In celebration of International Women’s Day 2019 we are launching a new series using items from our collections to highlight the women and events that shaped Leeds. From the Barnbow Lasses of WWI and the Suffragettes that fought for a woman’s right to vote, to prominent and pioneering female politicians Alice Bacon, Maud Dightam and…
Tag: Child Friendly
Double, double toil and trouble – What inspired the witches in Macbeth?
This week we hear from Collections Manager Rhian Isaac on some sources for Shakespeare’s witches… It’s a month until Shakespeare Week and to start getting people in the mood I have been bringing out some of our collections to explore why Shakespeare may have incorporated the supernatural into his plays. Monsters, fairies, witches, demons and…
Marathon Running in Leeds: The History of the Leeds Marathon
by Karen Downham, Local & Family History Library After the amazing feat of distance runner Eliud Kipchoge, breaking the world record for the marathon in a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 39 seconds, at the Berlin Marathon earlier this year, on 16th September, and as runners thoughts start to turn to training for…
‘Xmas at the Libraries’
This week Assistant Librarian Manager of Local and Family History, Sally Hughes, takes a look back at festive performances gone by in Leeds Libraries. ‘Children who attend the “Story half-hours” in the Leeds Public Libraries are preparing for extra jolly programmes…’ During the mid to late 1920s Leeds Libraries saw a huge increase in…
The Magic of Books from the Golden Age of Illustration
This week we hear from illustrator Teresa Flavin on some magically-illustrated books from her childhood… When I was about nine years old, my family visited a used bookshop where I discovered a fairy story with graceful line illustrations. The book was cheap enough to buy with my pocket money and though it was somewhat battered…
November 11, 1918: A Brief History of Leeds on Armistice Day
Librarian Antony Ramm takes a look at Leeds on the day the First World War ended… When the Lord Major Joseph Henry announced to the people of Leeds that “the armistice has been signed and that fighting has been stopped from 11 o’clock this morning,” he sparked celebratory scenes which commenced almost immediately. Crowds began…
Leeds in the First World War: New Leodis Collection
To commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War, it seems a good time to delve into our Leodis photographic archive to see how Leeds fared during this period. The image below shows a recruiting tram for the Leeds Pals, a volunteer battalion from the business and professional communities of the city,…
The Hallowe’en Special
This week Librarian Sally Hughes talks ghost-busting and all things spooky… With Hallowe’en upon us it’s the perfect time to point you in the direction of our most ghoulish collections here at Central Library. The first place to be is right here at our The Supernatural research guide. You can find all these books on our online…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 