The Crown Brewery once stood on Bradford Road in the village of Northowram, just north of Halifax. It was built in the 1870s as a brewery by John Eastwood, a local farmer who had turned his hand to brewing a few years earlier. The brewery closed in 1900, and the building was finally demolished in … Continue reading The Crown
Category: Scanned Negatives
The Cocoa Sheds Of Elland
When I took this photograph fifty years ago, this was all that was left of the premises of the Velcot Coco Company of Elland. They advertised their product as "Invaluable for infants, invalids and the aged" and said it "agrees with the weakest stomach and makes blood, bone and muscle". Oh, what I'd give for … Continue reading The Cocoa Sheds Of Elland
Strangely Satisfying Shapes
The starting point of this image was a photograph I took in Brighouse Canal Basin thirty years ago. The shapes seemed more important than the details, so I messed with it a bit. The result is, I think, strangely satisfying.
Faith On Rhodes Street
It's a funny thing, faith. It asks you to park reason up a side street and wander the streets looking for meaning. Maybe there is meaning, but there again, maybe there is just an infinite greyscale of uncertainty. Or maybe there is just an old photo of Cross Rhodes Street in Halifax.
Priceless
I've spent a fair amount of my life taking photographs, and whenever I am tempted to question whether I would have been better off doing something else, I look at photographs like this one. It's far from being a great photograph; it's badly cropped and full of distracting shadows. But it's my father, and it's … Continue reading Priceless
Inconsequential Shed
Given enough time, even the most inconsequential images acquire value from a social and historical perspective. Walking under Halifax's North Bridge over half a century ago, I was taken by the hanging measuring bar on the old railway sheds. Within a couple of years, the building, the lines, and the hanging bar were but memories, … Continue reading Inconsequential Shed
Trident And TV
The industrial north has always excelled when it comes to contrasts: dark and light, green and grey, smoky chimneys and graceful statues. This photograph of mine is from the 1970s and shows the back of the Britannia Building, which stands at one end of Elland Bridge. Britannia sits aloft, holding a trident and a TV … Continue reading Trident And TV
Some Thoughts On Pubs
Looking back at my life, I must say that there have not been all that many times when I have been happier than when I was sitting in a pub. It isn't easy to analyse the attraction: it's not necessarily the drink - I'm quite happy to let a single pint share my evening with … Continue reading Some Thoughts On Pubs
Street In Brighouse
I've always called this photograph "Street In Brighouse" because I have never been quite sure which street it was. I'm pretty certain it was Brighouse - the rest of the photographs on the same strip of negatives were certainly in and around Brighouse. As I travel through the town, even to this day, I try … Continue reading Street In Brighouse
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