Three Stories, 400 Years: The Films Bringing Leeds’ History to Life

Four hundred years ago, in 1626, King Charles I put his name to a Royal Charter that turned a Yorkshire market town into the borough of Leeds. As the city marks its 400th anniversary, we’ve teamed up with Trivial Pursuit to tell three of the stories that made Leeds what it is — and you can watch all three right here.

Filmed on location and now on show at Leeds City Museum, each short brings a familiar face together with the people, places and moments that shaped the city. From the document that started it all, to a legendary day at Headingley, to the sound of summer in Roundhay Park, here’s what happens when you dust off the history books and let the experts loose.

The Royal Charter: where Leeds began

There’s no better place to start than the beginning. In our first film, social historian and broadcaster Ruth Goodman meets Alex Pearson of the West Yorkshire Archive Service to pore over the 1626 Royal Charter itself — the founding document that gave Leeds its first mayor, its first aldermen, and the right to govern its own affairs.

It’s a remarkable object, and Ruth and Alex unpick what it meant for the people of Leeds then and why it still matters four centuries on. Handling history rarely gets this close.

A day at Headingley: the 1926 Ashes

Fast-forward three hundred years and the story moves to the crease. Cricket commentator Daniel Norcross takes us back to the summer of 1926 and the Third Ashes Test at Headingley, where England and Australia played out one of the ground’s most storied draws.

It was a match that opened with fireworks: Australia’s Charlie Macartney reached his century before lunch on the first morning — one of the fastest starts in Ashes history. Daniel recreates the key moments of a game that has become part of Headingley folklore, and reminds us why this corner of Leeds remains one of the great homes of English cricket.

Music in Roundhay: the sound of the city

Our final film turns up the volume. Broadcaster Alex Zane tells the story of music in Roundhay Park — from its earliest days as a stage for the city, through the era of stadium-sized concerts that drew crowds from across the country, right up to this year’s Roundhay festival.

It’s a reminder that Leeds’ history isn’t only written on charters and scorecards; it’s played out loud, in front of tens of thousands of people, in one of the finest parks in the country. Alex traces how it all began and where it’s heading next.

See them for yourself

All three films are on show now at Leeds City Museum as part of the city’s 400th-anniversary celebrations — and you can watch them any time on the Welcome to Leeds YouTube channel. Four centuries, three stories, one city. Press play.