An author researching the lives of the Bilbrough family, residents of Beech Grove Terrace in Woodhouse, Leeds, contacted us recently with a very specific interpretation request that needs the assistance of our readers… One of the Bilbroughs in the family I am researching wrote some of his diary entries in a form of shorthand. I…
Category: Guest Post
The Murky History of the Kingdom of Elmet – Part Two
This week we welcome back Wren Rowan to complete their article on the Kingdom of Elmet. Read part one before beginning this article. So what do we know of the people of Elmet? And how do we know it? After over 3 centuries of Roman rule, most of the people in Britain could be fairly…
The Murky History of the Kingdom of Elmet – Part One
This week we welcome guest writer Wren Rowan who tells us more about the Kingdom of Elmet. Stay tuned for part two in the coming months. If you live in Leeds, or you grew up here, you’re likely well aware of the city’s industrial heritage. The city is, after all, full of reminders: mills and…
The kitten that makes you rethink your existence
This week on the blog we hear from guest author Struan Yallup, who brings us the tale of how a tragic accident shines a light on remarriage in Victorian Leeds – and on why you were born. This story isn’t actually about a cat. The story only happened because of a cat. This story is…
REBIRTH – photographic exhibition
Leeds Central Library invited a group of Leeds Arts University photography students to examine the original photographs that formed the basis of the Leodis website. Their task was to select one or more photographs and produce a creative response. Six responses were selected by librarians to create an exhibition at the library. Here we hear…
The Making of the Yorkshire Almanac 2026, Sheep Flavour
This week on the Secret Library Leeds, Leeds’s Singing Organ-Grinder tells how moving to Yorkshire five years ago inspired him to compile a day-by-day historical anthology. One sunny day in spring 2021, we chugged cheerfully east along the M62 in a removal van on a roundabout route from Hackney to Headingley. The third lockdown was…
Eliza Craven Green (1803-1866) – a Leeds Poet
This week we are joined by two guest authors, Lucy M. Evans and Spencer Needs, who write about a little known poet from Leeds – Eliza Craven Green. Part 1: The Manchester Connection by Lucy M Evans On 24 March 1842 over forty people assembled at the ancient Sun Inn, Long Millgate, Manchester for a…
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…
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