Leeds c. 1840, painted by Alphonse Dousseau, graphically illustrates how pollution was already affecting the town. The kilns of Leeds Pottery can be seen on the left and on the right is Joshua Bower’s glassworks at Hunslet. Note also the tracks of Middleton Railway.
Over more than a century, the Society has built up a number of special collections, notably its archive, map and image collections, which have recently been re-catalogued to make them more accessible. These collections are housed in the Society’s library, based at the Leeds Library, 18 Commercial Street, Leeds LS1 6AL.