Author: Alan Burnett

The Shaw Syke Redemption

The final two negatives from a 35mm strip shot almost forty years ago show what was left then - and I suspect, what still exists now - of the very first Halifax Station. Built  at Shaw Syke in 1844 as the terminus for a branch of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, it survived less than … Continue reading The Shaw Syke Redemption

Two Gentlemen Of Brighouse

If Shakespeare had been around in the days of Brexit, he might have written a play called Two Gentlemen Of Brighouse, in which two friends, Herbert and Wilfred, travelled to Bradford in pursuit of the same girl, Ethel. This lovely little Victorian photo from the studio of the Brighouse photographer, Martin Manley, would have made a perfect … Continue reading Two Gentlemen Of Brighouse

Looking On

Hidden away at the corner of a throw-away old photo is a haunting image that transcends time and place. The child looks on and, in turn, we look on, whilst the supposed subjects look at us.

Snow, Grit And Cold Stone Steps

Two more from the same strip of negatives from thirty-nine years ago; two more from the area around Union Street and Hunger Hill, Halifax. Snow, back in those monochrome days, was a different entity: always dirty, layered with grit. These houses are built on a hillside, with their own terraced pavements up a flight of … Continue reading Snow, Grit And Cold Stone Steps

Fireworks At The Wes

There is something quite captivating about fireworks: no matter how many times you have witnessed their extrovert performance, their momentary ostentatiousness, you are still drawn to them. This particular display was at Almondbury Wesleyans Cricket Club last night. A cracking good night.

Back Hope

The second of the six negatives from 1980 : this was taken in Back Hope Terrace, Halifax, when standpipes provided drinking water and monochrome snow clung to the rooftops. It all seems so long ago.

Hope Clings On

This is a scan of the first of six 35mm negatives I must have taken in about 1980: which to me sounds like only yesterday, but I am alarmed to realise is almost forty years ago! It was taken in that strange little segment of Halifax that is bounded by Prescott Street, Clare Road, Hunger … Continue reading Hope Clings On

Up The Hill To The Stafford Arms

This is a scene which will be all too familiar for Halifax residents of this present age. After the long slog up Salterhebble Hill, and the inevitable wait at the hospital traffic lights, drivers heading for Halifax can now speed past the restaurant that used to be the Stafford Arms Inn, with no tram lines … Continue reading Up The Hill To The Stafford Arms

Walk On By

Looking at fine buildings in Halifax can be a bit like looking at paintings in the National Gallery, you get drawn by the famous and casually walk passed what would be excellent in other contexts. How can I have walked by Lord Street Chambers for seven decades without noticing them?