Leeds nostalgia: Lectures in your lunchtime

Dr Grady will be giving the 9th annual series of lectures. Previous series have been extremely popular attracting audiences of over 200 people to the landmark Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane.

Lecture One on 3 February: ‘Housing the Multitude’: The History of the Leeds Back-to-Backs, tells the story of the development of these at once infamous but now celebrated type of houses, from their creation in the yards of Briggate and Kirkgate in the Industrial Revolution to their spread right across the city in the Victorian period.

Lecture Two on 10 February: ‘Doctors, Surgeons and Infirmaries’: Medical Care in Georgian and Victorian Leeds. This lecture traces the history of medical care in Leeds, focusing on the story of Leeds General Infirmary, which was founded in 1767 and St James’ Hospital and recalls some of the famous Leeds doctors and surgeons such as William Hey, Charles Turner Thackrah and Sir Clifford Allbutt.

Lecture Three on 17 February: ‘On the Waterfront’: The Port of Leeds. This wonderfully illustrated lecture describes the development of Leeds as a major inland port from the 18th century to the present day.

Lecture Four on 24 February: ‘From Matthew Murray to HS2’: The Railways in Leeds, Past, Present and Future,. This lecture looks at the rip-roaring tale of the pioneering of the railways in Leeds with the creation of the Middleton Railway. It then turns to the development of all the railway stations on Wellington Street, and the dramatic impact of the building of the railway viaduct across the city centre.

Lectures start on February 3, 1.15pm-1.45pm at Holy Trinity Church, Boar Lane.