Last week was the 85th anniversary of the opening of one of the most recognisable buildings in Leeds – the Civic Hall. Librarian Helen Skilbeck looks back at the opening day itself where King George V and Queen Mary visited Leeds to officially open the building. The idea of building a new Civic Hall was…
Category: Leeds History
Back-to-Back Houses, Harehills
University of York PhD researcher Joanne Harrison reports here on her research over the last year. The Local and Family History Library and My Research One aspect of my research that has been particularly interesting over the last year stems from my use of the Leeds directories held in the Local and Family History Library….
Measure of the Moon by Irfan Shah
This week we hear from researcher Irfan Shah on Leeds’ contribution to the development of photography. When I started researching the story of Louis Le Prince – the French inventor who shot the world’s first films here in Leeds in 1888 – it soon became apparent that when he arrived in the town in 1866,…
A Brief History of Leeds Antiquarians: Part I
This week, Librarian Antony Ramm gives the first part in a brief history of Antiquarians in Leeds, as told using books, manuscripts and other treasures held at the Central Library. You can find future instalments elsewhere on this blog, as well as a research guide detailing the relevant library collections available. Hans Sloane (1660 – 1753)…
Cuthbert Brodrick: The Architect of Victorian Leeds
Work placement student from The University of Huddersfield Haaris Mahmood, talks us through a brief history of the impact the architect Cuthbert Brodrick had on the city of Leeds. The city of Leeds is rich in architecture and other designs, which is at times taken for granted. As some residents from Leeds have said, ‘the…
When Football Did Come Home
Librarian Antony Ramm looks at a Central Library book of autographs that record the still-unrepeated success of 1966… So, in the end, it didn’t come home – and I think most of us knew it wouldn’t. But – as most of us do know – it did indeed come home in July of 1966, when…
Arches of Loaf: The Royal Bread Structures of Leeds & Rothwell
Librarian Antony Ramm digests the strange stories of the weird & wonderful phenomena of the ‘bread arch’ in Leeds’ history… It’s doubtless a tenuous connection to make, but the recent wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle put us in mind of the many Royal visits to Leeds over the past years and centuries. Among…
The Monopoly Man in Leeds: Waddington Plc
University of Huddersfield history student and library volunteer Haaris Mahmood continues his series of articles for The Secret Library, by looking back over the achievements of the Waddington company in the first-half of the 20th-century… In recent years the evolution of gaming has proved to be revolutionary with many new platforms being established such as video games and virtual…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 