This week we take an in-depth look at events at Leeds Central Library during the Heritage Open Days Festival 2025. Local History Open Day Running on Saturday 13 September, 11.00am – 2.00pm in the Local and Family History Library, the Open Day is a chance for librarians to exhibit some of our most cherished and…
Author: Leeds Libraries
Robert Dawes of Temple Newsam
Today’s article, by Becky Bavill, forms part of a series of posts inspired by Unearthed: The Power of Gardening, an exhibition in partnership with the British Library’s Living Knowledge Network, at Leeds Central Library from 10 September – 29 October 2025. Inspired by our collaboration with the British Library, and the reading of a particularly…
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening is a new, free exhibition at Leeds Central Library running from 10 September – 29 October 2025, exploring the transformative, enriching and sometimes radical power of gardening. Inspired by the British Library’s major exhibition and following successful visits to Armley, Rothwell and Compton Road Community Hubs and Libraries, Unearthed celebrates…
The Lives of Two Sisters from Leeds who Emigrated to the United States in the 19th Century
This week we welcome guest author Justin Baer. Justin got in touch with us after researching some West Yorkshire people who made their lives in the 19th-century United States. An extract from his research can be read below, and you can access the full piece in our Local and Family History department at the Central…
Utilising the city: Leeds City Council Papers
This week on the Secret Library we are delighted to hear once more from Andy Armstrong, one of our heritage volunteers, on a significant piece of cataloguing work we’ve asked him to help us with. In this piece, Andy turns his attentions to the various utilities once managed by the Council on behalf of the people…
The Final Whistle: Voice of the Fans is over
We said farewell to the Voice of the Fans exhibition on August 10 – hopefully you were able to visit our Central Library to see this free exhibition exploring the past, present, and future of football fanzine culture during its run. A Leeds Libraries and British Library co-production, Voice of the Fans was seen by…
More Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide
This week we hear from Library and Digital Assistant Jan Pinder with another fascinating ramble around Horsforth, following on from last year’s Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide… The Horsforth research guide was produced as a starting point for anyone wishing to use the Central Library stock to find out more about the history of…
The mystery of Leeds United’s first colours
This week we welcome back guest author Pete Slater. Pete is one of a small team of volunteers working with us for the joint Leeds Libraries/British Libraries Voice of the Fans exhibition celebrating football fanzines and football fan culture. One of Pete’s roles has been research using our microfilmed local newspaper collection – this article…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 