The Day Of The Parade

We all have different ways of occupying ourselves during the Great Lockdown; things we can do that will take our minds off the challenges and dangers that lurk outside the confines of our own houses. As will be obvious to anyone who visits these pages on a regular basis, my own particular approach is to … Continue reading The Day Of The Parade

Bottled Beer And Serial Bankruptcies

The last photo from this strip of six negatives focuses on something which was just visible in the previous image: the monumental end wall of the Old Lane Inn. There must be collective memories out there about this Halifax pub, but the written record is limited to the sad listing of the bankruptcies and liquidations … Continue reading Bottled Beer And Serial Bankruptcies

Between Smoke And Soot

Old Lane And Dean Clough, Halifax (c1970) There was a greyness about Halifax back in those days: fifty or more shades between smoke and soot. But it was honest, hard-worked muck - nowt to be ashamed of.

Up The Junction

Superimposed on our familiar landscapes are echoes of the past; Victorian ley lines that were the superhighways of their time. I took this photo of Holmfield Station in Halifax 50 years ago: it was forgotten then, it's lost now. Holmfield railway station was opened by the Great Northern Railway in 1878. For a short while … Continue reading Up The Junction

Bobbin Ligging

Smith Bulmer's Mill in Holmfield, Halifax, pictured in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I had a holiday job there once, as - what used to be known as - a "bobbin ligger": sorting out a mountain of old bobbins into pointless piles.

Counting The Chimneys

Even more proof that life existed in Halifax before Burdock Way. This photo has a slightly wider field of view than yesterdays. If you are stuck inside during Lockdown with nothing to do, you can always count the chimneys!

Life Before Burdock

Photographic proof - if ever proof was needed - that there was life in Halifax before the Burdock Way. I must have taken this photograph sometime around 1970: after much of the demolition of New Bank, but before the overpass was started.

A Bit Of A Mystery

As I trawl my way through my old photographs, many of which were taken more than fifty years ago, I recognise many immediately and can even remember the walk I was on when I took them. Others, however, remain a mystery, and today's photographs are a perfect example of this. It is clearly an old … Continue reading A Bit Of A Mystery

A Direct Line To Halifax

This is an old picture postcard featuring Crown Street in Halifax at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although it dates from an age of horse carriages and gas lights, it is a scene which will be familiar to all those who know the town. Most of the buildings featured in the view are still … Continue reading A Direct Line To Halifax