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…
Category: Guest Post
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…
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 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…
Voice of the Fans: Cricket meets football
This week on the Secret Library Leeds we hear from volunteer Pete Slater, with a brief description of a surprise visit to our Voice of the Fans exhibition. Voice of the Fans – a co-production between Leeds Libraries and the British Library – can be seen at our Central Library until August 10. We also…
Working on the Spark Collection: a history about the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival in early years
Following Lauren Stead’s article in May, we now welcome MA student Xuan Li for a further exploration of the Central Library’s Spark Collection… Over the past few months, I’ve had the chance to work on a short-term archive project at Leeds Central Library, exploring the fascinating Spark Collection. This archive is named after Frederick R….
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