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…
Category: Events
Heritage Open Days 2025
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…
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…
Marching Online Together
This week we welcome Claire Warwick and John Boocock for some hidden history drawn from the annals of Leeds United fan culture. Claire and John will be speaking about the same subject at a talk on Monday July 7 – tickets are still available so please come along if you want to hear more. The…
The Leeds Spitfire
Recently we were contacted by Garry Holden who had a photograph, taken by his father, that he thought we might like to include on Leodis, our photographic archive. After talking to Garry for a while we thought the story of his family would make a fascinating blog post and very apt for Armed Forces Day….
VE Day 80th Anniversary
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, Leeds Libraries have created a gallery of photographs on Leodis, our online photographic archive, showing how the people of Leeds celebrated both VE and VJ Day. But we feel sure there are more images out there so are inviting anyone who may have their own…
Cabinet Displays for Armed Forces Day 2024
Visit the Local and Family History department throughout June to see a display curated by our staff exploring two Armed Forces themes, as part of the Armed Forces Day Festival taking place across Leeds this month. One cabinet looks at decompression – the ways soldiers, sailors and air-force personnel relaxed or processed their experiences during…
Leeds and the Green Bin
To mark Earth Day 2024 we welcome Dr. Henry Irving from Leeds Beckett University, who follows a popular talk given at the Central Library last week with an article exploring the surprising recent history of waste and bins in Leeds… Update: Dr Irving’s talk is now available to view on YouTube If I asked you…
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