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The Leeds Charter

09 Feb 2026

The copy of the Leeds Charter and a second ornate charter, granted decades later in 1661 by Charles II are preserved by West Yorkshire Archives Service. The granting of the prestigious charter changed the course of the city’s history, laying the foundations of modern-day Leeds by incorporating it as a “free borough” and a “body corporate and politic.”

The Leeds Charter: The copy of the Leeds Charter and a second ornate charter, granted decades later in 1661 by Charles II are preserved by West Yorkshire Archives Service. The granting of the prestigious charter changed the course of the city’s history, laying the foundations of modern-day Leeds by incorporating it as a “free borough” and a “body corporate and politic.”
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