Discover 400 years of Leeds’ history through the inspiring collections of Leeds Libraries – from 17th century manuscripts to football fanzines, via rare maps, photographs, film footage, memoirs, newspapers, pamphlets, and, of course, books. Explore some of the city’s richest treasures and learn more about how Leeds Libraries have preserved historically significant archives for past,…
Intepreting short-hand
An author researching the lives of the Bilbrough family, residents of Beech Grove Terrace in Woodhouse, Leeds, contacted us recently with a very specific interpretation request that needs the assistance of our readers… One of the Bilbroughs in the family I am researching wrote some of his diary entries in a form of shorthand. I…
Willie Riley’s Windyridge
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…
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