Yorkshire CD books

Old and rare Yorkshire books as pdf file downloads

photograph of the book
"The History of Leeds" or "Ducatus Leodiensis"
by By Ralph Thoresby & T.D. Whitaker

download version
produced by Yorkshire CD books ©

Ordering information & payment methods: please see separate page.


We have now cleared all of our CDroms and so we now do downloads only.

Note that downloads are set up manually and therefore will not be instant.

Payment can be made either by a PayPal account, or with a Credit Card via PayPal in your own currency, or by Sterling Cheque drawn on a UK bank.

Please see the ordering and payment information page
for details on methods of payment.


For sample pages, please see the links to the Acrobat (pdf) files given below.

The data in this downloadable pdf is computer searchable.


This is the book for pedigrees for families from Leeds
and the surrounding areas.


"the Topography of the ancient and populous
Town and parish of Leeds, and parts adjacent",
by Ralph Thoresby,
Second Edition by Dr. TD Whitaker(1816)

This book is 17 inches high by 11 inches wide, is 2 inches thick and weighs 11 pounds.

Contains the pedigrees of many of the Nobility and Gentry, from records, original evidences, and manuscripts. The original edition of this book, in 1715, justified Ralph Thoresby's membership in the Royal Society, and displayed his erudition on Englands's Roman antiquities and coins (many of which are depicted here). Thoresby also owned a broad collection of "curiosities", from incunables to medical anomalies, which was ranked second only to Tradescant. In this edition, the continuation of the Pedigrees was principally done by Christopher Holland, and the additions to Part 2, "Musaeum Thoresbyanum", detail items added after 1715 to the time of the collection's dispersal. Also includes a Life of Thoresby. The first part of this 2nd edition contains the original writings of Ralph Thoresby with copious notes written by Dr. Whitaker giving both additional information and corrections to the original material. The second and third parts of the book contain the catalogue of Ralph Thoresby's museum, also written by Dr. Whitaker.

This book currently sells for upwards of £800 in good condition.


Contained within the book are over 140 pedigrees, where relevant these have been brought up to date (1816) as indicated above. An indication of the families contained within these pedigrees can be found by taking a look at the transcribed index for the first part of the book (see below).

In order to give you a better idea of the information in the book the following items are available on line:

The above Acrobat file was extracted from the main pdf file and shows the quality of the images. You will need at least version 5 of Acrobat to open this file. If you do not have an up to date version please go to the Adobe web-site to obtain a free version of Acrobat Reader.

Some information about the author of the book may be found on the Thoresby Society's web pages.


A review of the CDrom by Steven Bruce of Yorkshire Family History

For those interested in the history of Leeds and its environs DUCATUS LEODIENSIS published by Ralph Thoresby in 1715 is the work by which all subsequent historical works of the town and parish of Leeds has been measured. By 1715 Ralph Thoresby had gained a considerable reputation as an antiquary and topographer and this was further merited by the publication of this work; it has long being considered a highly important definitive work of local topography. The purchase of an original, 1715 first edition, is probably beyond the reach of most; it regularly commands a price tag of between £3000 and £4500, depending on its condition. Even a second edition of 1816 which, is currently being presented on this CD would reduce your bank balance by anything from £800 to £1500.

By making this publication available on CD, Colin Hinson has hit new heights. He has made not only this CD but all of his other more recent CD publications, fully machine searchable. For all of us, other than those who would prefer to have an original volume sat neatly in a bookcase, the facility makes using this version of the publication a joy! I congratulate Colin on the attention to detail that he has given to this and to all his other CD publications and not least for making these, often financially unattainable publications, available to us at affordable cost.
Steven Bruce
Yorkshire Family History
www.yorkshirefamilyhistory.org


If you would prefer the real book(s), please contact The Idle Booksellers through their website.

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