SB2 Initial Ideas

Leeds:

·      Sheep on the rooftop of the Temple mill building in Holbeck.

·      Louis Le Prince recorded the first moving images here in 1888.

·      Beginning of M&S.

·      Biggest and longest running West Indian Carnival (50 years)

·      Leeds had a flat iron building before New York.

·      Victorian Bear Pit.

To begin my ideas I began to research these unique things in Leeds:

Sheep on rooftop, Temple Mill:

Opened in 1840, was the biggest single room in the world. An almost

copy of Temple of Horus in Eygpt, it was used as a flax mill, and to retain

the humidity needed, they put sheep on the roof to graze, keeping the grass

roof covered.

First moving image in 1888:Louis Le Prince is film royalty and Leeds is where it all began. He filmed the first motion pictures at Oakwood Grange and on Leeds Bridge in 1888. Though the likes of Thomas Edison and the Lumiere brothers have been given credit for their roles in the creation of film, it was this film that was the first. 

Beginning of M and S: Michael Marks opened up his penny bazaar stall in Leeds KirkgateMarket before employing the help of Tom Spencer almost a decade after.

West Indian Carnival: Started by students from Leeds University, who were homesick of the Caribbean. Despite people thinking of Notting Hill when it comes to the Carnival it in fact began in Leeds. This is the longest and for a while Europe's largest Caribbean carnival. 

Leeds Flat Iron Building: In 1879 a flat iron building containing a hotel was built in Leeds. This was built before the New York, version, despite people thinking Leeds took the idea, but we had it first. 

Victorian Bear Pit: A bear pit containing a real live bear was installed in Hyde Park in 1840. It shut down in 1858 but the remains can still be found.