Museum-lovers in Leeds can rediscover millions of years of history now council-run venues across the city have officially reopened. Leeds Museums and Galleries sites closed earlier this year as part of a city-wide effort to control the spread of Covid-19. Over the past few months, the team has continued to engage tens of thousands…
Keep Reading
For Georgian virtuosos, it was the ideal instrument for showing audiences they were in a glass of their own. And this month, Leeds’s own incredible glass harp is set to strike a chord with visitors to a new exhibition celebrating hundreds of years of the city’s musical memories. Made in 1820 by Leeds craftsman…
Keep Reading
The traditional Christmas pudding is sure to be a seasonal staple on millions of festive dinner tables this month. And this traditional Victorian steamer shows just how much the pursuit of the perfect pud has been part of Christmas for families in Leeds for generations. The mould is part of the Leeds Museums and…
Keep Reading
At a time when war raged across Europe, Ivy Benson was calling her own tune. The pioneering musician and band leader, who was born in Holbeck, became something of a celebrity when war gave her a chance to break into the world of big bands. In fact her All Girls Orchestra became the BBC’s…
Keep Reading
Anyone looking for the perfect Halloween outfit could take som inspiration from this incredible collection of costumes worn by children in Leeds more than 125 years ago. Back then, the Lord Mayor of Leeds Mr and Mrs Alf Cooke threw an extravagant fancy dress ball to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. The exclusive guest list…
Keep Reading
Ninety years ago, the Lord Mayor of Leeds and his wife became the first people to walk through doors of Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall. Paying a penny each to enter, Hugh Lupton, who held the office in 1927, and the Lady Mayoress were the guest of honour at the museum’s official opening. The…
Keep Reading
A feast of family-fun activities and events are set to light up Leeds Museums and Galleries this Easter. Fans of Alice in Wonderland are in for a treat as both Abbey House Museum and Lotherton Hall will be offering events inspired by Lewis Carroll’s timeless book from this Saturday (April 1). Enjoy creative crafts…
Keep Reading
Conjuring images of a faraway, fairy tale kingdom, this vintage spinning wheel was actually made in Ireland more than 125 years ago. Crafted out of oak and mahogany, the wheel was designed by James McCreery and Son in around 1891 and donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries by Mrs K. Turberville in 1967. Originally,…
Keep Reading
Four hundred years ago, one of Temple Newsam House’s most famous residents was killed in a grisly murder that remains a mystery to this day. Now, on the anniversary of Lord Darnley’s gruesome demise, budding super sleuths can wander the same atmospheric halls he once called home as they try to solve their own…
Keep Reading
More than 125 years ago, the Lord Mayor of Leeds Mr and Mrs Alf Cooke threw an extravagant fancy dress ball to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. The exclusive guest list included 190 local children, who all arrived at the party dressing up in an incredible variety of storybook themed costumes. Today, a fabulous…
Keep Reading
One of Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee’s most successful creations, costumed crime-fighter Spider-Man is also one of the world’s most recognisable super heroes. In 1992, 30 years after Peter Parker’s alter ego slung his first web, Marvel released a special anniversary edition of The Spectacular Spider-Man, featuring eye-catching holographic cover art. An edition of…
Keep Reading
Fairy tale fans will come face to face with the big bad wolf at a new exhibition exploring the remarkable history of the world’s best-loved storybooks. The imposing timber wolf is among a huge selection of objects going on display at Kirkstall’s Abbey House Museum this weekend illustrating the origins of popular children’s tales including…
Keep Reading
A new super-powered museum display in Leeds will give visitors the chance to explore the colourful world of iconic costumed crimefighters. Abbey House Museum’s Comics Unmasked starts this weekend and features exciting objects on loan from the public including Marvel and DC comics, graphic novels and figurines of famous characters Iron Man, The Hulk, The…
Keep Reading
Historic fancy dress photos with a flamboyant fairy tale theme will revealed during an exciting new exhibition in Leeds next month. And experts are asking for help to tell the stories behind some of the incredible costumed characters who posed for the pictures more than 125 years ago. The amazing album of images were captured…
Keep Reading
She was one fifth of the iconic British pop combo that stormed the charts worldwide and sparked the unstoppable Girl Power phenomenon. Now a doll of Leeds’s very own Scary Spice Mel B is on display as part of an exhibition looking back at people’s favourite memories of growing up in Leeds. Originally formed in…
Keep Reading
It was a thrilling era when Elland Road became synonymous with a unique brand of exciting, swashbuckling football. Now visitors to Abbey House Museum can relive some of Leeds United’s 90s glory days at an exhibition dedicated to growing up in Leeds. The museum’s Decades of Youth exhibition features objects and memories spanning more…
Keep Reading
Murder in the Museum is one of the best-loved penny slot machines at Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall. Made by Leeds sisters Alice and Eveline Dennison in 1934, it shows a 30s murder mystery worthy of Agatha Christie! This film, made by Target Productions at Temple Newsam House, re-imagines the story behind the slot…
Keep Reading
It’s a mechanised murder mystery machine which has captivated generations of Leeds museum-goers. So when Abbey House Museum’s quirky 1930s penny slot machine finally gave up the ghost, it would have been a crime to let the historic attraction simply gather dust. Luckily, after the machine broke down recently, experts at the Kirkstall attraction searched…
Keep Reading
More than seventy years of memories and nostalgia have been brought together for a new exhibition celebrating growing up in Leeds. The Decades of Youth exhibition launches at Abbey House Museum tomorrow (July 30) and features a series of vintage objects and images from around Leeds, spanning seven different decades. Items that will be on…
Keep Reading