This week guest author, Geoffrey Mogridge, tells us about the formation of professional orchestras in Leeds. In 1902 Herbert Fricker, Leeds City Organist, inaugurated a series of ‘Saturday Evening Free concerts’ in which several local organisations, choral and orchestral were invited to assist. 850 seats were reserved at prices of 1/-, 6d and 3d. In…
The Musical History of St Anne’s Cathedral
This week we hear from guest author, Geoffrey Mogridge, who tells us about the musical history of Leeds Cathedral. The Cathedral Church of St AnneSt Anne’s Church was situated on the west side of Cookridge Street facing Park Row until demolition for road widening in 1903. The ceremonial opening of old St Anne’s took place…
Connecting Portugal to…Rothwell?!
This week we hear from Librarian Antony Ramm, who briefly explores the distant links between a 14th-century diplomatic treaty and a modest commuter town in the Leeds metropolitan district… As no doubt many readers are aware, tomorrow marks the 650th anniversary of the oldest continuous diplomatic treaty in existence: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373, signed…
Volunteers’ Week 2023
The first week of June is Volunteers’ Week – an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering in their communities. We want to celebrate (and thank profusely) our very own Heritage Volunteers who have been beavering away at various tasks in the Local and Family History Library for…
Piecing together South Asian histories of Leeds
This week, we welcome to the blog Dimple D’Cruz, Marketing and Communications Assistant at South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk). Taking you on a unique tour of Leeds, she tells you all about the work that SAA-uk do around the city, all the while uncovering hidden histories that illuminate the overlooked presence of South Asian communities in…
Trout in the Treasures
Did you know Trout season lasts from March to September? Library Assistant Becky Bavill went for a rummage in the reference and research stacks where she found ‘Yorkshire Trout Flies’ by TE Pritt (SR799.124 PRI) Published in 1885 the item is counted as one of our treasures, seeing as it is not only a first…
The Albert Hall, later Leeds Civic Theatre
This week we welcome guest blogger, Geoffrey Mogridge, who has written extensively on the history of classical music in Leeds. Here he looks at the history of the building we now call Leeds City Museum. The central arena of the City Museum in Cookridge Street had two earlier lives. This was originally the Albert Hall,…
“A Wilderness of Stone and Brick”: Herbert Read’s Leeds
Earlier this year our Central Library hosted a screening of the documentary film To Hell With Culture, an immersive study of the life and work of Sir Herbert Read, in partnership with Hyde Park Picture House. Alongside that screening we put together a small exhibition of materials we hold about Herbert Read, specifically that which…
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