Collection of items by and relating to influential Leeds historians and antiquarians, including Ralph Thoresby, John Lucas, Thomas Wilson, William Boyne, James Wardell and Alf Mattison. Click a link to find out more, or view a list of our most significant Collections and most important Treasures. A Research Guide listing further resources for these, and other, Leeds antiquarians is also available. A Brief History of Leeds Antiquarians is also available on this blog.

The RALPH THORESBY Collection
Small collection of books from the library of Ralph Thoresby, which include his autograph and marginalia.

The JOHN LUCAS Collection
Manuscript copies of local history and diary work by the 18th-century Schoolmaster and friend of Thoresby.

The THOMAS WILSON Collection
Manuscripts and annotations made by the 18th-century Schoolmaster.

The JAMES WARDELL Collection
Letters to the 19th-century Leeds Town Clerk, mainly focusing on his antiquarian pursuits.

The ALF MATTISON Collection
Manuscripts and notebooks by the local historian, antiquarian, civil servant and political activist.

The WILLIAM BOYNE Collection
Various items, including numismatic monographs, manuscript writings and his expanded, grangerised edition of Ralph Thoresby’s Ducatus Leodiensis and Thomas Dunham Whitaker’s Loidis and Elmete.