This immensely colourful postcard of the conservatory at Akroyd Park in Halifax must date from the first decade of the twentieth century, although it is difficult to date it precisely as it was never posted. Bankfield House, the home of Edward Akroyd, and its grounds, were sold to Halifax Corporation in the 1880s and converted into a park, library and museum. In Victorian times, no grand garden was complete without a cast-iron conservatory, sheltering the delicate flowers from, not only the cruel English climate, but also the choking English smog.
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