Ralph Thoresby and the Ducatus Leodiensis: A Curated Display

by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library There are still five days to enjoy the fantastic series of events we’re holding for our 2016 Library Fest. Among that panoply is a display celebrating the life and works of Ralph Thoresby – in particular, the 300th-anniversary of his Ducatus Leodiensis. That book – often referred…

A Brief History of Leeds #9: The Early 20th-century, part 2

Part nine of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. In our last entry, we finished with the words of Colonel T.W. Harding at the opening of the 1908 ‘Old Leeds’ exhibition…

A Brief History of Leeds #5: The Industrial Revolution

The fifth part of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. Part four of this series finished with a suggestion that the writings of 18th-century Leeds antiquaries such as Thomas Wilson and…

A Brief History of Leeds #4: The 18th-century

Part four of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. We left our brief look at the 17th-century with a reference to Ralph Thoresby’s place in an impressive national and international network…

A Brief Tour of Roundhay St. John Church

This week’s article is by researcher Irfan Shah, who illuminates the hidden history of a local Church, one that deserves much wider recognition… One of the jewels in the Central Library’s crown is the wonderful and unique Boyne’s Grangerised History of Leeds (a ‘grangerised’ book is one that has been added to and illustrated ‘by…