I took this photograph of Salterhebble Hill in Halifax in the late 1960s for someone who wanted it as evidence in claim for compensation following an accident. Looking at it now, it is fascinating to see long-forgotten buildings such as Nahum's Union Mill standing where the Water Mill pub and restaurant now stands. This area … Continue reading No More Nahums
Month: January 2020
Park Pride
Old picture postcards provide us with a fine indication of what people saw as important about the area in which they lived or they were visiting. On some occasions they would reflect great industrial or commercial achievement: tall mills, railway viaducts that put mother nature in her place, or busy street scenes full of shops, … Continue reading Park Pride
In Defence Of Josh Matthewman
ALLEGED FRAUD ON A RAILWAY - On Saturday, at the West Riding Court, Halifax, Josh Matthewman, of Huddersfield, was charged with having travelled from the latter place to Brighouse, on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, in a second-class carriage, he having a third-class ticket. It appeared that defendant was put into the carriage by the … Continue reading In Defence Of Josh Matthewman
My Mother, The Bathroom
Not many people have a picture of their mother dressed as a bathroom! All I know about this delightful photograph is that it was taken in 1928 when my mother, Gladys, was just seventeen years old. I recall her telling me that the occasion was a fancy dress competition and the design of this rather … Continue reading My Mother, The Bathroom
With Halifax As A Backdrop
On a regular trawl through my old negatives, I came across one of my favourite photographs from almost fifty years ago. It shows two young girls with the familiar sights of 1970s Halifax as a backdrop. Those two young girls from all those years ago are still part of my life: I married the one … Continue reading With Halifax As A Backdrop
A Walk Along A Windy Promenade
During the first decade of the twentieth century, when picture postcard collecting became the height of fashion, postcards would often be only loosely based on photographs. The photographic image would be simplified, artificially coloured, pixelated, corrected and prepared for the printing presses; and this would sometimes result in images that were only distant relatives of … Continue reading A Walk Along A Windy Promenade
A Bath, Some Militia, And An Ode To Japan Blacking
As we enter the year 2020, everything in the news is far too depressing to dwell upon. I am therefore taking refuge in the news of the past - if for no other reason, than to confirm that things were just as depressing in the past. Today I am returning 200 years to the 3 … Continue reading A Bath, Some Militia, And An Ode To Japan Blacking
On Two Wheels Through The Thirties
My parents, Albert and Gladys Burnett, spent much of the 1930s on two wheels. They started on a tandem, and then at some point they progressed to a motorbike. At times they flirted with three wheels, but such experiments were short-lived. Once, my father bought a Morgan Super Sports three wheeled car - it had … Continue reading On Two Wheels Through The Thirties
alanburnett.com 