SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Yorkshire Sufragettes - Forgotten Stories, Hidden PlacesIn the atmospheric setting of the Victorian courtroom in Leeds Town Hall, hear the forgotten stories of the Yorkshire women who fought for their right to vote.Enjoy a guided tour of the courtroom and police holding cells before listening to local author Jill Liddington (Rebel Girls - Their Fight For The Vote) talk about these brave and fascinating women.Wednesday 21st November 2007, 6.30pm.Victorian Courtroom, Leeds Town Hall.Admission £5 including tour & refreshments.Tickets available from the City Box Office at The Carriageworks, Milennium Square, 0113 2243801.This event is part of Crime & Punishment - unlocking the secrets of Leeds Town Hall.

This will be a marvellous opportunity to see a little of the old Town Hall in a way not normally possible, and for anyone wondering what the Sufragettes were all about, Jill's dissertation will bring to life, the extent of the personal scrifice of those women in their quest for recognition of women's rights.Perhaps the most famous for us was Leonora Cohen who I mentioned in the 'Famous Son's of Leeds' thread. Leonora was the duaghter of the Throps, a family of monumental stone masons who themselves left their mark across old Leeds.This amazing women to whom I have, I have learned, the honour to be related was as you will discover, something of a force to be reckoned with. A 'Blue Plaque' was unveiled this year on Clarendon Road to commemorate her achievements.Hard perhaps to believe, that someone seen as a tyrant by the authorities of the time should from their dedication and tireless determination, ultimately gain such respect as then to become a local JP. Well worth the small admission fee!