Leeds is – justly – famous for a great many things, not least its heritage of industry, manufacturing and trade: Benjamin Gott, John Marshall, Joshua Tetley and Michael Marks being just a handful of the major figures associated with the city and its commerce. But, alongside those names still recognisable today, were a mass of…
Category: Leeds History
Meet Alan Peters: Playwright and Novelist
A recent enquiry brought the name ‘Alan Peters’ to our attention. While our customer knew that Peters was a pseudonym for a Leeds-based author of the 1930s and 40s, he was keen to know the writer’s real name. The only information he could provide was that the author was a doctor of some description –…
Walking and Watercolours
“It is inconceivable that people in our big cities should prefer to stay grubbing in the hot and dusty streets instead of getting out into the green fields and the breezy country side, unless there were some real hindrances in the way of their doing so.” So opens Thirty-six Country Rambles Round Leeds by local…
A 1950s Night on the Town
This week at the Secret Library we’re taking you on a wild night out in the company of the Three Peaks Club, a Leeds-based hiking society formed in 1944 by a small group of students. Over the years, the club grew in size, completing a walk of all three Yorkshire Peaks every March, camping out…
It’s Mr Tetley’s Birthday
Leeds Libraries will be at The Tetley on Saturday 18 July for the free event, Joshua Tetley’s Birthday Party – so be sure to come and say hello and find out more about our special collections and library services. In 1822, a 44-year-old Joshua Tetley signed an agreement with Mr William Sykes, Common Brewer, to take…
Snippet of History: Taylor, Mason and Timothy White
In 1985 the Timothy White chain of stores – formerly a major presence on British streets – disappeared from the high street following a takeover by Boots the Chemist. It’s perhaps not secret history – more forgotten history – that the Timothy White company had at least part of its roots right here in Leeds….
Lines Around Leeds
Leeds Corporation Tramways formerly served the city of Leeds. The transport network first opened on 29 October 1891 and its original trams were horse-drawn but, by 1901, electrification had been completed. There were several lines running between the city centre and Cross Gates, Chapel Allerton, Moortown, Roundhay, Middleton, Beeston, Armley, Hunslet, and Kirkstall. The network, of which…
Hot Fun in the Summertime
Walk through Woodhouse Moor on any summer’s day and you are sure to see throngs of young revellers. But, we wondered, how did our ancestors enjoy the Moor during warm weather? We took a look in the Leeds Mercury, via the 19th-century British Newspapers website (free to all library members) to find out. Our most…
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