The Leeds Cross
Fragments of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross pulled from the medieval church's walls when it was demolished in 1838, reassembled near the altar.
When this church opened in 1841 it was the largest new church built in England since St Paul's in London. Robert Dennis Chantrell designed it for 1,600 worshippers, though its celebrated vicar Walter Hook routinely pulled in 2,500 for a single service. Today it stands at the eastern edge of Leeds city centre on busy Kirkgate, with the stone railway viaduct pressing in directly behind it and strangling the exterior view. Anyone arriving with York or Durham in mind will be let down: the building is boxed in, and the inside is the reason to come. The site is far older than the building. A church here is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and this is probably the fourth on the spot since the seventh century. When the medieval church was pulled down in 1838, fragments of a carved Anglo-Saxon stone cross came out of its walls; reassembled as the 'Leeds Cross', it stands near the altar and is the most precious thing in the place. Around it are old Flemish stained-glass windows brought over from the continent when the church was built, a coloured marble-and-alabaster reredos by George Edmund Street behind the altar, and a large Harrison & Harrison organ of 1914. The church was raised to minster status on 2 September 2012, the 171st anniversary of its consecration. Entry is free with no ticket or booking, but visiting hours are tight: Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 14:00 only, Sunday for services rather than sightseeing, and closed on Monday. Plan an evening or early-week visit and you will find the door locked. The best moment is Friday lunchtime, when a short free organ recital starts at 13:00 (September to July, with a break in August) and gives the visit a point beyond looking at stonework. The whole thing takes fifteen to thirty minutes; the floor is flat and easy with a pushchair, though there is little here to hold small children. Do not make it a destination in itself. Fold it into a walk that takes in the famous Kirkgate Market three minutes away, the round Corn Exchange a minute or two down the road, and Leeds station ten to fifteen minutes on foot. In the short-daylight English winter its hours line up with the light anyway, and in the summer holidays there are no queues at all: it is one of the few places in the city that needs no planning beyond knowing it shuts at two.
Fragments of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross pulled from the medieval church's walls when it was demolished in 1838, reassembled near the altar.
A short free recital at 13:00 (September-July) on the 1914 Harrison & Harrison organ, and the best moment of the week to be inside.
Old Flemish stained glass brought from the continent when the church was built, and behind the altar a coloured marble-and-alabaster reredos by George Edmund Street.
2-6 Kirkgate, Leeds LS2 7DJ
Honestly, not as a destination in its own right. York Minster is far bigger, older and better set. Leeds Minster is a free fifteen-minute stop if you are already at Kirkgate Market or the Corn Exchange and happen to catch its narrow hours, ideally Friday lunchtime for the organ.
It is flat, easy to reach and fine with a pushchair, but there is little to occupy small children apart from the Friday organ. Pair it with the market next door, where the food and bustle are.