Visit Leeds Museums and Galleries!
There has never been a better time to come to Leeds and enjoy one of our nine museums and galleries, owned and managed by Leeds City Council.
From brooding abbey ruins to creative contemporary art spaces and state-of-the-art stores, Leeds Museums and Galleries has something to suit every taste - with a brand new city-centre museum set to open in August 2008! Watch this space!
Our Museums:
Abbey House Museum
For an incredible adventure through time, visit Abbey House Museum and be transported back to the Leeds of the 1880s.
Experience the signs and sounds of everyday life in Victorian Leeds as you step over the threshold of time. Learn about a city steeped in history and walk through the carefully reconstructed streets of a once small market town that's now a thriving commercial centre in the north.
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is one of the most important buildings historically in Leeds, and one of Britain's best preserved Abbeys. Built between 1152 and 1182 on the northern bank of the River Aire, the Abbey was home to a community of Cistercian monks and lay brothers.
In a wonderful riverside location, the brooding remains are an inspiring and enjoyable visitor destination and offers a brand new visitor centre with exhibitions that tell the story of the abbey and its construction and how the monks lived.
Leeds Art Gallery
A welcoming and inviting city-centre attraction in the heart of Leeds.
Home to one of the most outstanding collections of 20th Century British art outside London, Leeds Art Gallery also offers a cafe located in the beautiful Victorian Tiled Hall, a varied exhibitions programme and shop.
Leeds City Museum
Set to open in August 2008, Leeds City Museum will be an inviting, interactive and friendly city-centre museum which will house Leeds' stunning museum collections.
Housed in the former Civic Theatre overlooking Millennium Square, the new museum will boast a range of displays including Life In Leeds, Ancient Worlds, Out of Africa and much more.
Leeds Museum Discovery Centre
Leeds Museum Discovery Centre is a unique, state-of-the-art purpose built store that houses museum objects in the environment they need to preserve them for the future. The Discovery centre stores and maintains over a million items from Leeds' collection, such as a giant sized Yak, Roman pots, canoes and scooters!
The Discovery Centre welcomes visits for research and offers a number of tours for members of the public to view the collections and see the store. Visits are by appointment.
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
Once the site of the world's largest woollen mill, Armley Mills is now home to a range of working exhibits telling the history of textiles, clothing, engine and locomotive manufacturing in Leeds. Offering working demonstrations of steam engines and waterwheels, as well as the story of Leeds' Industrial Heritage, a visit to Armley Mills brings history to life! Located in a tranquil setting between the canal and River Aire, Armley Mills is a great day out.
Lotherton Hall
Lotherton Hall is a charming country house with beautiful formal, wildflower and wooded grounds, red deer park and one of the country's most impressive rare breed bird garden.
Offering visits to the house, walks around nature trails, an adventure playground, bird garden, woodland trails, cafe and shop, Lotherton Hall is a great day out for all the family!
Temple Newsam House
One of the great country houses of England, Temple Newsam is a magnificent restored Tudor-Jacobean country residence set within grand and beautiful parkland with one of the largest working rare breeds farms in Europe.
Enjoy a visit to the house followed by an amble around Temple Newsam's impressive estate and working farm. Enjoy light refreshments in the cafe and browse the shop for mementoes and gifts!
Thwaite Mills Watermill
Museum
Thwaite Mills is a fully restored working watermill in an attractive riverside setting offering riverside walks as well as 300 years of history brought to life through a visit to the museum.
Museum visits are led by a site guide that brings to life the fascinating history of Mill life through the ages.