University of Leeds Heritage and History Walk

Contact Details:

Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT

01133436100

Leeds Inspired

University of Leeds Heritage and History Walk

22nd February 2026

Starting at the iconic entrance of the University of Leeds, this three-hour tour is run by It’s The Beer Talking, established by renowned beer writer Simon Jenkins and former Tetley’s PR officer Nicky Massen.
From the Parkinson Steps, beneath the famous Portland stone tower of the University of Leeds, this tour will reveal some remarkable campus stories: the original Victorian buildings of the red-brick university, we’ll learn about campaigners and philanthropists, the great scientists and artists who once worked and studied here – and the ambitious architectural plans which once threatened to smother the whole site in brutalist concrete.
We will step inside the astonishing Brotherton Library, and visit the evocative but controversial memorial to students and staff lost during the First World War, and learn about how it continues to divide opinion, more than a century on from its unveiling.
And for Beatles fans, we also find two rather surprising connections to Sgt Pepper…
We visit two or three favourite student watering holes along the way, to sample some of the best beers our city has to offer and learn something about how brewing and drinking have played their part in Leeds life for centuries.