Halifax From Beacon Hill

Much of my early life seems to be in this old picture postcard. My father worked at the factory on the left; for a time I worked in the mill on the right. My school is on the horizon, my youth on the soot-coated streets around the market.

Regeneration

I took this photograph of Shaw Lodge Mills in Halifax in the early 1980s. Then it was dark and rather satanic, now it seems to have a new lease of life with shops, galleries and offices. It's nice to see regeneration at work.

Halifax As I Almost Remember It

Postcards From Home : Southgate and Town Hall, Halifax Mock-marble Burtons; the line of Armstrong Siddeleys outside the White Swan; polished pianos in Pohlmann's window: Halifax as I almost remember it if I let my imaginations stretch back far enough.

Cold And Shabby

I must have taken this photograph of Halifax Piece Hall in the late 1970s: a period when the building was host to a rather shabby market and a flock of cold, empty, stone rooms.

Getting Lyrical About The Old Bridge

We had a meal out at the Old Bridge Inn, Ripponden last night. Lovely pub, glorious food and drink, and special friends. I could have got lyrical about it, but then I realised I did 9 years ago. Here's what I wrote then:- Imagine the scene. You are walking through a West Yorkshire village. The … Continue reading Getting Lyrical About The Old Bridge

Halifax Town Hall – Saved By The Banks!

This old picture postcard was never used and therefore we don't have a postmark to help us date it. It was published by a Halifax firm - Ryley's of 27, Southgate - but I have been unable to trace when they were active in business. The photograph appears to have been taken at eight in … Continue reading Halifax Town Hall – Saved By The Banks!

Where There’s Muck There’s Culture

Holdsworth's Wool Merchants, Mulcture Hall Road, Halifax (Alan Burnett, 1970) This is a scan of a negative of mine from 1970 featuring a Wool Merchant's warehouse in Halifax. The building is on the corner of the delightfully named Mulcture Hall Road. I always think that the word Mulcture sounds like a West Yorkshire mixture of … Continue reading Where There’s Muck There’s Culture

A Prospect Of Halifax

Halifax From Prospect Street (c1970) Alan Burnett You could base a whole town planning conference around this photograph, or keep a classroom of kids occupied for a month. What colour is the Town Hall? How many mill chimneys are there? Why the large-scale demolitions? I must have taken the photograph in about 1970, just as … Continue reading A Prospect Of Halifax

Random News : Hope For The Sick In Bradford

Bradford Daily Telegraph : 22 February 1906 Our random number generated time machine may be a little shaky this week because it is suffering from a dose of electro-vibration. We are back in 1906 and attending the Medical-Electro Vibration Institute in Manningham, Bradford, and they are about to cure us of all our aches, pains … Continue reading Random News : Hope For The Sick In Bradford