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Industrial History

 

The Leeds industrial collections are largely based at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills.

The collection has been Designated as of national and international significance.

The collections represent the industries of Leeds through the companies, products and personalities involved. The collections also aim to reflect the working life of Leeds people through their jobs and working environments.

The industrial collections comprise tools, machinery, industrial products, archive ephemera, photographs and other personal records, but do not include substantial company archives. Leeds Industrial Museum holds material from John Fowler & Co., Vickers PLC, A. Kershaw & Sons, Benjamin Gott, Burtons, Kirkstall Forge and the Hunslet Engine Co. and a wealth of other firms.

Several items from our collections are available to view online on our Google Arts & Culture page.

We continue to collect Leeds-related industrial material to reflect the “City of 1000 Trades”, including building up contemporary collections to reflect modern industry and manufacturing.

Industrial Machinery

Collection Highlight

 

Cast Iron Middleton Railway Rack Rail by Gothard & Salt, Leeds, circa 1812.

The Middleton Railway is widely accepted as having run the world’s first commercially successful steam locomotives from 1812. These lightweight locos needed special ‘toothed’ or rack rail to provide enough grip for pulling heavy loads of coal.

The rail – apparently the last one of its kind – was donated by a Miss Maude, through Colonel Kitson Clark and the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society in 1924.

In 1929 the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer reported that Leeds City Council had granted Henry Ford, of the Ford Motor Co. fame, permission to make a copy of this rail for his new ‘Museum of Physical Science’ in Detroit. A cast of the rail was made and a copy given to Ford’s museum and three other museums in 1930.

Discover more of our collections

Archaeology and Numismatics Collection

The Leeds archaeological collections are diverse, covering many thousands of years of history and prehistory, and representing a wide range of ancient cultures from around the world.

Fine Art Collection

The Leeds fine art collections are Designated as being of national and international significance. The collection has particular strengths in the areas of 18th and early 19th century English watercolours, 20th century British Art and a modern sculpture collection.

Dress and Textile Collection

The Leeds dress and textiles collection details the history of what people have worn in the past, and the textiles they have used for their clothing, furnishing and decorating their homes.

Decorative Arts Collection

The Leeds Decorative Arts collections are Designated as being of national and international importance. They are linked to local crafts people past and present, and feature major collections of furniture, ceramics, wallpapers, modern crafts, metalwork, textiles and costume.

World Cultures Collection

World Cultures is a significant collection area for Leeds, with over 12,000 items demonstrating the city’s historic links to the wider world, and the multicultural vibe of contemporary arts and culture.

Social History Collection

The Leeds social history collections started with an emphasis on ‘bygones’ and folk life in the 1920s. Reconstructed street displays at Abbey House were then added in the 1950s, recreating life in Victorian Leeds.

Natural Science Collection

The Leeds natural science collection comprises around 800,000 specimens, and is hugely diverse in terms of subject area, specimen type, and taxonomic range. It is designated as being of national and international significance.

Our Collections

Explore Leeds Museums and Galleries large collection of Art, Archaeology, Decorative Arts, Natural Science, Dress and Textiles, Industrial, World Cultures and Social History.