This week’s post is by Tony Scaife, a Heritage Volunteer based at the Local and Family History Library. He’s been indexing volumes of The Palm, the magazine of the old Leeds Central High School, which inspired him to delve a little deeper into the city’s early radio days… In 1901, the groundbreaking Central High School (CHS)…
Author: Leeds Libraries
Christmas and New Year in the Territorial Hospitals, 1917
by Ross Horsley, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library Within three months of the outbreak of the First World War, Leeds had already seen its first influx of injured soldiers. These made their way to Beckett’s Park to what would become the city’s largest military care centre, the 2nd Northern General Hospital. At its…
The Art Library and the British Art Show: Contemporary Art in the Past and Present
There’s still time to catch the eighth British Art Show at Leeds Art Gallery until 10 January 2016, but be sure to check the Christmas opening hours if you’re planning a festive visit! By Adam Barham, Art Library. Every five years the British Art Show presents a selection of the UK’s most visionary and exciting artwork. Since…
An Armley Ghost Story for Christmas
by Ross Horsley, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library “The ghost that turns up, annually, on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve is largely the invention of Charles Dickens and his imitators in fiction. But ghosts do prefer to visit their familiar haunts on dark winter nights – and, for some, Christmas appears…
“Large, loose, baggy monsters”: On Reading Really Long Books Through Winter
by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library “Winter is coming”, they say. Well, it’s not just coming—it’s here. And, while Winter may be cold and dark and seemingly never-ending, the upside is that these characteristics surely make Winter the very best time of year to really indulge the yearning common to all readers:…
The Dutchman’s Leetle Dog: A Surprising Tale
by Gilly Margrave, Music and Performing Arts, Leeds Central Library When I was very small, small enough for grown-ups to be able to distract me by singing funny little songs, I remember my great aunt Ethel singing a song about a little dog which was lost. Aunt Ethel had been a teacher for all her…
Unexpected Perspectives #5
by Ross Horsley, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library There are plenty of reasons to visit the Carriageworks Theatre on Millennium Square this month, the main one being that their production of Aladdin, the city’s only traditional pantomime, begins on Friday and runs right through to 9 January. Another reason is to take advantage of…
Folk Hero: Frank Kidson
by Karen Downham, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library Earlier this month, Leeds Central Library hosted Kidson Day, an event celebrating the folk song collector Frank Kidson, his legacy to Leeds and his significant contribution to the world of music and folk song. Visiting artists Pete Coe and Alice Jones had been researching, learning…
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