A Brief History of Leeds #4: The 18th-century

Part four of a series exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. We left our brief look at the 17th-century with a reference to Ralph Thoresby’s place in an impressive national and international network…

A Brief History of Leeds #3: The 17th-century

The third in a series of articles exploring the history of Leeds, using books and other stock resources held in the Leeds Libraries collections. For all the entries in this series, see our dedicated page. In our previous entry in this series, we briefly touched on the emergence of Leeds as a textile market centre…

A Brief History of Leeds Antiquarians: Part III

This week, Librarian Antony Ramm gives the third part in a brief history of Antiquarians in Leeds, as told using books, manuscripts and other treasures held at the Central Library. You can find further instalments elsewhere on this blog, as well as a research guide detailing the relevant library collections available. In the previous part…

A Brief History of Leeds Antiquarians: Part II

This week, Librarian Antony Ramm gives the second part in a brief history of Antiquarians in Leeds, as told using books, manuscripts and other treasures held at the Central Library. You can find further instalments elsewhere on this blog, as well as a research guide detailing the relevant library collections available. Thomas Dunham Whitaker (1759…

A Brief History of Leeds Antiquarians: Part I

This week, Librarian Antony Ramm gives the first part in a brief history of Antiquarians in Leeds, as told using books, manuscripts and other treasures held at the Central Library. You can find future instalments elsewhere on this blog, as well as a research guide detailing the relevant library collections available. Hans Sloane (1660 – 1753)…

Almhouses, Annotations and Murder: Spending Time with Parish Registers

by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Central Library The parish register – the list made in a church of the people who have been baptised, married or buried there – is one of the most useful tools for family history, especially for the period prior to the arrival of the civil registration process in 1837. They’re usually used to identify…