Box XXIX John Tempest’s Victorian Leeds Scrapbook – a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings between 1858 and 1862.
Michael Meadowcroft found and purchased the volume in Ilkley Book Fair, it was acquired by the Thoresby Society in 2023. Ref. 26/10.
John Tempest, born Holbeck 28th February,1801 and died Guisley 16th April 1869. A drysalter, oil merchant, maltster in Leeds. His address was Ninevah House, Jack Lane, Holbeck, Leeds. He later possibly moved to Guiseley where he was closely involved with the church. A Conservative Party Officer, he stood (and was defeated) as Conservative candidate for Holbeck Ward in 1835, 1838, 1839, 1840.
He compiled a large scrapbook of newspaper cuttings covering 1858 – 1862. Most are from The Leeds Intelligencer. His interests were extensive, covering local, national and international: politics, animals, royalty, international events, The Great Exhibition of 1851, art, music, religion, sport, humorous anecdotes. The list is endless. Contains many illustrations and a few original documents.
A listing of cuttings is included in Box XXIX. Also available is a separate listing of cuttings relating to Leeds and Yorkshire.
If you want to find out what it was like living in the mid 1850s, this is a volume to browse, or to find out about specific events.
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.