If Halifax has anything, it has plenty of rocks. They build the steep valley sides, they support the heather-clad moors, they have provided the stone that has built the houses, and the coal that has powered the mills. To isolate just a few of these rocks, christen them as "The Rocks", and then stroll in … Continue reading The Rocks And Hoards Of Halifax
Author: Alan Burnett
With Love From Hilda And Leo
There is something rather joyous about this little sepia print. The caption on the reverse simply says "With love from Hilda and Leo", and it is the smile on Hilda's face that is so striking. The photograph must have been taken during the mid 1920s, which suggests that Leo might have been one of those … Continue reading With Love From Hilda And Leo
Green Clough
Dean Clough From Boothtown (c. 1967) One of my photographs from the late '60s shows the cobbled lane leading from Woodside Road down to Old Lane and Dean Clough. The lane still exists, but these days it is lined by a canopy of trees - and grey has been replaced by green.
Creativity Is An Act Of Defiance
I was walking through Elsecar yesterday when I spotted a pencil that had been left on a wall. It looked as though it had been left there intentionally, rather than accidentally dropped, and when I examined it I discovered a printed legend on the main body of the wooden shaft: "Creativity is an act of … Continue reading Creativity Is An Act Of Defiance
The Girl With The Awfully Big Hat
This tiny photograph was pasted onto the back page of the postcard album of my mother's uncle, Fowler Beanland. It was only when the print was scanned and cleaned up that I begun to fully appreciate it for the charming portrait that it was: a picture of a little girl with an awfully big hat. … Continue reading The Girl With The Awfully Big Hat
The Iconic R
The iconic "R" - the trademark of Ramsden's Brewery - still graces many a pub window in the Halifax area. The setting sunlight illuminating its stained glass presence had an almost mystical significance for many acolytes of Old Tom and Stone Trough Ales. Ramsden's Brewery and its beers are long gone, but the R still … Continue reading The Iconic R
The Line Out Of Town
The railway line out of Halifax, heading north-east, dodging around the mills and factories, plunging under Beacon Hill. It's a line I took out of town a couple of years before I took this photograph in 1970, a line I have taken back into the town I will always call home on many subsequent occasions.
Look Into Their Faces And See History
I have no idea who Mr George Day of Fairbury, Illinois was, or how the photograph of him and - I assume - his wife came into my possession. But now they are mine and I am prepared to share them with the world. They are fine figures, serious subjects, people who do not smile … Continue reading Look Into Their Faces And See History
Monochrome Valley
This is an illustration from a book I have yet to write, which - in my own mind, at least - is entitled "Monochrome Valley". It shows Bank Bottom in Halifax in the early 1970s. Square Church spire and Halifax Parish Church fight to be seen through the industrial smoke. I have a feeling that … Continue reading Monochrome Valley
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