Leeds City Council is encouraging people within their household groups or support bubbles to collect tree seeds in their local parks and green spaces to help support the growing of future woodlands across Leeds. Running until November, residents can collect acorns, beech nuts, chestnuts and conkers, and leave them in seed collection boxes across…
Keep ReadingMuseum-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 ReadingThe full routes for the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire and Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race have been unveiled at Leeds Civic Hall. Both routes will be the toughest in the history of the race and feature more climbing than ever before, including the Côtes de Buttertubs and Grinton Moor – both making their…
Keep ReadingThe next phase of work on a major project to protect Leeds from the risk of flooding has been confirmed after the contract for it to proceed was signed today. Leeds City Council has agreed a contract worth £75.98million with contractor BMMjv, a joint venture between BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald, to carry out…
Keep ReadingPlans for the next phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme to reduce flood risk along the River Aire have now been submitted. Leeds City Council has worked alongside the Environment Agency to put forward a planning application for phase two of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, which will invest £112.1million in flood prevention…
Keep ReadingInspiring stories of faith, heroism and compassion are being retold through a collection of powerful artworks and images displayed in the stunning ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. The new Faith in Peace and War display, in the abbey’s nave from November 1, is part of the city’s commemorations to mark 100 years since the signing…
Keep ReadingAncient traditions from East and West will come together in the historic grounds of Kirkstall Abbey next month during a festival of mindfulness and meditation. The beautiful ruins of the 12th Century Cistercian abbey will be the setting for a two-week programme of events to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10. And…
Keep ReadingSeveral parks in Leeds have once again been recognised as some of the very best green spaces in the UK, just in time for the annual Love Parks Week. Otley Chevin, Pudsey Park, Golden Acre Park, Kirkstall Abbey, Roundhay Park, Temple Newsam estate and Middleton Park have been awarded a Green Flag status, an…
Keep ReadingIt would no doubt have been a surprise to the devout Cistercian monks who once called it home. But historic Kirkstall Abbey has today been recognised for giving one of Yorkshire’s warmest welcomes. The abbey has been awarded a Visit England Welcome Accolade, designed to shine a light on the region’s best quality visitor…
Keep ReadingA spine-tingling programme of Halloween horrors will see historic sites in Leeds taken over by spooky scarecrows, ghosts and witches next week. Venues including Temple Newsam, Kirkstall Abbey and Lotherton Hall will be transformed by an exciting line-up of special activities during the scariest time of the year. The ancient grounds of Kirkstall Abbey…
Keep ReadingCenturies ago, it was a tranquil sanctuary where Cistercian monks would spend hours in peaceful contemplation. And this week Kirkstall Abbey will be giving people in Leeds a chance to follow in their footsteps and enjoy some mindful moments during series of drop-in sessions to support World Mental Health Day. The abbey’s visitor’s centre will be…
Keep ReadingNinety 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 ReadingA collection of fascinating finds has been brought together in a new display reconstructing the colourful history of Kirkstall Abbey. Beautiful medieval tiles, which the abbey’s Cistercian monks strolled upon centuries ago, and a tiny tuning peg, which may have belonged to a visiting medieval minstrel, are among the archaeological discoveries being exhibited this…
Keep ReadingFabulously flamboyant and elegant this colourful garment played its part in a true Leeds rags-to-riches story. The eye-catching leg of mutton sleeve bodice dates from around 1895 and once belonged to Jane North, a former Hunslet factory worker. While she was working in Leeds, Jane met and married John Thomas North, the son of a…
Keep ReadingSeven sites across Leeds have hit the heights and been recognised with an internationally recognised green award. Celebrating the very best green spaces across the United Kingdom, Otley Chevin, Pudsey Park, Golden Acre Park, Kirkstall Abbey, Roundhay Park, Temple Newsam estate and Middleton Park have once again being honoured with Green Flag Award status.…
Keep ReadingHistory will repeat itself this weekend when a much-loved Leeds museum welcomes a very special guest to its 90th birthday celebrations. The Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Jane Dowson will visit Kirkstall’s Abbey House Museum this Saturday, July 15, to join in a week-long birthday party which has included special talks, activities and performances. During…
Keep ReadingSome of the city’s top up-and-coming acts will have another chance to rock out in the stunning grounds of Kirkstall Abbey this summer as the annual Battle of the Bands returns. Budding musicians from across Leeds will take over the youth stage at Kirkstall Festival for the third year in a row, vying for the…
Keep ReadingA 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 ReadingHistoric sites across Leeds will be hosting a spine-tingling programme of spooky activities this Halloween. Leeds Museums and Galleries will be celebrating the scariest time of the year over the October half-term, with youngsters getting the chance to try trick or treating and creepy crafts and Halloween special effects. Lotherton Hall will be hosting…
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