Category: Old Halifax

Parade Through History

I was asked for more photographs of Northowram, so I dipped back into my archives of dusty old negatives and found this picture of a parade passing down Lydgate in Northowram in the late 1960s. It looks like the crowning of the Village Gala Queen, or some such event, and I suspect I took the … Continue reading Parade Through History

Making The Best

Not all photographs are good photographs. These days we get instant results from our digital cameras and smartphones, and those that are out of focus, under-exposed or decapitating the heads of relatives, can be instantly deleted. Back in the Film Age, however, the seasons could change between the shutter clicking and the prints arriving. This … Continue reading Making The Best

The Rise And Fall Of The Crown

I had an email last week from someone who is writing a history of the Crown Brewery in Northowram, asking permission to use some of my photos of the building from 45 years ago. I was more than happy to grant permission as this was a building that I grew up with, living, as I … Continue reading The Rise And Fall Of The Crown

The Architectural Timeline

This is a photograph of Halifax I took forty or fifty years ago - but I'm not sure which! There are people out there who can interpret the architectural timeline. The Burdock Way flyover had been constructed but the Gas Works and the North Bridge railway sidings were still in place. My guess is around … Continue reading The Architectural Timeline

Place Replaced By Plaza

I took this photograph 35 or more years ago. At the time, Akroyd Place ended in the car park that was such a central feature of the Halifax of my youth. Next to it was the building that had been the Halifax Bowl, but by the time I took this photo it had been converted … Continue reading Place Replaced By Plaza

Smudgy Images Of Halifax

Vintage Postcard : Victoria Hall, Halifax This rather unassuming little picture postcard dates from the first decade of the twentieth century, and shows a view of the, then, newly built Victoria Hall in Halifax. The strange arrangement of the image on the body of the card - leaving a blank space on the right - … Continue reading Smudgy Images Of Halifax

Extravagant Colour

This is the view of Dean Clough from North Bridge about fifty years ago. It’s in black and white because colour film was something you used for your holiday snaps or your Cousin Dave’s wedding pictures. It’s in black and white and grey because other colours would have been an extravagance.

Blackley : Smoke And Chapel

This is a photograph of mine from the early 1970s. For a long time I wasn't sure where it was and I was going to categorise it as yet another of those "somewhere in West Yorkshire" shots. And then I recognised it : that is Blackley Baptist Church and the chimney is that of Wilkinson's … Continue reading Blackley : Smoke And Chapel