How a Kirkgate Market favourite bounced back after 1975 fire ruin

December 13, 1975: the day a fire ripped through Kirkgate Market, leaving two-thirds of the location in ruins and shops that had stood firm since the 19th century no longer in existence.

- by Benjamin Jackson

But the extent of the fire wasn't fully known by the market traders - until many made their way to check on their establishments later that evening.

"They were fighting the fire with hose pipes, but it was on the ground," David Ramsden told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

He's the current manager of family-owned Ramsden Fish, still situated in the market today, and recounts how his father, Arthur, explained the severity of the situation.

"They were fighting it, and they hadn't realised that it had climbed the walls in front of them and at the sides of them. It was coming over the ceiling above them. So my dad got a hold of them and was like: 'Get out! Everyone out. Leave it to the fire brigade. The fire's spreading everywhere.'

"Up until that point, he just heard on the phone that there had been a small fire in one of the shops."

Many of those family-run businesses that shared the space with the Ramsdens were not as lucky as the family, who would open up again "on little trestle tables with bits of heating and tarp over [our] heads."