Heritage Open Day 2025: Architecture of Aid - From Workhouse to Hospital

Discover the stories and lives behind the Leeds Union Workhouse in our new guided walking tour.

The Leeds Union Workhouse was based on the site of Thackray and St James’s Hospital. It was Leeds’s largest workhouse, home to 800 inmates – 300 men and 450 women, working in harsh and unrelenting conditions.

But how did the workhouse become both Europe’s largest teaching hospital and the UK’s largest medical museum? To celebrate Heritage Open Day 2025, join us for a free guided walk around the grounds, exploring the history of the Victorian workhouse buildings – some still standing, some not – as well as the stories and lives of the inmates that lived inside.

Please note: this walk will involve standing for up to 10 minutes at a time, as well as walking between various buildings with low steps limiting accessibility. Some buildings are still in use at the hospital, so we cannot guarantee access to all of them.

Advance tickets include free admission to the museum galleries on the day of the event.

You may also like the following events from Thackray Museum of Medicine:

• This month, 20th September, 11:00 am, Questionable Quackery in Leeds
• This month, 25th September, 07:00 pm, Borrowed Time: Tales From the Transplant Ward in Leeds
• Next month, 11th October, 10:30 am, Thackray Insights: Guts and glory in Leeds

Also check out other Nonprofit events in Leeds.