We’re still recovering from our amazing but very-busy Open Day last Saturday, part of our Heritage Open Day (HOD) Week offer. We’ll be bringing you a full round-up of that day, and all our other wonderful HOD events in a few weeks – but today we can share a small snapshot of what we’ve been…
Category: Leeds History
Heritage Open Days 2023
Every September we get very excited about the Heritage Open Days festival, which this year runs from 8th – 17th September. This sees thousands of staff and volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE…
The Leeds Mercury: Making the news, but not yet as we know it
This week we hear from regular guest contributor Tony Scaife, who has been exploring the history of an important local news publication… Leeds’ had two newspapers – the Leeds Mercury and the Leeds Intelligencer – for most of the 18th century. I have been fortunate enough to spend some time with the Local and Family…
A Brief History of Leeds #10: The Post-War City, part 1
Part ten of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. Our last entry in this series took a brief look at the life and times of Maud Dightam, pioneering political activist and…
The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal
This week librarian, Helen Skilbeck, takes a closer look at one of the printed and online resources available to Leeds library users. The Yorkshire Archaeological Society (YAS) began in 1863 – their aim was “the examination, preservation and illustration of the History, Architecture, Antiquities, Manners, Customs, Arts and Traditions of the county of York…”. To…
Journeying Through Time: Unveiling Leeds’ Transport Heritage from the Archives
This week on the blog we hear from volunteer Andy Armstrong, who has travelled through literally thousands of items in our collections to bring you this article… Hi – my name’s Andy Armstrong and I joined the library as a volunteer last autumn to help search through the vast collection of material produced by Leeds…
Uncover Football’s Legacy: Join Our Volunteer Team!
Are you a football enthusiast with a passion for uncovering the rich history and vibrant fan culture surrounding the beautiful game? Leeds Libraries has an exciting opportunity for you to be part of an extraordinary long-term project. In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can join our volunteer team and embark on a journey…
Heroic actions of a local man
This week on the Secret Library Leeds we hear from Becky Bavill, Library & Digital Assistant, on the aftermath of a 1950s tram accident – including a nice Keanu Reeves reference. In September 1952, the Leeds papers were full of a dramatic incident that had happened in Oakwood. An empty, driverless tram collided with a…
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