ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat: 12 – 5pm
Sun: 10am – 5pm
Last admission: 4.30pm
Address
Abbey Walk
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat: 12 – 5pm
Sun: 10am – 5pm
Last admission: 4.30pm
Address
Abbey Walk
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
LEEDS ART GALLERY
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed
Tues -Sat: 10am – 5pm
Sun: 11am – 3pm
Address
The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AA
LEEDS CITY MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed (11am – 5pm on bank holidays)
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 5pm
Address
Leeds City Museum
Millennium Square
Leeds
LS2 8BH
Ticket Provider
LEEDS DISCOVERY CENTRE
Opening Hours
Visits by appointment/special event only.
Free public store tours are now available by booking in advance. Please call or email us.
Address
Leeds Discovery Centre
Off Carlisle Road
Leeds
LS10 1LB
LEEDS INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed (10am – 5pm on bank holiday Mondays)
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat – Sun: 12 – 5pm
Last admission one hour before closing.
Address
Canal Road
Leeds
LS12 2QF
KIRKSTALL ABBEY
Opening Hours
Mon: closed (10am – 4pm on bank holidays)
Tues – Sun: 10am – 4.30pm
Last admission: 4pm
Address
Abbey Road
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
LOTHERTON
Opening Hours
Open Daily
Estate opens: 7.30am
Hall: Open (Downstairs only) 10am-5pm
Wildlife World: 10am – 5pm
Estate closes: 7pm
Last entry 45 mins before estate closing time
TEMPLE NEWSAM
Opening Hours
House: Tues – Sun: 10.30am – 5pm
Home Farm: Tues – Sun: 10am – 5pm
Last entry 45 minutes before
THWAITE WATERMILL
Address
Thwaite Lane
Stourton
Leeds
LS10 1RP
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Spot the difference as historic photo is recreated for Museum Selfie Day
NewsA blue coloured photograph of a man in a tophat and dinner jacket sat outside looking over the ruins of an old abbey
An historic photo thought to be one of the world’s oldest selfies has been recreated more than 130-years after it was first captured by a pioneering Leeds inventor.
The eye-catching original was taken by trailblazing Leeds-born astronomer and engineer Washington Teasdale in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey back in 1883 and has been reimagined to mark today’s Museum Selfie Day.
Teasdale’s image is believed to be one of the world’s oldest examples of someone both taking and appearing in a photograph, a feat Teasdale could only accomplish because of the exceptionally long exposure time on cameras of his era.
Museum Selfie Day is a global social media event which sees people taking selfies in museums across the world, raising awareness of the collections and encouraging the public to visit, take a ‘selfie’ and post on social media with the hashtag #museumselfie.
Chris Sharp, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ assistant community curator donned a traditional top hat to follow in Teasdale’s footsteps in the grounds of the spectacular Cistercian abbey this week and help come up with a unique Leeds photo for the day.
Teasdale was a leading figure in fields including naturalism and engineering and used a type of photography called cyanotype, which is still used today to create architectural blueprints. Chris even recreated that process, developing his own modern cyanotype.
He said:
“Washington Teasdale was a remarkable person with a truly incredible mind and it was amazing to think that I was sitting in pretty much the same place, taking the same photo he did all those years ago.
“Museum Selfie Day is a really fun and imaginative way of showcasing Leeds alongside collections and venues from across the world. It’s also a real tribute to Teasdale and his extraordinary accomplishments that we’re still being inspired by his work more than 130 years later.”
A copy of Teasdale’s original photo is currently on display at Leeds Industrial Museum as part of Leeds to Innovation, an exhibition celebrating the city’s best and brightest minds.
After working in India as a civil engineer on the railways in the 1850s, Teasdale came home to Leeds and chaired the Leeds Astronomical Society where he was instrumental in recruiting more female members. The society is still active today.
A member of the Naturalist Society he invented his own field microscope to study insects and pushed the boundaries of photography to capture detailed images of the moon through his telescope.
A respected expert on everything scientific, he lived in a house on Hyde Park Road which was filled with a scientific apparatus and works of art.
Leeds to Innovation is open now at Leeds Industrial Museum and features more incredible stories of local inventors and their astounding creations.