I took this photograph of the lower Calder Valley near Elland back in the early 1980s. There is no scientific reason why digital photographs should turn sepia with age, and such a transformation is normally due to some semi-smart Photoshop filter. I have not, however, knowingly used such a filter on this image; perhaps the … Continue reading Sepia Elland
Tag: Elland
Memories Of Elland
Memories aren't sharp; they blur into shapes and condense into moods. Memories aren't perfect; they're cut and they're edited like some Panorama report. This was Elland fifty years ago, and it seems green and pleasant. It wasn't. It's a memory.
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
A Bit Of A Back Street Mystery
I've called this "Back Street In Elland", but I'm not sure it is. The next couple of shots on the negative strip are of Elland, and I certainly took a lot of photos in the town in the 1970s. However, I can't pin down the location and I have wandered around both physically and via … Continue reading A Bit Of A Back Street Mystery
Glory, Side-On
I walked past Bethesda Church in Elland the other day. I must have passed it by a thousand times before without pausing to look and appreciate its fine features. Designed by William Hill of Leeds - the architect of some beautiful town halls including those in Bolton, Yeadon and Portsmouth - and built in 1879-80, … Continue reading Glory, Side-On
Truncated In Elland
As Saddleworth Road runs into the town of Elland, there is a strange outcrop of trees sprouting out of the tops of truncated mill chimneys. This phenomenon is unique to this area and biologists travel from around the world to witness it. My 1980s photo captures it at an early stage of development, but I … Continue reading Truncated In Elland
Background Fit
This is not one of my photos: I suspect it was taken by my wife's uncle. It is a view over Elland from Dewsbury Road as it makes its way up Upper Edge. It must date from the 1960s or early 70s, the period before the construction of Elland by-pass which, today, cuts across this … Continue reading Background Fit
Gog Hill
Gog Hill used to be an important thoroughfare in Elland, cobble-climbing from Elland Bridge up the steep hillside to the top of the town. It was lined by houses that clung to the hillside with stoney determination. For many years it has been abandoned by everything but empty lager cans and cheap thrills. The signs … Continue reading Gog Hill
Snakes And Branches
This view of Elland is taken from an old picture postcard, published more than 120 years ago. Of course, Elland has changed; most of those mill chimneys have gone, and blocks of flats stand where back-to-back houses once clung to the hillside. The river remains, and those roads that either snake along the valley bottom … Continue reading Snakes And Branches
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