This year is the 80th year that the children of Leeds have had a ground floor library at Leeds Central Library. Until then the junior stock was part of the lending stock that was housed on the second floor, where the Art Library is today. In 1934 the Central Library had a refurbishment and the…
Category: Leeds Central Library
Doorways to Another World
Title quote from writer Michael Sims When your building is 130 years old covering five floors you end up with many doors leading to many different places. Doors are easy to miss, they are never your focus but an object that needs to be gotten past on route to your destination. Today we have stopped…
Leeds Central Library Tiled Hall
The Municipal Buildings opened April 17th 1884 by Mayor, Alderman Edwin Woodhouse, after a competition was held to design them. It was won by George Corson, whose plans included dividing the buildings into the ‘business’ side, which fronted on to Calverley Street, and the ‘popular’ side which led on to Centenary Street, now the…
Lights, Camera, Action…Libraries
You could be forgiven for thinking you’d seen a ghost roaming the corridors of Leeds Central Library today, however the dapper gentlemen in bowler hats and ladies in bustles walking down the stairs were actors filming a new adaptation of Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’. This first instalment of Brittain’s memoirs covers the period of…
Alan Bennett on the Central Library
There is a romance to nostalgia. The fuzzy edges and dog-eared corners of our memories take us back to places we inhabited in our youth. Libraries are no different, especially when aged 129 years. Central Library holds many memories and not just those inside the books. In his 2011 ‘Libraries of a Lifetime’ article, author…
Welcome to The Secret Library
“I go into my library and all history unrolls before me.” Alexander Smith Welcome to The Secret Library, home to Leeds Libraries heritage blog. We hope to bring you insights into the history and architecture of our 1884 Central Library building, a behind the scenes look at the Library and highlights from our Special Collections, including rare…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 