Author: Alan Burnett

Ten From The Pub 9 : Saloon Bar Friars

Saloon Bar Sign, Black Friar, London   The Black Friar in Queen Victoria Street, London is one of my favourite pubs. Back in days long gone by, I used to take groups of overseas visitors there as part of a tour of old London pubs. It is not only a fine pub, it is a … Continue reading Ten From The Pub 9 : Saloon Bar Friars

The King, The Prince And The Prestwich Photographer

I would guess that this little Carte de Visite from the studio of W H Martin of Prestwich, Lancashire is Edwardian rather than Victorian. I know nothing about the subject of the photograph other than he seems a bright young fellow with a rather distinctive horseshoe pattern necktie. I don't know much more about W … Continue reading The King, The Prince And The Prestwich Photographer

Northern Capitals 6 : Church of England

So typical of the English - they sail all the way to exotic European capitals and the first thing they do is to look for a typical English parish church. Our 1925 visitors to the northern capitals found St Albans Church in Copenhagen - they might as well have stayed in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Manchester With A Shiny Surface

I was in Manchester last week with a group of friends - the famous Old Gits Luncheon Club - and we were walking along the Rochdale Canal en-route to a splendid public house called The Briton's Protection, when I spotted two buildings, separated by a few hundred yards and a few hundred years in economic … Continue reading Manchester With A Shiny Surface

Ten From The Pub 8 : Say Cheese

The Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street, London (1987) I have just realised that I have got to number eight in this ten part series on pubs and all I have shown is buildings. Buildings in themselves - whatever their architectural merit, however much their timbers have absorbed centuries of malt and hops - are not pubs. … Continue reading Ten From The Pub 8 : Say Cheese

Northern Capitals 5 : The Elsinore Kipper Factory

This particular picture is captioned "The Castle at Elsinore from Marienlyst" and if you direct your attention to the left of the photograph there is a castle which I assume is the castle in question. It is, however, also a photo of what looks like the kipper factory at Elsinore, and, towards the right of … Continue reading Northern Capitals 5 : The Elsinore Kipper Factory

Northern Capitals 4 – After Lunch

So here we are: page 4 of the Northern Capitals album and we are still in Marienlyst just having had a very pleasant lunch at the hotel, What better time to take a group photograph - and what a group it is.

Ten From The Pub 7 – Anchors Away

Anchor Inn, Brighouse (c1970)   There has been a pub next to the Anchor Bridge over the Calder and Hebble Navigation in Brighouse ever since the canal was constructed in the 1750s. For most of that time, the pub was quite reasonably called the Anchor Inn, but for some reason it was decided that it … Continue reading Ten From The Pub 7 – Anchors Away

Ten From The Pub 6 : Warts From A Saddle

Saddle Hotel, Market Street / Russel Street, Halifax (1965)   Hidden behind the undoubted delights of the Mixenden Gala Queen on the back of a lorry, is the undoubted splendour of the Saddle Hotel. When I took this photo in 1965 it was an integral part of Halifax Borough Market, but a year later it … Continue reading Ten From The Pub 6 : Warts From A Saddle