Heritage and research

Discover your family history and research Leeds and West Yorkshire in the Heritage and Research library on the second floor of Leeds Central Library.

Our Heritage and Research department holds over 180,000 items including books, newspaper archives, journals, directories, maps, photographs, electoral registers, playbills, parish records and online information.

Our Information & Research collection includes over 250,000 books, journals and newspapers. Particular strengths include history, literature and historical biography, law and rights, with many of the books available for loan. 

Please note: some of our research materials are currently unavailable owing to essential maintenance in our Central Library stacks. Several different categories of stock are affected, but particularly some of our Special Collections and historic periodicals belonging to our Information and Research department. We recommend that you contact us before making a visit to avoid disappointment. 
 

Local History resources available online

Free access from home

Leodis - Photographic archive site with over 75,000 historic photographs, over 5,000 historical playbills and over 1,000 historic Leeds gig tickets.

The Secret Library - Leeds Libraries heritage blog offering family history advice, and guides to stock and collections.

Absent war voter search - Search our absent war voter database.

British Library Newspapers - Explore over 2 million pages of nineteenth century British newspapers. Accessible anywhere.

Yorkshire BMD - Birth, marriages and death indexes for Yorkshire from 1837 onwards.

Free access from Leeds Libraries branches

Ancestry - Billions of records for family history research.

British Newspaper Archive - Explore millions of historical newspapers from the 18th to 20th centuries. Accessible in all Leeds Libraries, either on a library pc or by connecting a personal device to our library Wi-Fi. To use this resource, please create a free account with the British Newspaper Archive, using your personal email address. Please note that there is a maximum of 10 users at any time.

Staff available to help

Library staff are on hand to help with general enquiries, plus one-to-one drop-in sessions for help with more detailed research.

If you’re unable to visit the library, we will answer quick enquiries by email, letter or phone free of charge. For more detailed research, a fee will apply. Contact us to find out more.

Regular events and workshops

Family History for Beginners are available in person and online, events can be viewed here Events | Leeds Library

Local Studies workshops, consultations, talks, heritage tours and events are advertised in our newsletter, subscribe below, and can be booked here Ticketsource

Subscribe to Leeds Libraries' Local and Family History e-newsletter

You'll receive regular updates on upcoming events, exhibitions, workshops and consultations.

Things you should know before visiting to begin your family history research

We do not have access to birth, marriage and death certificates. These can be purchased from Leeds Register Office, please visit the order copy certificates page for more information.

Opening hours and contact details

View our opening hours.

Address

Heritage and Research Library
2nd Floor
Central Library
Calverley Street
Leeds
LS1 3AB

Contact

Email: localandfamilyhistory@leeds.gov.uk

Phone: 0113 378 6982

Related pages