We welcome back Heritage Volunteer Andy Armstrong this week, for the fifth in his series of blog articles exploring the rich archives of Leeds City Council papers and records available in our Local and Family History department. As usual, Andy’s research is accompanied by a research guide and a comprehensive spreadsheet of all our stock…
Category: Social History
Gardeners of Leeds
Today’s article, by Becky Bavill, forms part of a series of posts inspired by Unearthed: The Power of Gardening – an exhibition in partnership with the British Library’s Living Knowledge Network, at Leeds Central Library from 10 September – 29 October 2025. Gardening is not only transformative, but also a power for social change. Here…
Robert Dawes of Temple Newsam
Today’s article, by Becky Bavill, forms part of a series of posts inspired by Unearthed: The Power of Gardening, an exhibition in partnership with the British Library’s Living Knowledge Network, at Leeds Central Library from 10 September – 29 October 2025. Inspired by our collaboration with the British Library, and the reading of a particularly…
The Lives of Two Sisters from Leeds who Emigrated to the United States in the 19th Century
This week we welcome guest author Justin Baer. Justin got in touch with us after researching some West Yorkshire people who made their lives in the 19th-century United States. An extract from his research can be read below, and you can access the full piece in our Local and Family History department at the Central…
Utilising the city: Leeds City Council Papers
This week on the Secret Library we are delighted to hear once more from Andy Armstrong, one of our heritage volunteers, on a significant piece of cataloguing work we’ve asked him to help us with. In this piece, Andy turns his attentions to the various utilities once managed by the Council on behalf of the people…
More Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide
This week we hear from Library and Digital Assistant Jan Pinder with another fascinating ramble around Horsforth, following on from last year’s Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide… The Horsforth research guide was produced as a starting point for anyone wishing to use the Central Library stock to find out more about the history of…
The mystery of Leeds United’s first colours
This week we welcome back guest author Pete Slater. Pete is one of a small team of volunteers working with us for the joint Leeds Libraries/British Libraries Voice of the Fans exhibition celebrating football fanzines and football fan culture. One of Pete’s roles has been research using our microfilmed local newspaper collection – this article…
Working on the Spark Collection: a history about the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival in early years
Following Lauren Stead’s article in May, we now welcome MA student Xuan Li for a further exploration of the Central Library’s Spark Collection… Over the past few months, I’ve had the chance to work on a short-term archive project at Leeds Central Library, exploring the fascinating Spark Collection. This archive is named after Frederick R….
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 