Those of us who spend our lives looking at pictures of old Halifax have a range of potential dating pointers: Is Square Church still a church, or just a spire? Is the Queensbury railway line still in place? are there trees on Beacon Hill? I think this photograph of mine was taken in the 1960s, … Continue reading View From St Thomas’s
Tag: Halifax
Frightening
Artificial intelligence took one of my photographs of North Bridge and Burdock Way in Halifax and did this with it. It's frightening. The problem is, it's frighteningly good.
Green Change
Whenever I revisit one of my old photographs, I can never resist the temptation to seek out a modern view of the same scene to see what has changed. With this view of the junction between Northowram Green and Land's Head Lane, I assumed it would be much the same, but I was surprised by … Continue reading Green Change
Green Clough
I took this photograph of Dean Clough in Halifax back in 2017. The profusion of green vegetation provides a date stamp: fifty years earlier, the buildings would have been the same, but the occasional sooty dandelion would have been the only plant life to survive. To be honest, nine years later and the scene will … Continue reading Green Clough
The Slow Train
At one time, railway lines criss-crossed West Yorkshire like the warp and weft of the very fabrics the area was famous for. Holmfield Junction Station stood at the junction of the line from Halifax to Bradford via Queensbury and the splendidly named Halifax High Level Railway. None of these lines survive, and when I took … Continue reading The Slow Train
Stone Passion
Forget Fifty Shades of Grey: let the sun shine in Yorkshire and you get something much better - fifty shades of stone. Those shades don’t come from some manufactured dye (see the brick wall top left and demolish immediately), but from aeons of sedimentary activity, with the occasional added spice of igneous movement. Stone passion.
Dark Satanic Mill
As time goes by and memories fade, there is a tendency to romanticise life in the mills of West Yorkshire (and I'm probably as guilty as the next old fool when it comes to this). When they were turning out cloth - or yarn or carpets - by the mile and black smoke was belching … Continue reading Dark Satanic Mill
The Build Up
To be honest, I don't remember taking this photograph, but it remains one of my favourite shots of my hometown. Surrounded by hills, Halifax has always built upward: stone needles of mill chimneys, ornate church spires, and concrete-clad boxes of apartments. Scenes like this were made for black and white - colour had no place … Continue reading The Build Up
I Was Nearly Kilt Last Night
"We got away for a few days. The weather is lovely. I was nearly kilt last night climbing hills. This is just at the top where we live". A brief explanation of the message on this old postcard may be necessary. The word "kilt" is a northern expression meaning "killed". The hill in question is Salterhebble … Continue reading I Was Nearly Kilt Last Night
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