Before Windrush: Black People in Leeds and Bradford, 1708 – 1948

This week the Secret Library blog is delighted to welcome back local historian and researcher Danny Friar whose four articles during Black History Month told the story of Black people in Leeds and Bradford in the three centuries before the arrival of the ‘Windrush Generation’. This week, Danny has very kindly allowed us to publish…

The Land Travelling Exhibition: When the Festival came to Leeds

On the Secret Library this week we hear from Lisa Brown and Flo Armitage-Hookes from the Leeds Modernist. They will be discussing the 70th Anniversary of The Festival of Britain using resources from the Leeds Libraries collection. If you would like to know more about the Leeds Modernist Society then visit their website, Instagram and…

Edible Leeds Trail – HOD 2021

This year, to coincide with Heritage Open Days 2021, the Local and Family History Library have created an Edible Leeds Trail. The trail highlights past and present areas of the city centre connected to the food and drink industry and can be followed in order as a 45 minute walk. 1. Leeds Town HallThe Town…

Gruel and Graft: Researching Leeds Union Workhouse

This week’s blog comes from guest author Emily Coulthard who is a Collections Access Assistant at the Thackray Museum of Medicine. Since joining The Workhouse Network, a subject specialist network which aims to promote understanding of the history and contemporary relevance of welfare, the Thackray Museum of Medicine has been discovering more and more about…