The fifth in a newly-regular series exploring books and other items selected from our vast collections. In this entry Librarian Antony Ramm showcases a wonderful collection of photographs showing Unitarian Churches across Yorkshire in the late 19th-century… This is a really nice volume, a collection of images and historical notes about Unitarian Chapels across Yorkshire….
Category: Leeds History
The Alternative Heritage of Leeds
This week we welcome guest blogger, Festival of Gothica, who tell us about a new project working jointly with Leeds Libraries. Leeds has a rich alternative heritage but was influential in birthing the goth subculture as we know it today. Other cities celebrate their musical history and shape their events and tourism around it, Liverpool…
Woodbine Lizzie
For International Women’s Day 2023 we’re going to delve into the Leodis photographic archive and look at a woman who followed her own path, regardless of social conventions, and while doing so left a mark on the collective memory of Leeds residents. The undated image shows a woman who was once a very familiar character…
I Was Here: Diversity in Georgian Yorkshire
This week we hear from independent researcher Danny Friar, who offers a brilliant and sensitively-researched excavation of the Georgian era, revealing fragments of a hidden, but universal, history… Ten years ago a discussion of the Georgian period may have brought up names such as Lord Horatio Nelson, Captain James Cook, William Wilberforce and Jane Austen….
The Chimney Corner: Secret Books From The Secret Library #2
The second in an irregular (very irregular) series of books and other items selected from our vast collections. In this entry Librarian Antony Ramm takes a look at a rather nice presentation book with some eye-catching illustrations… The book – if we can even call it a book – was produced to commemorate a special…
A Brief History of Leeds #9: The Early 20th-century, part 2
Part nine of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. In our last entry, we finished with the words of Colonel T.W. Harding at the opening of the 1908 ‘Old Leeds’ exhibition…
A Brief History of Leeds #8: The Early 20th-century, part 1
Part eight of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. Part eight of this series took a brief look at the emergence of the ready-made clothing industry in Leeds during the latter…
Discovering Leeds
We thought it was about time to shout a bit louder about the sister site to Secret Library Leeds – Discovering Leeds. Originally created as part of the Leodis project, the site was funded by the New Opportunities Fund and launched back in 2003. Since then it has had various updates and now sits as…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 