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An adult and child looking at a collection display in Leeds City Museum

Leeds400

Leeds is a city of culture and heritage. On 13 July 2026, Leeds commemorates a remarkable milestone — 400 years since receiving its first Royal Charter from King Charles I. This historic moment marked the beginning of Leeds’ journey towards self-governance and city status.

Celebrate Leeds400 with Leeds Museums and Galleries. Discover stories of our collection and local history.

Throughout the year, Leeds Museums and Galleries will be celebrating with talks, special events, exhibitions and more. As well as sharing stories and objects from our collections that share Leeds' story and history.

Find more about Leeds400 and how to get involved and find Leeds400 events on Leeds Inspired. 

leeds 400 logo with an owl

Step into Leeds history with our events programme

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Discover our collections and Leeds' history in our exhibitions

All exhibitions

Leeds400 Blogs and Stories

Blog | Football Works

Leeds has a proud sporting history, and it’s the home of amazing athletes and incredible teams—but who knew we used to be the home of a literal football factory? The clue to digging into this history is a sales leaflet in our social history collection, that the museum team came across as part of a larger project assessing what objects relating to sports history we have.

Blog | Poppy Wingate: Temple Newsam's Golfing Pioneer

Poppy Wingate was England’s first professional woman golfer, and she began her career right here at Temple Newsam.

Blog | A Tale of Two Widowhoods

A team of volunteers, supported by museum staff, are currently researching the lives and personal narratives of past residents of Temple Newsam as part of an Arts Council Designation Development Fund (DDF) project entitled “Grief, Joy and Togetherness”. The focus of this blog is on two women born 170 years apart who both left their mark on the house.

Blog | Silhouettes & Shapewear

I’ve been thinking about the dos and don’ts of showing off your body in the 1800s and the expectations of women to ‘correctly’ shape their body as fashions changed.

Blog | Rooted in History: Zea Mays

Whenever I think of corn, I immediately think of popcorn and movies and underwhelming corn on the cobs at barbecues (British summer weather permitting!). A simple Google search on this humble grain leads to the realisation that it is omnipresent.

Blog | Rooted in History

Leeds Museums and Galleries is home to a of tens of thousands of dried plant specimens whose geographical reach spans from the American Rockies to New Zealand covering a diverse range of vascular plants, mosses, lichens, and fungi to name but a few.

Blog | The Tiger Who Came to Leeds

There’s lots of symbolism and analogy to be unpicked in the Leeds Tiger’s history. However, I wanted to concentrate on the tale of this cat’s journey from 1860s India to a permanent place at Leeds City Museum, in the UK, at its opening in 2008.

Blog | Gloves: Fashion and Meaning

At the Leeds Discovery Centre we have a huge collection of different clothing from a variety of places and time periods. One item of clothing that has an interesting and storied history are gloves.

Blog | The Origins of the Gascoigne Family

Chris Bovis delves into the history of the Gascoigne family, who were residents of Lotherton. In this blog, Chris debunks some of the myths and stories about the prominent medieval family.

Blog | The Bird Egg Collection

Claire Miles explores our Bird Egg collection at Leeds City Museum, after taking over the immense task of documenting over 8000 – 10000 eggs in our museum collections database and making some wonderful discoveries.

Blog | Heart of a Lion and the Hands of a Lady: Lord Moynihan of Leeds

Discover the story of Leeds abdominal surgeon Lord Moynihan: who had ‘the heart of a lion and the hands of a lady’.

Blog | Lighting up Leeds: The Story of George Bray & Co

Discover the history behind Leeds businessman George Bray – the 19th century gas lighting pioneer who changed the face of Britain

Blog | Monopoly: The Leeds Edition

Explore the fascinating history of the nation’s favourite board game with placement student Chelsea Knight.

Blog | Imagining Little Red Riding Hood

Social History Curator Kitty Ross explores the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and it’s many illustrations, in light of the Fairytales and Fantasy exhibition at Abbey House Museum.

Blog | ‘Iris’ (1886) by John Atkinson Grimshaw

Local historian Eveleigh Bradford explores one of Atkinson Grimshaw’s most entrancing paintings, which chimes well with the theme of Fairy Tales and Fantasy, the subject of the new exhibition at Abbey House.

Blog | The Dennisons of Leeds: Pioneers of Penny Slot Machines

Curator Kitty Ross reveals the story behind the popular 1930s ‘Murder in the Museum’ penny slot machine at Abbey House Museum!

Blog | Gertrude Bray ‘The Home Specialist’

We are currently cataloguing the Yorkshire Post Studio photography archive which is held at Abbey House Museum. One glass negative dated May 1938 simply states that it is a Mrs Gertrude Bray of Bray Homes.

Blog | Waddingtons Cluedo and how ‘The Great Detective Game’ was made in Leeds.

As a child, whenever we drove past the Waddingtons factory on Wakefield Road in Hunslet my parents would tell me that was where they made Monopoly. Even better for me, it was also where they made my favourite game ever: Cluedo!
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