AN ILLUSTRATED talk on Old Aireborough will take place in Rawdon this month.

Local historian Malcolm Egan will give the talk Old Aireborough: Guiseley, Rawdon and Yeadon at 7.30pm on Thursday, September 29. The event, at a meeting of Aireborough Civic Society, is open to all and will take place at Rawdon Community Library. Admission costs £2 for the general public and is free for members.

A civic society spokesman said the money raised would go to projects to improve the environment, including collecting litter and decorating the area's centres with flowering plants.

He added: "The three townships of Aireborough have an extremely interesting history. Unlike most parts of Leeds, we don't just have one, but three centres: Guiseley, Rawdon and Yeadon. Each were originally rural communities, but were transformed by the woollen industry and the industrial revolution, so that over 20 mills and other factories were built in Aireborough in Victorian times.

"The importance and interest of our heritage is reflected in the fact that we have nine Conservation Areas. We are very fortunate to have so many interesting old buildings in our area, although far too many have been demolished in recent years, rather than converted to new uses.

Copies of the new Aireborough Historical Society calendar for 2017 will be on sale at the event.