The Other Project: Chapter Four

The Other Project, co-ordinated by Third Year Fine Art student Mia Ferullo, is a collaboration between Leeds Central Library and York St John University’s second year students. The students were divided into four groups, each being given an issue of the Leeds Other Paper. With a combination of Fine Art, Photography and Illustration students, this…

People of Leeds #15: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

This week, we hear from the Central Library’s Helen Skilbeck, who talks us through a fascinating and very-valuable Playbill. This article is #15 in our People of Leeds series – short biographies of lesser-known contributors to Leeds’ past.  Leeds Libraries collection of playbills can be viewed online but one that has not yet been digitised is…

Cookridge Street Public Baths

This week, librarian Helen Skilbeck takes a look back at the history of the public baths on Cookridge Street… Directly opposite Leeds City Museum, on the site of Millennium Square, were Cookridge Street Public Baths –  also known as the Oriental and General Baths. Opened in 1866, these baths survived for nearly a century until…

People of Leeds #11: Superintendent Henry Baker and his Fire Books

This week Helen Skilbeck looks at a collection of scrapbooks compiled by Superintendent Henry Baker of Leeds Corporation Fire Brigade, covering the period 1870 – 1896. This article is #11 in our People of Leeds series – short biographies of lesser-known contributors to Leeds’ past.  Deep within the stacks in Leeds Central Library are a collection…

People of Leeds #10: Godfrey Wood, Confectioner

A recent blog post by librarian Helen Skilbeck looked at Godfrey Wood’s Victorian Catering Ledger which shows the events his catering business provided food and services for.  This follow-up post, also by Helen, looks in more detail at Godfrey Wood himself. This article is #10 in our People of Leeds series – short biographies of…

The Glory of Goad Maps

In the blog this week, Librarian Helen Skilbeck looks at some beautiful but underused maps in our collection – Goad maps. This piece forms part of our series of articles exploring resources relevant to family history research.  In the Local and Family History Library there are hundreds of maps – maps of Leeds, maps of…

The Theatrical Life of Tate Wilkinson

On the Secret Library this week we have a article from guest writer Dominique Trigg, the creator of Some Sources Say, who has written about the fascinating  life of Tate Wilkinson, an Eighteenth Century pioneer of Leeds Theatre. If you would like to read more excellent articles from Dominique then you should visit Some Sources…

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…