Old news gains new life with free newsletter digging through history

Did you know that in 1889, thousands flocked to Kirkgate Market to see the supposed miracles of quack doctor the Great Sequah? Or that in 1901 a Farnley man won a bet to eat 14 pigeons in 14 days? These unusual tales in Leeds's history have been lost and forgotten for years. One man is trying to change that.

- by Jennifer Cartwright

Thomas Barrett, from Harrogate, has started a free online newsletter called Bury the Leeds where he retells real human stories sourced from the archives of newspapers such as Leeds Evening Express, The Halifax Evening Courier and even the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The idea began when Thomas decided to see if the British Newspaper Archive had any information about his family and their connection to Harewood. He unexpectedly discovered a dark story about a distant relative named Sarah Barrett who in 1859 went on trial accused of murdering her newborn baby.

Reading such a story about an ancestor felt "uncanny" for Thomas, and he became interested in what other secrets were chronicled in old newspapers.

He said: "I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I just thought if there's this stuff about my family, there must be all sorts of stuff hidden away in these archives."