of island between the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, was the largest woollen mill on earth. It burned, and its owner Benjamin Gott rebuilt it in 1805 out of stone and iron so it would never burn again; it then kept working until 1969 and reopened as a museum in 1982. What you get today is a small, specialist museum in which the industrial city that dressed half of Britain still seems to sit under one roof, dust and machine oil included. The galleries walk you through the Leeds story: hulking spinning mules from 1871 and 1904 in the textile hall, a tailoring gallery explaining how Montague Burton and Marks & Spencer began here (complete with a recreated 1950s Burton's shop), a media gallery of old cameras and printing presses, then the Powerhouse with the mill's own 1871 steam engine and an 1891 Leeds fire engine. The small jewel is the Palace Picture House, a 1920s-style cinema of just 26 seats, billed as the smallest in the north of England. Matthew Murray's 1811 model locomotive, the oldest model locomotive in the world, is in the collection, but be warned that the engine shed is currently shut for building and maintenance work, a real loss for train-obsessed children. Honesty is due: this is not London's Science Museum. The place is a little frayed at the edges, some rooms are static, and live machine demonstrations depend on a volunteer being in that day. Anyone drawn to industrial heritage, or curious about where the wealth of Leeds came from, will spend two happy hours; a family after a fun day out with no context will find it fading after the first hour. The Victorian schoolroom and the small Colour Garden give children something to do, and pushchairs manage most galleries with a goods lift to the lower floor, though the gravel and cobbled paths outside are hard on wheels. Practically: open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and from noon at weekends, last entry 4pm, closed Mondays except bank holidays. Adults pay £6.40 and a family ticket is £14.50, bought at the door with no need to book. The main car park has been closed since 26 May 2026 for roughly ten months of sewer works, with signposted alternative parking at Farnell across the road; easier still is the number 14 bus from the city centre to Canal Road, or a taxi of barely ten minutes. Do not count on a full cafe here; there is a picnic area in the grounds, so bring water and a snack if you have children in tow.
A 1920s-style cinema of just 26 seats, billed as the smallest in the north of England, screening family films in the school holidays.
Two spinning mules from 1871 and 1904 fill the textile hall and show how raw wool became the cloth that made Leeds.
The tailoring gallery recreates a Burton's suit shop and tells how both Burton and Marks & Spencer grew out of this city.
Canal Road, Armley, Leeds LS12 2QF
If you have under-tens and time for only one museum, the Royal Armouries is free, bigger and far more spectacular. Armley Mills suits people who like machinery and industrial heritage, and loses part of its appeal for children while the locomotive shed is closed; two hours is plenty and you may leave sooner.
The main car park has been shut since 26 May 2026 for about ten months, but there is signposted alternative parking at Farnell across the road on Canal Road (LS12 2TU). Easier is the number 14 bus from the city centre, which drops you on Canal Road, or a taxi of around ten minutes from Leeds station.