News

The people of Leeds have the chance to be part of 400 years of history by answering the call to take part in a unique new city-wide challenge.

Launching today, the What’s Your 400? campaign has issued a rallying cry to individuals, groups and communities across the city, asking them to get involved in celebrations to mark 400 years since Leeds was awarded its first city charter.

A mysterious coin once used to pay a bus fare in Leeds was minted by an ancient civilisation more than 2,000 years ago, it has been revealed.

The astonishing discovery, handed to an unwitting local bus driver in the 1950s, was produced by Carthaginians, part of the Phoenician culture, in the Spanish city of Cadiz during the 1^st century BC and has now kindly been donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries.

Flamboyant floral creations have burst into life this spring in a new exhibition paying tribute to the unique beauty of the natural world.

Botanically Beautiful: Art and Design Inspired by Nature at Lotherton explores how colourful depictions of flowers, fruits, leaves and trees have taken root in the worlds of art, design and fashion, inspiring a vast array of eye-catching works across history.

A pair of antique library books written by a renowned 19^th century geologist have finally been returned 50 years late.

Volumes I and II of the esteemed Rev. William Buckland’s Geology and Mineralogy, written almost 200 years ago, were due back at Leeds Central Library in March 1976, but were instead discovered by staff in a charity shop in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

A trio of up-and-coming Leeds artists have been given a huge boost thanks an innovative scheme aimed at shaping the city’s emerging talent.

Sculptors Elrick Boldy, Ewan Summerton and Iona Ogilvy-Stuart were this week announced as recipients of the 2026 Accelerator Bursary, a joint initiative funded by Leeds Art Fund and delivered by Leeds Art Gallery and Assembly House Leeds.

Intrepid young adventurers can go on an epic journey from the far reaches of space to the depths of the ocean floor as they explore the magic of storytelling.

Story Explorers, a new free exhibition at Leeds Central Library, includes eye-catching features such as a giant cuddly octopus and a spectacular model of the moon as part of an immersive, family friendly event running from February 19 until May 30, 2026.

One of the most important documents in the history of Leeds was rescued from being turned into a makeshift lampshade, the city’s archivists have revealed.

The one-of-a-kind copy of the Leeds Royal Charter, written centuries ago, was about to be repurposed as an unusual decorative feature by the unwitting owner of a Canterbury book shop in the 1950s.

Fortunately, a chance consultation with a friendly expert disclosed that the delicately inscribed text was the sole remaining copy of the Royal Charter first granted to Leeds by King Charles I in 1626.

The much-loved Leeds Tapestry celebrating the city’s history has received an inspiring new panel, completely designed and stitched by residents to explore ideas of freedom.

An incredible collection of handmade models crafted in secret by a local enthusiast has revealed one man’s fascinating lifelong love for the buses of Yorkshire.

The new display at Leeds City Museum gives visitors a chance to see a selection of the vast array of replicas created by physicist Dr Gordon Brooke, which were found in a box room by his astonished family following his death at the age of 82.

Ancient artefacts unearthed and collected during the construction of a huge Leeds transport project have been preserved at a Leeds museum.

Spanning more than six thousand years of the city’s history, the remarkable archive includes a beautifully preserved prehistoric arrowhead, a Bronze Age axe, medieval pottery and a 300-year-old pair of nutcrackers.

The beginning of a new year is always a chance for us to reflect on the past whilst also looking ahead with excitement and anticipation to what the future may hold.

Over the coming year, that sentiment will carry more significance for Leeds than ever as the city prepares to mark a very special, and completely unique historical milestone.

Plans for a tribute to a pioneering 19^th century British locomotive driver who was laid to rest in Leeds are gathering steam following a chance discovery at a local museum.

During recent renovation work at Leeds Industrial Museum in Armley, curators happened upon the beautifully carved gravestone of Robert Morrow, more than 160 years after his death in nearby New Wortley.