This week on the Secret Library we round-up all the amazing events Leeds Libraries offered during Heritage Open Day Week!

All images are (c) Leeds Libraries unless stated otherwise

Local History Open Day
We kicked things off on Saturday September 9 with the second in our Local History Open Days – a chance for us to show off some of the highlights from our collections, as well as giving the public the opportunity to get hands-on with stock that’s usually tucked away safely in our stacks.

We welcomed over 200 visitors on what proved to be a very busy – and very warm! – day. Some of the most popular treasures on display included our 16th-century Saxton Atlas (recently seen in the national news), one volume of William Boyne’s very impressive seven-volume History of Leeds, and a book written by local hero John Smeaton (soon to the subject of a dedicated exhibition here at the Central Library).

Also on display were some selections from our 19th-century theatre & circus playbills, a few of our favourite local history maps – including an original Goad Map (insurance maps showing building usage) – photographs of Leeds city centre through the ages, and a few lesser-seen treasures from our extensive Prints collection.

Our wonderful copy of the Saxton Atlas is now available to borrow as an e-book through our BorrowBox service…take a piece of history home today! (You’ll need a library card. Click here to join Leeds Libraries)

And, thanks to our friends at the British Library, we’ve recently had William Boyne’s History of Leeds digitised. Look out for more on that soon.

Talks
We welcomed two speakers to the Central Library during Heritage Open Day Week: Emma Storr, who explored poetry exposing the harsh conditions for children in mills and factories during the industrial revolution; and Professor Jennie Batchelor, who looked at the deep connections between Jane Austen and needlework patterns from women’s magazines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Both talks were well-attended and very well-received. We were fortunate enough to have Professor Batchelor sign our copy of her book (co-authored with Alison Larkin), Jane Austen Embroidery: Authentic Embroidery Projects for Modern Stitchers (2020).

Workshops and other events
Our colleagues in the Art Library hosted two craft workshops during Heritage Open Day Week, both inspired by the Jennie Batchelor talk mentioned above.

In the first, a Family Upcycling Workshop, attendees combined history, sustainability and creativity by decorating old clothes with designs inspired by the vintage magazines in our Sanderson Fashion Collection.

The second workshop was more directly related to the talk by Professor Batchelor, being hosted by Alison Larkin, the co-author of the book seen above. In that session, attendees were inspired by original 18th century magazines on display, discovering the rich history of The Lady’s Magazine whilst learning some simple embroidery techniques.

On the final day of Heritage Open Day Week the Central Library welcomed circus historian Dr. Steve Ward, who brought back his wonderful Pablo Fanque’s Victorian Circus Game: a “fantastically fun way to learn about the true story of Pablo and other successful, talented circus performers of his era.” Participants were able to throw a giant dice, and learn about the circus by entering a beautiful hand-painted circus ring!

Exhibitions & Displays
Our dedicated colleagues in the Central Library’s Business and Intellectual Property Centre researched and put together a fascinating display exploring the contributions of clothing company C & M Sumrie Ltd to Leeds’ deep textile history. You can read more about that display in an earlier blog article.

We were also honoured to have some of our Local and Family History stock on tour over Heritage Open Day Week! Three of our collection were on display at Otley Courthouse as part of a small exhibition celebrating the life and works of local crime author John Wainwright. Over 200 people came to the Courthouse and many were very interested in the books and films on show there.

Tours
Finally, we welcomed more than 50 members of the public on our ever-popular Heritage Tours of our wonderful Victorian and Grade II* listed Central Library – with a tour running every day we were open between Saturday September 9 and Saturday September 16. These tours, which usually cost £5 per person, were made free during the week itself, with many appreciative comments from customers following.

Our heritage tours return in October at their usual rate of £5 per person. To book, check the dedicated ticketing page.

Our tours proving too popular? Contact us on 0113 37 86982 (leave a voicemail message if we don’t answer) or LibraryEnquiries@leeds.gov.uk to be added to the waiting list.

You can be among the first to find out about new heritage tours, workshops, talks and other events by signing-up to our mailing list.

HERITAGE OPEN DAY WEEK WILL RETURN IN SEPTEMBER 2024…