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25 Nov 2024
Panto magic as vintage Leeds Town Hall chandelier gets new lease of light
A stunning vintage chandelier which once lit up some of the biggest names in music has landed a dazzling new role in a fabulous festive panto.
The beautiful ornamental fixture hung for more than 30 years at Leeds Town Hall, where it illuminated performances by artists including The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Queen, before being removed and placed in storage in the late 1990s.
25 Nov 2024
A winter’s tail sees peer’s painted pooch return home
She was a pampered pooch so beloved by her aristocratic master, he immortalised her in a stunning pet portrait by one of the nation’s most renowned artists.
Now, more than 250 years after she was captured on canvas, Phillis the English pointer has taken up a perfect new cosy spot at Temple Newsam House as winter sets in.
13 Nov 2024
Mural tribute planned for city’s unsung sports stars
A record-breaking local swimmer and a legendary Leeds Paralympian are among the city’s unsung sporting heroes set to be honoured in series of eye-catching new murals.
Doris Storey, who smashed the record for the 220yds breaststroke in 1938, and Kadeena Cox, who has brought home a remarkable string of Paralympic gold medals in sprinting and cycling, have been chosen by a panel of volunteers to be commemorated in the exciting new arts project.
04 Nov 2024
Intricate model sheds a little light on iconic Smeaton designs
An impressive, brick-by-brick recreation of John Smeaton’s famous Eddystone Lighthouse has gone on display in Leeds alongside the 230-year-old designs which inspired it.
Civil Engineer and railway enthusiast Mark Calvert designed the model and then printed each part on a 3D printer, after an illuminating study into the famed Leeds-born engineer’s original masterwork.
21 Oct 2024
Train scan gives inside track on marvellous museum model’s secrets
High-tech 3D scans have revealed the intricate inner workings of the world’s oldest model locomotive for the first time in more than 200 years.
Leeds Industrial Museum’s incredible miniature recreation of a pioneering early steam locomotive recently underwent a detailed CT X-Ray survey using sophisticated equipment at the University of Leeds.
09 Oct 2024
Group scoops top award for building on Smeaton’s legacy
A group of young history lovers, who followed in the footsteps of famed Leeds-born engineer John Smeaton, have scooped a top award.
Known as The Young Smeatonians, they brought past and present together, exploring how the work of pioneering engineers like Smeaton influenced the designs of modern toys like Lego and Meccano.
07 Oct 2024
Curators taken to tusk as mammoth clean-up gets underway
A gigantic mammoth tusk unearthed from a Yorkshire coal mine has been carefully conserved during one of the city’s most unusual clean-up jobs.
The prehistoric appendage was discovered in the former open cast site near Temple Newsam in the late 1960s, more than 38,000 years after the extinct, ice age behemoth it once belonged to died.
23 Sep 2024
City’s station excavation finds are the rail thing
Historic relics from Leeds’s very first railway station have helped rediscover the city’s fascinating track record after being unearthed during an archaeological dig.
The remains of the former Marsh Lane station, which opened exactly 190 years ago this week, were revealed during a recently completed excavation carried out in the city centre.
20 Sep 2024
Museum tunes up as twin city maestros prepare to Czech in
One of the world’s most unique performance spaces will welcome two pianists from Leeds’s twin city for a special performance this weekend.
The spectacular Pianodrome at Leeds City Museum will play host to pianists from Brno, in the Czech Republic this Sunday, September 22 as part of the Leeds International Piano Competition.
The magnificent Pianodrome, the world’s first amphitheatre of its kind made entirely from up-cycled pianos, was visited this week by expert piano tuner John Tordoff, who was at the museum to ensure the Pianodrome was on song ahead of the concert.
05 Sep 2024
Light fantastic as city’s cultural showpiece set for 20th dazzling display
A compelling programme of illuminated artworks will wow crowds in Leeds this October when the dazzling spectacle of Light Night Leeds returns for its landmark 20th edition.
The UK’s largest light art festival, Light Night will be back in Leeds city centre on October 24 and 25, bringing a programme of incredible, large-scale projections, live street theatre and interactive installations to some of the city’s most recognisable buildings and locations.
21 Aug 2024
Museums making history count with major economic boost for Leeds
Council-run museums and galleries in Leeds have generated a staggering £41.7m for the local economy in the last year, a new report has revealed.
Compiled by Leeds Museums and Galleries, the impressive economic impact report shows the popular visitor attractions have also given a big boost to local jobs as well as supporting businesses and schools.
12 Aug 2024
A stitch in time sees family reunited with Suffragette’s precious wedding dress
Three generations inspired by the story of their Suffragette ancestor have been reunited with the stunning wedding dress she wore more than a century ago.
The descendants of Leeds schoolmistress Lily Cathcart travelled to the Leeds Discovery Centre, where they viewed their precious family heirloom, donated to the museum by Lily’s daughters Bessie, Jean and Isabel in the early 1970s.