There was a time when the mills were being abandoned and demolished, and new blocks of flats were built in their place. I must have taken this photograph 50 years ago at a time when Halifax was in transition. These days, the high-rise flats are being abandoned, and whatever mills remain are converted into housing. … Continue reading Mills And Flats
Category: Old Halifax
Friday The 13th
If you want something to take your mind off the fact that it is Friday the 13th, and if you are familiar with Halifax, you can try and work out when this picture was taken. You can make use of all the usual clues: the degree of forestation on Beacon Hill, the absence of cooling … Continue reading Friday The 13th
Solid (In A Liquid Sort Of Way)
The Hebble Brook is a funny old thing. It's not in your face, showy, or boastful; in fact, it prefers to keep itself hidden away as far as possible. It makes few demands: a concrete bridge here and there, the odd culvert or two. It just goes on doing its job, carrying water from up … Continue reading Solid (In A Liquid Sort Of Way)
Silo Tagging
This is unmistakably Brighouse: the giant Sugden Flour silos are as an effective geotag as any map reference. These two concrete monoliths appear almost timeless, but when I took this photo in 1970, one was just seven years old and the other only a few years older. Many of those buildings and chimneys have now … Continue reading Silo Tagging
Stone
Halifax does stone well. The railway viaduct could be part of a Roman amphitheatre, and the mill could be the business end of a Gothic cathedral. The wall could be an early stone version of Tetris, and the chimney part of a Gormley sculpture. And there, in the background, is the source of it all … Continue reading Stone
Memory
How many memories can you squeeze into a photograph? I crossed the road here each day on my way to junior school, and I caught the bus here each day on my way to secondary school. I bought bags of chips at the corner and comics across the road. I pumped petrol at the filling … Continue reading Memory
Old And New In Halifax
Better photographers than me have clicked a shutter up Old Lane in Halifax, although the great Bill Brandt was facing in the opposite direction. Had he turned round he would have got a nice composition in sooty stone, cast iron and gritstone rock. And if he had returned to Halifax in the 80s he would … Continue reading Old And New In Halifax
Industrial Heights
New housing developments in these parts have wonderfully aspirational names like Victoria Heights and Westminster View. Back in the old days street names were more descriptive than aspirational. Here's one of my photos of Brighouse from the early 1970s showing Industrial Street, which was next to Anvil Street, and not far from Oddfellows Street!
Halifax Escape
36/1001 : This is - or rather was - Halifax, but I'm not 100% sure where exactly. It was over 50 years ago that I took the photo, but I have a feeling it might have been Akroyd Place. I still have a fear of the area based on being made to go to Akroyd … Continue reading Halifax Escape
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