This photograph came to me from my Great Uncle, Fowler Beanland, who, during the First World War, was a foreman at a munitions factory in Keighley. The photo shows fifteen female munitions workers - just a small proportion of the many hundreds who worked for Longbottom and Farrar's, which was, at the time, part of … Continue reading Photographic History
Author: Alan Burnett
Scale And Emptiness In Downtown Stoke
When I look back at these old photographs of mine - I took this picture of a street in Stoke-on-Trent some fifty-five years ago - it is the scale that seems to stand out. Were the streets really this wide or were the cars small? Were the telegraph poles so tall or were the people … Continue reading Scale And Emptiness In Downtown Stoke
Yorkshire Imperialism
I don't know which hillside it was. I remember taking the photograph whilst on the Settle to Carlisle line, so there is just a chance that it might even by a Lancashire hillside. It feels like Yorkshire however, in fact, I hereby claim it as part of Yorkshire (I learnt that trick from a chap … Continue reading Yorkshire Imperialism
Film Sets
Shaw Lane in Halifax back in the 70s and 80s was a bit like a vacant film set: spectacular backgrounds waiting for a drama to unfold. You could have made any number of films or gritty TV series with those granite sets in the foreground, those sooty walls in the background, and the occasional mill … Continue reading Film Sets
Dam Art
Another one of those exercises in black and white and straight lines. There should be a name for this kind of art. Dam art, perhaps?
Five Girls And A Kodak
The Sepia Saturday theme this week is old photos of even older photographers, and searching through my extensive (if my wife reads this, I mean very small) collection, I found this 1920s photograph. At first I thought the object in question might be a small handbag, but further research suggests it's a Kodak No 1 … Continue reading Five Girls And A Kodak
Paris Pub
I've always been attracted to this part of Halifax: the steep hills, cobbled streets, brooding mills ..... and, of course, the delights of the Shears Inn, whose stone-tiled roof features in this photo of mine from 40 or 50 years ago. There's a story which says the area's name - Paris Gates - came about … Continue reading Paris Pub
From The Archives
I've always had a fondness for old newspapers: give me a half-comfy chair and a pile of old newspapers, and I'm a happy man. If I can't get my hands on the paper originals, then the online British Newspaper Archives is an excellent alternative, and it has the advantage of a very effective search engine. … Continue reading From The Archives
More Shapes
Some shapes are instantly identifiable: the distant sweep of the moor-lined hills and the grand lines of a dye-works chimney that had ideas above its industrial station. The whole scene viewed from a promenade that, even after global warming has done its worst, will never see the sea. Sunset behind Wainhouse Tower, viewed from Albert … Continue reading More Shapes
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