West Yorkshire Archive Service

Chocolate at Temple Newsam
6th July 2018
2 mins read

Archives choc full of tales about sweet life of estate’s lords and ladies

Sweet-toothed aristocrats in Leeds were among the country’s earliest chocoholics, fascinating new documents have revealed. Ahead of tomorrow’s World Chocolate Day, an exquisite bill of sale plucked from a vast collection of archives in Leeds after more than 240 years shows that centuries ago, fashionable nobles at Temple Newsam House became part of an…
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Temple Newsam House
21st March 2018
2 mins read

New Beer exhibition will be the toast of Temple Newsam

Beneath the lavish halls and chambers of Temple Newsam House, a huge network of cellars was once liberally stocked with thousands upon thousands of gallons of beer. Upstairs, 18th-century aristocrats would host lavish banquets and parties where locally-brewed ales would flow freely and guests would raise a toast to kings and queens. Now that…
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Leeds, Leeds Star
21st December 2016
1 min read

Object of the week- Soldier’s Christmas letters home

A heart-breaking reminder of the human cost of war, these historic letters were written by a Leeds soldier serving on the front lines just before Christmas 100 years ago. Currently on display at Leeds City Museum, the letters were penned by Private Leonard Wragby, who sent them home from France in 1917, during the…
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