Leeds City Museum

Over het museum

Leeds City Museum traces its origins to 1819, when the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society founded a museum in Philosophical Hall on Bond Street. It opened to the public in 1821 and later moved to a rebuilt Philosophical Hall on Park Row. Control passed to the Corporation of Leeds in 1921, and the building and many objects were badly damaged by bombing in 1941. The museum closed in 1965, and for decades most of its collection was in storage.

In 2004 the city council won a National Lottery grant of 19.5 million pounds. The Mechanics' Institute on Cookridge Street, designed by Cuthbert Brodrick and built between 1865 and 1868, was redesigned as a museum. The building had earlier housed the large Albert Hall, a venue for plays and concerts, and later the Civic Theatre. The redeveloped Leeds City Museum reopened in 2008 on what is now Millennium Square.

Today it is one of the sites run by Leeds Museums and Galleries and shows the city's collections of natural history, archaeology, world cultures and local history. Well-known objects include the Leeds Tiger, a taxidermy tiger that has been on display for more than 150 years, and Nesyamun, an Egyptian mummy about 3,000 years old. The museum has won a national award for being family friendly and works with young curators and community groups on its displays.

Hoogtepunten

• Nesyamun, the 3,000-year-old Leeds mummy, in the Ancient Worlds gallery
• The Leeds Tiger and other historic taxidermy in the Life on Earth gallery
• The Leeds Story, from first archaeological finds to textiles and inventions
• Voices of Asia gallery with costumes and music to try
• Toddler Town play area and activity trails for families

Vaste collectie

• Life on Earth – Natural history gallery on the lower ground floor with remarkable specimens from Leeds' collection and a look at climate change and nature.
• The Leeds Story – The history of Leeds from the first archaeological finds to the city's inventions, sporting successes and textile heritage, on the second floor.
• Ancient Worlds – How the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks lived, including the 3,000-year-old Leeds mummy Nesyamun, on the third floor.

Opgericht

1819

Beheerder

Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds City Council)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Leeds City Museum is a give-what-you-can museum: entry is free and visitors are invited to donate, with a suggested amount of 5 pounds per person (also for groups). Donations can be made at tap-to-give points or online. Some events need a free ticket booked in advance.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The main entrance can be reached by handrailed steps or a ramp, and there is a second step-free entrance at lower ground level through the café, both with push-button doors. A lift serves all four floors and takes up to two wheelchairs, and two wheelchairs can be borrowed (call ahead). There is an accessible toilet on each floor and a Changing Places toilet on floor 3, where the hoist was out of order at the time of research. The museum has an induction loop in the meeting rooms and in parts of the Ancient Worlds gallery, and a portable loop can be borrowed. SignLive online BSL interpreting is offered, and there are BSL videos in the Life on Earth gallery. Large print guides are available near the start of each gallery, and torches and ear defenders can be borrowed from the shop. A pop-up sensory room is held once every school holiday, and a temporary Sensory Nook runs from 10 October 2026 for about four weeks. A visual story can be downloaded. The nearest accessible on-street bays are where Cookridge Street meets Rossington Street and on Percival Street.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

The museum has won a national family friendly award. It offers hands-on exhibits, mini dig zones for finding fossils and pottery, colouring tables, activity trails from the entrance and Toddler Town, a play area for under 5s. Weekly activities include Tiny Tigers crafts for under 5s on Friday mornings and Saturday crafts for families, and there are school holiday events and a pop-up sensory room for families with additional needs. Baby changing facilities are on all floors.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is on a graduated slope, uphill from the railway station or downhill from Woodhouse Lane.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

The Herbarium Café serves drinks, cakes, snacks, sandwiches and jacket potatoes, with high chairs, children's food and outdoor seating overlooking Millennium Square. There is a picnic area at weekends and in school holidays, and a museum shop. Complimentary wifi is mentioned only for the hire meeting rooms.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Zakelijke evenementen

Tot 220 personen.

The Brodrick Hall holds 220 guests plus 130 on the balcony, the Thoresby Room 70 and the Denny Room 50, and the galleries can be hired for events. Guided tours can be arranged for events.

Je bezoek plannen