This week Jan returns to the blog with a fascinating look into the long history of the Stanhope family of Horsforth. Horsforth can trace its existence back to the Domesday Book of 1086, when the land was held by three Saxon thanes. Following the Dissolution of the monasteries the estates of Kirkstall Abbey, of which Horsforth formed part, were sold off to…

What tells your story of Leeds? We’re inviting people and communities to donate or loan items from their own lives and archives — photographs, documents, diaries, or keepsakes, anything that captures life in Leeds. From everyday memories to moments of change, from across Leeds and across generations, these personal pieces help show how the city…

Students from the University of Leeds tackle some important hidden histories in Leeds Libraries’ local collections Ben Beard, Grace Deane, Niave Kilkelly & Nic McDowell – Supervised by Dr Yuexin Rachel Lin On 3 June 1917, as the First World War entered its third gruelling year, more than one thousand delegates from trade unions, left-wing…

This week Jan Pinder concludes the Atkinson Grimshaw journey with an exploration of his, perhaps lesser known, beautiful portrait paintings. John Atkinson Grimshaw is most famous for his landscapes and in previous blog articles we have focused on his nocturnal scenes of urban lanes and his atmospheric paintings of the centre of Leeds.  However, Grimshaw…

This is part three of a four part article by Becky, looking at the Peaches Cottage in Middleton. Read part one and part two before we continue the search. Continuing our journey into the history of Peaches Cottage in Middleton I am going to start looking at another family whose name has been strongly linked…

In today’s article Jan Pinder takes us on a journey across Leeds through the eyes of renowned artist John Atkinson Grimshaw with modern comparable images of the city today. John Atkinson Grimshaw was one of the most significant artists of the late Victorian era, with a distinct style inspired partly by his fascination with the…

This week we hear from guest author Tom. Tom has launched Bury the Leeds, a local history newsletter that may well be of interest to readers of the Secret Library Leeds… My name is Tom and I publish an email newsletter called Bury the Leeds. I discuss some of the weird and obscure stories about this…

Leeds Libraries and the British Library are delighted to welcome the opening today (Friday May 9) of their co-production Voice of The Fans – a free exhibition exploring the past, present, and future of football fanzine culture. Voice of the Fans features over 50 fanzines and fair few more objects and items. But, as you…