We – the present team of would-be reporters on the Community Correspondents course – took a trip to Leeds Museum in Millennium Square to find some inspiration for our next project report. We climbed the many steps surrounded by about thirty young school children and were handed a leaflet giving us details about where to find the exhibits and for some of us the shop was the first stopping place. (Reminder to self – ideal Christmas shopping potential.)
The first display is the Collectors Gallery showing various collections assembled by Leeds people including Ralph Thoresby – an important city benefactor. The gallery has a good selection of Leeds cream-ware and other collections of fabrics and pictures.
On the next floor is the large “Leeds Story” describing and illustrating the many industries once filling Leeds and employing thousands of people, including engineering, tailoring, weaving and general manufacturing. This area has a number of the famous Burmantofts pots and plaques. The museum is well worth a visit just to see these if you are keen on high coloured pottery.
Sadly pottery is no longer made in Leeds and the Leeds cream-ware we see today is made in Stoke-on-Trent potteries in Staffordshire Potteries.
This article was written by Mary Fleet using our Community Reporters website
