Corn Price Riot (1735) Corner of Briggate & King Edward Street During the 18th and early 19th-centuries Leeds saw a significant amount of rioting relating to corn prices and, later, Corn Laws. In 1735 it was reported that, whilst huge amounts of corn were being produced and exported cheaply, Leeds citizens were met with rising,…
Category: Social History
The Clothing Strike of 1970
Clothing Strike (1970) Westgate and Great George Street In February 1970, textile workers in Leeds began an unofficial strike in support of their demand for a shilling an hour pay increase. The strike snowballed, with workers attracting further support as they marched from clothing factory to clothing factory – until more than 20,000 people were…
Park Row Courthouse
Park Row Courthouse (1813 – 1861) Bottom of Park Row The Courthouse, designed by Thomas Taylor, was located at the bottom of Park Row and was first opened in 1813, replacing the courts in the Moot Hall, Briggate. The Rotation Office, formerly on Kirkgate and where Magistrates made decisions before going to trial, was moved…
The Leeds Women Against the Clause March
Leeds Women Against the Clause March (5 March 1988) Victoria Gardens Over two thousand Leeds people marched against Clause 28 (Section 28) during the Stop the Clause Demonstration on the 5th of March, 1988. The March was organised by Leeds Women against the Clause and met in Victoria Gardens before marching through the city. The…
The Leeds Women Against Violence Against Women March
Leeds Women Against Violence Against Women March (22 November 1980) City Square On the weekend of 22nd November 1980 the National Women’s Liberation Conference was convened in Leeds, organised by Women against Violence against Women. During this conference, around 500 women – angry about the Police investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper murders and the prospective…
The Leeds and County Liberal Club
Leeds and County Liberal Club (1890) Quebec Steet For most of the 19th century Leeds politics was dominated by the Liberal Party. This power and prestige was reflected in the building of an ornate new Party venue towards the end of the century: the Leeds and County Liberal Club on Quebec Street. Opened in 1891…
Fake News 21st August 1934
Fake News is a new project, by Tim Knight, which uses Local and Family History’s newspaper archive to publish a fictional front page every month. Curated from cuttings of The Yorkshire Post and The Yorkshire Evening Post—Leeds’ oldest continuous newspaper—Fake News will explore the goings-on, mishaps and miscellany of Yorkshire through the ages. Today’s edition, a…
A Brief History of Cemeteries in Leeds
This week, Librarian Antony Ramm brings us a very brief history of cemeteries in Leeds, and highlights some related stock held at the Central Library. You can read much more about this history in Jim Morgan’s essential The Burial Ground Problem in Leeds, c.1700-1914, while on this site you can read a previous article about burial…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 