The illustrations on old picture postcards from the turn of the twentieth century usually have a specific focus - a prominent building, or a bridge, a park or local beauty spot. The title of this postcard is, however, "A General View Of Brighouse". and that is exactly what you get - mills, houses, chimneys and … Continue reading A General View Of Brighouse
Category: Vintage Postcards
Musk Park
Like many a northern industrial town, Keighley is dotted with public parks either presented to the towns by local businessmen during the age of Victorian philanthropy or purchased by public subscription by citizens anxious to enhance their surroundings. My picture comes from an early postcard and features Victoria Park and its mansion. Somehow I can't … Continue reading Musk Park
In Wilf’s Footsteps
"I am pleased to say we are getting on very well. We spent Friday night at Ipswich and last night here. Hope you are well. Kind regards, Wilfred" 119 years later, the message could nearly be the same. Kind regards, Alan
Market Memories
I must have been taken around Bradford's old Kirkgate Market when I was a small child, and I became reacquainted with it during lunchtime strolls around the city when I worked there in the late 1960s. It always appeared larger, darker, and more complex than the Halifax market I was familiar with. During the 1970s … Continue reading Market Memories
Political Contradictions
Wanting a suitable illustration for the 1st of May, I turned to my collection of political vintage postcard and find a fine portrait of Philip Snowden MP. Snowden was as full of contradictions as a chocolate teapot - converted to socialism after researching a speech he was due to make on the evils of socialism, … Continue reading Political Contradictions
Thornton Square, Brighouse
This picture of Thornton Square in Brighouse is from a vintage postcard published in the early 1920s. It had only been called Thornton Square for a few years when the postcard view was taken. It was named after Robert Thornton (1836-1918), who gifted the town a clock, a fire engine, and a place in the … Continue reading Thornton Square, Brighouse
Skipton High Street
Those who are familiar with Skipton today will instantly recognise this scene from a vintage postcard. The streets were perhaps a little wider then, the shops a little neater, and I wouldn't advise anyone to stand in the middle of the road these days. The postcard was sent to my great uncle, Fowler Beanland, from … Continue reading Skipton High Street
8th November 1905
This image of Doncaster's Corn Exchange is taken from a Vintage Postcard in my collection. The only thing written on the card is a single date - November 8th 1905. That was the day Alfred Buchi was granted a patent for his invention of a turbocharger, the day London was beset by a thick fog, … Continue reading 8th November 1905
Off Travelling
We're off on our travels for a few days, so a change of scenery from those old, run-down northern industrial views you have come to expect from me. Yes, that's right: Newcastle, here we come.
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