In today’s post our Senior Librarian for Local Studies & Research, Louise Birch, explores the history of Leeds Sanitation taking, from the local studies collection, David Seller’s work; ‘Hidden Beneath our Feet: The Story of Sewerage in Leeds’ (1997) as the main source material. Sewers and sewerage are something many of us take for granted….
Tag: Louise Birch
Leodis has upgraded to a new site
In our blog post this week, Senior Librarian-Manager Louise Birch introduces readers and users to our exciting relaunched Leodis photographic archive… After twenty something years of the old yellowy-beige colour scheme and Louis Le Prince video we are long overdue an upgrade. The existing Leodis software was becoming outdated and had we left it any…
Have Yourself A Merry Library Christmas
This week we hear from Librarian Louise Birch, who will be sharing a very special Christmas Carol from the Local and Family History Department. “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Library not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” “The stockings were hung by the counter with care, in hopes that…
The Lockdown Leeds 2020 Collection
This week on the Secret Library, Librarian Louise Birch introduces an exciting new collection for the Local and Family History library. This collection is launching as part of Local and Community History Month. It’s hard to imagine a time when we won’t remember what it felt like to live through Covid 19 and the impact…
The Rotation Office
The Rotation Office (late 1700s – early 1800s) New Market Street This was a brick building in a narrow yard, named for the magistrates who attended here, in ‘rotation’, to hear cases that came within the jurisdiction of the borough – but which did not justify the need for a jury. They were able to…
The 1926 General Strike
The General Strike (5-6 May 1926) The Corn Exchange On the 5th and 6th of May disturbances occurred in the town centre due to the continued operation of some trams and buses on a reduced service. On the first day, a tram was forced to stop as its windows were smashed by lumps of coal….
The 1844 Military Riot
The Military Riot (9-11 June 1844) Green Man Pub, Kirkgate & Green Parrot Pub, Harper Street In June 1844 reports of soldiers from the 70th Infantry attacking members of the public led to an outbreak of violence at the Green Man pub. Police arriving to arrest the soldiers were booed by an anti-police crowd and…
Bramhope Tunnel: Conquering the Ridge
This Friday we hear from Local and Family History Librarian, Louise Birch, on the monumental engineering (and human) feat that was the construction of Bramhope Tunnel… When the York & North Midland Railway leased and closed the Leeds-Selby Railway line (1940) in order to funnel regional rail travel through York they angered the manufacturers and…
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