Today’s article, by Becky Bavill, forms part of a series of posts inspired by Unearthed: The Power of Gardening – an exhibition in partnership with the British Library’s Living Knowledge Network, at Leeds Central Library from 10 September – 29 October 2025. Gardening is not only transformative, but also a power for social change. Here…
Tag: Family History
Basinghall Telephone Exchange
This week’s post is a request from one of our customers – see the poster below for more information. You can contact us on 0113 37 86982 or via localandfamilyhistory@leeds.gov.uk and we can pass your message to the customer.
The 1921 census is now on Ancestry
Today we are rejoicing in Local and Family History because the 1921 census is available on Ancestry! Regular readers will know that you can use Ancestry for free at any Leeds Library as part of our digital offering. Here’s some reasons why you should be excited about the 1921 census too. It reflects changes in…
Irish Family History Resources
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Irish History Month we take a look at some of the key websites to use when researching your Irish genealogy. Start with this good overview from the Who Do You Think You Are website to get an introduction to which records are and are not available: https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/irish-census-records/ The National…
Family History Resources: Military Records
This week on the Secret Library we hear from Local and Family History’s Josh Flint, who will be exploring the incredibly useful family history resource, military service records. This article will explore what military service records are, how to access them and how they can be useful for your own family history research. Military personnel records…
Family History Resources: Historical Trade Directories
This week on the Secret Library we hear from Local and Family History’s Josh Flint, who will be exploring the excellent family history resource, historical trade directories. This article will help family history researchers understand what trade directories are, how they can be useful for family history research and finally where to find them. This…
Maps for Family History
As part of a series examining family history resources for beginners, Librarian Antony Ramm explores the local map collection at Leeds Central Library and online, briefly showing how they can be used to support genealogical research… As well as being seriously fascinating in their own right, maps are one of the most important of what we…
Windrush Day 2020
On this day in 1948 the troopship Empire Windrush arrived at the port of Tilbury, England, after a journey that began at that same place before visiting Southampton (to collect troops) and then taking in stops at Trinidad, Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba and Bermuda. On board were at least 1,027 people (according to the passenger list),…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 