The second of the cards from my Great Uncle, Fowler Beanland's postcard collection shows a view of Keighley Mechanics Institute, which is quite appropriate, as the Beanland family were rooted in Keighley and they were mechanics of one sort or another for generation after generation. The Mechanics Institute was a fine building that stood at … Continue reading Fowler’s Cards : Keighley Mechanics
Author: Alan Burnett
Things That Were
The coincidence of the Jubilee Weekend and Brighouse's 1940s Weekend brought a danger of overdosing on nostalgia. There is nothing wrong with such an overdose, now and again. And let all of those nostalgic images of guns, tanks and gas masks remain filed firmly away under the heading of "Things That Were".
Slam And Slide : Towards A Definition Of Culture
The welcome news that Bradford is set to be the 2025 UK City Of Culture got me thinking about what on earth culture is? Whilst definitions abound, they all tend to be constructed from words and concepts that are about as sound and structured as a jellyfish's ribcage. Clearly culture occupies a seat right next … Continue reading Slam And Slide : Towards A Definition Of Culture
Fowler’s Cards : John Bright
If I've inherited my love of collecting things from anyone, it must be from my Great Uncle Fowler Beanland. Uncle Fowler - whose name was always pronounced "Fooler" within the family - was an avid collector of picture postcards during the early years of the twentieth century. His collection of cards was housed in a … Continue reading Fowler’s Cards : John Bright
Frames Of Reference
Halifax Town Hall framed in stone. Both the town hall and the half-demolished building on Winding Road (which was probably the works of Haigh, Allan & Co, Brass Founders and Finishers) must be of a similar vintage, but when I took this photograph in 1969, one was going, and one, thank goodness, was staying.
Family Merry-Go-Round
Flat cap and silver watch chain. Wrinkled stockings and sea-wave hat. Smiles that could spin a merry-go-round. Albert and Kate Beanland, Bradford, 1940s.
Roadworks On Salterhebble Hill
I have just added a new vintage postcard to my collection which shows "St Luke's Hospital and Salterhebble Hill, Halifax" The card was posted in May 1917, but I suspect that the photograph dates from at least a decade before that. St Luke's Hospital was the original name for what later became Halifax General Hospital, … Continue reading Roadworks On Salterhebble Hill
Back Yard
Back Yard: A traditional Yorkshire back yard (courtesy of Uncle Harry's Photo Album). Grand Prix race track, day out for the caged birds. Stone slabs and washing lines. Jigsaw shed.
Moral Condiments
Another of my photos from 1969, and it shows the two cooling towers - Salt and Pepper - at Halifax Power Station next to North Bridge. Between them can be seen the hill rising to Claremount, with, I believe, St Thomas Street Methodist Church at the top. It is said that it cost more to … Continue reading Moral Condiments
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