News

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.

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.

High tea with a difference was served up by staff up at Temple Newsam House this week as the historic mansion prepares to lift the lid on centuries of secrets below stairs.

Members of the house team donned 19^th century costumes and took to the rooftop to take tea in style, surrounded by breath-taking views of the sprawling estate.

They were launching a new programme of summer events, giving visitors a taste of what life was like for the generations of servants who lived and worked at Temple Newsam over hundreds of years.

After a staggering success for Lotherton’s deer park tours last summer they are back again for 2024, alongside a brand-new VIP penguin experience.

The ‘waddle’ of Humboldt penguins has always been a firm favourite at Lotherton’s conservation zoo Wildlife World, and now visitors can book in for a unique opportunity to see them up-close and personal.

A collection of vintage sailor suits designed to ensure stylish Victorian children looked ship shape has been revealed by museum experts in Leeds.

The eye-catching naval attire includes a classic range of blue and white outfits, dresses and bellbottom trousers, looks which became hugely popular for children during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

A daring depiction of the famous Thames waterside has travelled from Leeds to London for a new exhibition showcasing the capital’s unique influence on artists around the world.

Leeds Art Gallery’s bold and colourful Barges on the Thames shocked Edwardian art lovers when it was unveiled in 1906 by trailblazing Parisian artist André Derain.

An exhibition celebrating the history of Hip Hop and its connections to Leeds has brought home an award at Museums + Heritage Awards.

Fascinating photographs capturing decades of life in Leeds will go on display in the first major retrospective exhibition to showcase the work of British documentary photographer Peter Mitchell.

Leeds Art Gallery is thrilled to present Nothing Lasts Forever, opening on May 17.

An adorable new arrival took staff at a Leeds wildlife attraction by surprise by becoming an unexpected addition to their family of cuddly Capybara.

Keepers at Lotherton Wildlife World recently entered the animals’ enclosure as normal to carry out their routine daily welfare checks and feeding.

A spectacular lion-shaped coffin is among the colourful and eye-catching objects from around the world helping museum goers in Leeds to think differently about death.

Leeds City Museum’s Living with Death exhibition, which opens today (May 3) features a remarkable array of objects spanning thousands of years of world history and tradition which all explore how different cultures experience death, dying, and bereavement.

His friendly face and super-sized smile have made him a favourite fixture for visitors to Leeds Discovery Centre.

But as he approaches 100 years old, the decades have finally started to take their toll on much-loved Billie the hippo, who has begun to show some inevitable signs of wear and tear.

The American ancestor of a 19^th century railway worker has rediscovered a fascinating family connection to a dramatic Leeds explosion with the help of the world’s oldest model locomotive.

Lisa Roger journeyed more than 5,000 miles from her home in Phoenix, Arizona to Leeds Industrial Museum to see the attraction’s remarkably detailed model of Salamanca, made by the city’s famed engineer Matthew Murray.