The last of the "Sketches of Halifax" published in the Illustrated London News of the 5th August 1882 is, appropriately enough, a sketch of what is now the town's most celebrated building - the Piece Hall. When the ILN artist visited the Piece Hall back in 1882, he found a building that was in decline. … Continue reading Halifax Piece Hall
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The First Tram In Space
1909 Postcard : Free School Lane, Halifax (AB Collection) This is another old view of a road I knew so well. I used to walk down from school and then take a short cut from Clover Hill Road to Well Head and then the Bus Station for the bus home. There won't have been tram … Continue reading The First Tram In Space
Fire In Halifax (1968)
I came across a fire near the bottom of Hanson Lane by chance one day back in 1968, when I was walking into town from the Library. The photographs I took were just a record of a chance event, but over half a century later, they have become something of a social record of the … Continue reading Fire In Halifax (1968)
In The People’s Park
Another of the "Sketches of Halifax" from the 1882 article in the Illustrated London News. "In The People's Park: The People's Park, given to the town by the late Sir Francis Crossley ... was laid out with much taste and skill by Sir Joseph Paxton; and its terrace, shown in one of our Sketches, likewise … Continue reading In The People’s Park
The Greens
Sometime, you can be going about your day's business, walking the dog or buying a bag of pork pies, and suddenly you have to stop in your tracks, look around and say "what a magnificent place I am lucky enough to live in!"
It Is Doubtful How Long Peace May Be Preserved
The chance discovery of an illustration in an old newspaper, brings to light a troubled time in the history of Halifax. The illustration - Scene at North Bridge, Halifax - appeared in the Illustrated London News of the 27th August 1842, and it shows thousand of protestors on North Bridge coming under attack by armed … Continue reading It Is Doubtful How Long Peace May Be Preserved
Halifax At The Speed Of Light
When I look at this photograph I am reminded of those nineteenth century etchings of northern mill towns. But it can't be nineteenth century because I took the photograph and even I am not that old. And if you look carefully there are two blocks of flats in the background. It appears that if you … Continue reading Halifax At The Speed Of Light
A Walk Around Halifax
I have been taking photographs of Halifax for the best part of sixty years, but it is something I never get bored with. I happily take every chance I get to walk around the streets of the town I have always called "home", looking for new insights, new frames, new angles and new shapes. I … Continue reading A Walk Around Halifax
Set The Night On Fire
To mess, or not to mess, that is the question. Whichever one you choose, it shows the railway viaduct, part of the Bailey Hall factory of Mackintosh's, and a mill chimney (Clark Bridge Mills, perhaps) with a relatively bare Beacon Hill filling in the gaps between the blackened stone. It is Halifax, of course, and … Continue reading Set The Night On Fire
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