Library and Digital Assistant Jan Pinder shares her research into Yorkshire author Willy Riley and his most famous novel Windyridge written in 1911. A visitor to the village of Hawksworth near Guiseley today would have no inkling of the hive of activity it would have been a hundred years ago. This was all due to…
Official Visits to Leeds
This week we welcome back Heritage Volunteer Andy who has returned to share his research of council papers, this time in search of official visits to Leeds. Hi. My name’s Andy Armstrong and I have taken on the task of sifting through 200 years of Leeds CC papers held by the library to bring some…
The Murky History of the Kingdom of Elmet – Part Two
This week we welcome back Wren Rowan to complete their article on the Kingdom of Elmet. Read part one before beginning this article. So what do we know of the people of Elmet? And how do we know it? After over 3 centuries of Roman rule, most of the people in Britain could be fairly…
Joan Hassall and the Tree of Knowledge
This week on the Secret Library Leeds, Library and Digital Assistant Philip Wilde celebrates the life and enduring legacy of a little-known artist – with a surprising connection to Leeds and Leeds Libraries…. Going through the correspondence of former Leeds City Librarian, F. G. B. Hutchings – Frederick George Baxendale, usually known as Fred or…
Who Was Maud Hummerston? Leeds Libraries’ first Female Librarian
This week we hear from Library and Digital Assistant Rosaleen Williams, who uncovers the life, career, and incredible achievements of a pioneering Leeds librarian – now rightly celebrated as part of the newly refurbished Central Library. This article also forms #28 in our People of Leeds series. The ground floor of Leeds Central Library has…
The Charter of 1626 and Leeds in the seventeenth century
This week on the Secret Library we mark the 400th anniversary of the Leeds Charter of 1626 with a new research guide covering resources at our Central Library for exploring this important century… On July 13 Leeds will celebrate 400 years since the signing of the town’s first Charter in 1626 – a historically significant…
The Stanhopes of Horsforth
This week Jan returns to the blog with a fascinating look into the long history of the Stanhope family of Horsforth. Horsforth can trace its existence back to the Domesday Book of 1086, when the land was held by three Saxon thanes. Following the Dissolution of the monasteries the estates of Kirkstall Abbey, of which Horsforth formed part, were sold off to…
The Murky History of the Kingdom of Elmet – Part One
This week we welcome guest writer Wren Rowan who tells us more about the Kingdom of Elmet. Stay tuned for part two in the coming months. If you live in Leeds, or you grew up here, you’re likely well aware of the city’s industrial heritage. The city is, after all, full of reminders: mills and…
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