This week (1-7 June) is Volunteers’ Week and we’re taking this opportunity both to thank our current volunteers and launch some new heritage volunteering opportunities Firstly a huge thanks to A, C, J and R for being excellent heritage volunteers. They all began pre Covid but have stuck with us through lockdowns and closures and…
Category: Leeds History
Leeds United Part 2: The Beginning
Part two of a four-part series exploring the history of Leeds United, as told through books and other materials held at the Central Library. You can find all of the parts in our dedicated Sport page and all the books mentioned here can be accessed by contacting us on 0113 37 86982 or via localandfamilyhistory@leeds.gov.uk……
A Brief History of the Leeds Jewish Community: Part I
Part 1 of a four-part series exploring the history of the Jewish community in Leeds. See our dedicated page for all entries in this series, plus other articles on related subjects. Today’s entry offers a short look at the community’s story, highlighting some useful sources for further exploration… There have been Jewish people in Leeds…
The Places We Live: Local History Collections Around Leeds
As part of Local and Community History Month, Librarian Antony Ramm briefly explores our local history collections stretching all around Leeds, and introduces a new guide to stock relating to Rothwell… As readers of this blog may already know, the Local and Family History department at the Central Library in Leeds houses a huge collection…
Help us map the lost buildings of Leeds
Welcome to Local Community History Month – this month all our blog posts will be focused on the local communities that make up Leeds. Help wanted! Leeds Libraries have recently been experimenting with a fascinating online tool provided by Google: My Maps…and we need your support. We first came across this site while working with…
The Public Benefit Boot Company
This week we welcome guest blogger Dave Bean, who has spent years researching and writing about the Public Benefit Boot Company, which had Northern and Southern divisions. He has recently donated his collection to Leeds Central Library and it can be found in the Local and Family History Library. Here he tells us about the…
Disabled Activists in the News
The last event in our programme accompanying the 2022 Breaking the News exhibition focused on how disabled people, in Leeds and around the UK, hit the headlines in the 1990s with some hard-hitting protests. At the event, Steve Graby of Leeds Disabled People’s Organisation talked to Gill Crawshaw and Ruth Malkin, who were both involved…
A Brief Tour of Roundhay St. John Church
This week’s article is by researcher Irfan Shah, who illuminates the hidden history of a local Church, one that deserves much wider recognition… One of the jewels in the Central Library’s crown is the wonderful and unique Boyne’s Grangerised History of Leeds (a ‘grangerised’ book is one that has been added to and illustrated ‘by…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 