Leeds City Museum

History

In 1819, a museum was established in Philosophical Hall, Bond Street, by the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, and in 1821 it opened to the public. In 1921, control of the museum was handed to the Corporation of Leeds which later became Leeds City Council. In 1862, Philosophical Hall was rebuilt in Park Row, where its stone portico can still be seen on the west side of the road. In 1941, the museum building and artifacts were badly damaged by bombing. In 1965 the museum was closed, and a few exhibits removed to a couple of rooms in the city library in 1966. The oversized Leeds Tiger, the giant moose skeleton and the carved wooden cart took up much of the space. In 1999 the museum went into storage, though researchers and the public could view items by appointment. In 2000, the resource centre at Yeadon opened, under the same appointment-to-view arrangement. In 2001, Leeds City Council bid for National Lottery cash, and in 2004, it was awarded £19.5 million, so in 2005, the Leeds Mechanics' Institute building (designed by Cuthbert Brodrick and built 1865–1868) began to be redesigned as Leeds City Museum, finally to reopen in 2008. It was redeveloped to a design by Austin-Smith:Lord architects and Buro Happold engineers. The gallery and exhibit design was provided by Redman Design.

The Mechanics' Institute had had a large hall, the Albert Hall, which seated up to 1,500 and was used for plays and concerts from the 1880s. In 1949 this became the Leeds Civic Theatre.

The exhibits

While exhibits vary, they are mainly made up of exhibits from Leeds' history. The central hall has a large map of Leeds printed on the floor. There is also a scale model of the Quarry Hill flats.

Life on Earth gallery

This is the natural history gallery, featuring everything from a meteorite to dinosaur dung (coprolite). In 2019, the skeleton of a Long-finned Pilot Whale was hung from the ceiling just outside the gallery. There are several vintage taxidermy-mounts conserved by James Dickinson in 2008, including the Armley Hippo, the Leeds polar bear and the Leeds Irish Elk.

Leeds polar bear 5 August 2021 (20).JPG|Leeds polar bear Armley Hippo 30 July 2021 (20).JPG|Armley Hippo Leeds City Museum, Irish Elk (17).JPG|Leeds Irish Elk Taxidermy mounted tiger 17 June 2021 (12).JPG|Salford tiger by Harry Ferris Brazenor, 1914

Leeds Tiger

Main article: Leeds Tiger

A large, taxidermy-mounted Bengal tiger, this exhibit came to Leeds in 1862. It was shot by Colonel Charles Reid in the valley of Deyrah Dhoon near Mussoorie hill station in Uttarakhand, India in March, 1860. It was originally exhibited at the 1862 International Exhibition in London as a skin - hence its odd shape - before being turned into a taxidermy mount by Edwin Henry Ward (father of Rowland Ward). The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society received the mounted tiger as a donation from William Gott, and it has been on display to the people of Leeds almost continuously for over 150 years.

The original tiger has been subject to various myths over the years. The Yorkshire Evening Post said, "We'll never know for certain whether the Leeds Tiger really lived up to its dangerous reputation, but today it sends a shiver down the spines of visitors to Leeds City Museum." However the pelt may now be dangerous after all, in a sense, as the Victorians will have preserved it with arsenical soap. For over a century it has sagged somewhat, as can be seen in the photograph. Nevertheless, in the early 1860s the tiger was considered an object of beauty:

The museum's curator Adrian Norris was quoted in 1979 as saying:

Ancient Worlds gallery

Here are archaeological items from Leeds and around the world.

• Roman floor mosaic ca 250 CE, depicting she-wolf with Romulus and Remus. This was discovered at Aldborough, North Yorkshire, known to the Romans as Isurium Brigantum.
• Hellenistic Greek tomb doors ca 250 BCE. These are carved in marble, in bas relief.
• The Leeds Mummy. In the 1941 bombing raids, two other mummies were destroyed, but Nesyamun's 3000-year-old mummy survived. It is displayed in the current museum building, alongside a rather striking reconstruction of his face.
• Iron replica of Hellenistic Greek head of Aphrodite. This is a cast replica of the original 1st century BCE head in the British Museum. The original was discovered in 1872 at Satala (now Sadak) in north-eastern Turkey. The eyes were once inlaid with precious stones or paste. Apparently the top of the head was not designed to be empty, like a piece of modern art. It seems that the farmer found it when he hit the top of the head with his axe and damaged it.

Mosaic depicting the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus, from Aldborough, about 300-400 AD, Leeds City Museum (16025914306).jpg|Roman floor mosaic Smuseum 011hellenistic greek tomb door.jpg|Hellenistic Greek tomb door Leeds City Museum 27 October 2023 (18).JPG|Forensic facial reconstruction of Nesyamun Leeds City Museum 27 October 2023 (1a).JPG|Replica of the Satala Aphrodite Leeds City Museum 27 October 2023 (8).JPG|Replica of the Satala Aphrodite

World View gallery

In 2014 this gallery began hosting a long-term exhibition called 'Voices of Asia', which celebrates the sights, sounds and culture of Asian communities here in Leeds and around the world. The 'faith' element of the display regularly changes. From 2017, the focus was on Buddhism.

Leeds Museums & Galleries has large collection of objects from around the world, and Voices of Asia displays just one aspect of the city's holdings. The Leeds African collections are also significant, especially the sculpture, masks and textiles. Since 2019, most are held at Leeds Discovery Centre, which holds representations of North American beadwork, European folk items and the traditional arts of Oceania.

Leeds Story gallery

Special exhibitions

On the third floor is a gallery space dedicated to a changing exhibition programme. One previous exhibition was 'Beavers to Weavers' looking at things created by creatures.

Collectors Cabinet

Various collections appear here in rotation with a focus on the people behind the objects.

• The Circe bronze by Alfred Drury. This was commissioned from Drury in 1894 by Leeds Art Gallery. It was displaced to Park Square in the 1950s when Victorian art went out of fashion. It was weathered and damaged, but has been restored recently. It was Drury who made the eight bronze lampholder girls in Leeds City Square, plus the bronze of Joseph Priestley nearby.

Associated curators

• Henry Denny
• Elizabeth Pirie
• Violet Crowther

References

References

1. "About Us". Leeds Museums and Galleries.
2. [https://www.leedsphilandlit.org.uk/about-the-society/ Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society: About the society]
3. (8 February 2018). "Looking back to the night a bomb dropped on Leeds City Museum". Yorkshire Post.
4. (2021-03-12). "Lanuvium and the Leeds Blitz".
5. "Heritage Lottery Fund: ''History in the Making'', 22 September 2005".
6. (22 July 2011). "The Victorian Web". The Victorian Web.
7. "Leeds City Museum". Austin Smith Lord.
8. (5 April 2019). "A Q and A with Majestic engineers Buro Happold". Majestic Leeds.
9. Bond, Chris. (12 September 2008). "Long-awaited new museum set to go down in city's history". The Yorkshire Post.
10. (27 June 2003). "Ilkley firm will design the new City Museum". Telegraph & Argus.
11. Mogridge, Geoffrey. (18 May 2023). "The Albert Hall, later Leeds Civic Theatre". Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog.
12. "Pilot project will piece together Leeds whale's tragic tale". Yorkshire Evening Post.
13. (6 June 2008). "Voice of James Dickinson conservation officer and taxidermist". Lancashire corporate web.
14. (11 January 2008). "200-Year-Old Polar Bear Gets Ready For Leeds Museum Opening". Culture 24.
15. Anonymous. (1862). "Forty-third report of the Council of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society". Reports of the Council of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.
16. Norris, Adrian. (1985). "Notes on the Natural History Collections in the Leeds City Museum. Number 5: The Leeds Tiger". Leeds Naturalists' Club Newsletter.
17. Brears, Peter. (1989). "Of Curiosities & Rare Things: the story of Leeds City Museum". The Friends of Leeds City Museum.
18. Roles, John. (2014). "Director's Choice". Scala Arts and Heritage Publishers Limited.
19. (31 December 2016). "Leeds nostalgia: The story of the Leeds Tiger". JP Media.
20. (2006). "Arsenic in Taxidermy Collections: History, Detection, and Management". Collection Forum.
21. [http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/general/Ladies-Manual-Of-Art/Arsenical-Soap.html Chestofbooks.com webpage: Arsenical soap.]
22. (2016). "Leeds in 50 Buildings: 9. Leeds City Museum 1819 Park Row". Amberley Publishing Limited.
23. (17 December 1862). "Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society : Professor Owen's inaugural address". Leeds Mercury.
24. (2 January 1863). "Visit to the art exhibition in the Leeds Philosophical Hall no.IV". Leeds Mercury.
25. (2013). "Interpreting Nature: Shifts in the Presentation and Display of Taxidermy in Contemporary Museums in Northern England". University of Leeds.
26. [http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-09-03-Sting-in-the-tale-of-Leeds-mummy 24dash.com: Sting in the tale of Leeds mummy, by Hannah Wooderson, 3 September 2008.] {{webarchive. link. (3 April 2010)
27. [https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/b/bronze_head_of_a_goddess.aspx Britishmuseum.org: ''Bronze head of a goddess, probably Aphrodite''.]
28. "Voices of Asia".
29. (18 April 2014). "Discover a world of Asian wonders behind Leeds museum's doors". Yorkshire Evening Post.
30. (19 February 2018). "Spotlight: the Voices of Asia".
31. "Voices of Asia".
32. "World Cultures Collections".
33. (2018-01-02). "The Malham Pipe: A Reassessment of Its Context, Dating and Significance". Northern History.
34. (8 November 2015). "Leeds' Anglo Saxon gold hoard to go on display". BBC News.
35. "Beavers to Weavers".
36. "Culture24: ''Leeds City Art Gallery Brings Victorian Statue In From The Cold'' 7 March 2008.".
37. "''A sculpture walk in Leeds''.".
38. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/03/05/visual_arts_circe_feature.shtml BBC.co.uk: ''Moving Statues'']