by Ross Horsley, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library The fastest route into the past, I always think, isn’t really a family tree, a faded photo, or even an old map. It’s a story. And stories are one thing we’re not short of in Local and Family History (or the library itself, for that…
Category: Leeds History
Finding a Way to Relate to the Past: the Importance of Arndale Shopping Centres
By Ella Brown, Universty of York. Ella spent a week with us in Local and Family History recently, getting a taste of the kinds of research we undertake, in order to broaden her experience and contribute to her ongoing studies. One particular local landmark gave her a starting-point when it came to looking into our many collections……
Almhouses, Annotations and Murder: Spending Time with Parish Registers
by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Central Library The parish register – the list made in a church of the people who have been baptised, married or buried there – is one of the most useful tools for family history, especially for the period prior to the arrival of the civil registration process in 1837. They’re usually used to identify…
Secrets of the Palm 3: What to Do on a Wet Thursday Night in Harrogate
Leeds Libraries Heritage Volunteer Tony Scaife delves once more into the pages of The Palm, the magazine of the old Leeds Central High School, which is archived in the Local and Family History Library at shelfmark L 373 PAL. In late August of 1920, four Central High School boys decided to go On a Holiday, leaving a record of…
Guest Post: The People’s Cafe
This week’s post comes courtesy of Russell Croft, who has kindly allowed us to republish a piece from his blog. The article – on the history of Leeds Bridge House – was researched using resources from our Local and Family History department and is an excellent example of how local history archives can work toward the…
On John Lucas, 18th-Century Leeds and Foot-ball
by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Central Library With the football European Championships now well underway, this seemed like a perfect time to draw attention to one of the lesser-known treasures of our collection: the handwritten manuscript of John Lucas’ Memoranda Book. Born in 1684, Lucas was primarily known as a schoolmaster in his…
Pottering About Thinking
By Tony Scaife, Heritage Volunteer, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library One of the advantages of a Heritage Volunteer/retirement job share is the temptation it gives you to wander about in the marvellous collection of the Local and Family History Library and digress from any assigned task. I am following the life and times of…
Re-Discovering Leeds
Soon we’ll be unveiling a raft of updates to the 13-year-old Discovering Leeds website, a learning resource devoted to the history and development of the city. The new additions have been written by student Sophie Hedley during a placement at the Local and Family History Library. This week, she tells us a little about her experiences…
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