Leeds histories

12 Dec 2025

Leeds Central Library’s one-of-a-kind edition of famed historian Ralph Thoresby’s Ducatus Leodiensis. Printed in the mid-1740s, the incredible book will be on display at the library until the New Year. The lengthy series of unique annotations it contains (shown here) were added by Thoresby’s contemporary and fellow antiquarian Thomas Wilson, and capture what is believed to be the first ever written record of the astonishing historical anecdote.

Leeds histories: Leeds Central Library’s one-of-a-kind edition of famed historian Ralph Thoresby’s Ducatus Leodiensis.
Printed in the mid-1740s, the incredible book will be on display at the library until the New Year.
The lengthy series of unique annotations it contains (shown here) were added by Thoresby’s contemporary and fellow antiquarian Thomas Wilson, and capture what is believed to be the first ever written record of the astonishing historical anecdote.

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