The Yorkshire Board of Education established a Ladies Committee in 1866, and the Ladies Honorary Council of the Yorkshire Board of Education was founded on 1 January 1871. In 1875 this group became independent of the board and became the Yorkshire Ladies Council of Education. It was incorporated in 1904. The council was involved in, or supported, the establishment of the Yorkshire School of Cookery (1874),
Bradford Girls' Grammar School (1875),
Leeds Girls' High School (1876),
Yorkshire College of Science (precursor of the University of Leeds, 1878),
Wakefield Girls' High School (1878), the West Riding Nursing Association (1907), and several other social work projects including Forest Hill residential home for the elderly, opened in 1960 and now a sheltered housing scheme operated by a separate charity Yorkshire Ladies Council (Hostels) Ltd.
Lady Frederick Cavendish was the council's president 1885–1912. A history of the council was published by the
Thoresby Society in 1979. ==Secretarial college==