Regenerative Pastures

Enough of all this modern stuff, with seagulls screaming and tall ships leaving. It's back home and back in time, back forty or more years, back to a Halifax in transition. Carpets had gone but commerce hadn't arrived, the chimneys were smokeless, but the trees hadn't grown. Ponies grazed on regenerative pastures.

Copy Right

This is a photograph from at least sixty years ago, taken outside the Withens Hotel in Wainstalls, Halifax. The building is no longer a pub; it was converted into a private residence shortly after being gutted by fire in 2001. I have a feeling that I am one of the hooded figures in the picture … Continue reading Copy Right

All Change At Brighouse

As I drive into Brighouse later today and glance down at the River Calder from Bradford Road Bridge, I will be checking the river levels rather than the aesthetics of the view. Perhaps, however, I should take a moment to compare the current scene with this photo I took almost 60 years ago. The river … Continue reading All Change At Brighouse

Melange Messing

Melange Printing is defined as the printing of textile fibres with bands of colour alternating with unprinted areas. This is one of my old photographs taken from North Bridge in Halifax, which shows Fletchers' mill. Fletchers were specialists in melange printing. I have messed with the photo so that we have a melange print of … Continue reading Melange Messing

Industrial Superglue

I've always admired the way that builders of mills and factories in these parts were never put off by an inconvenient hill. Industrial workplaces were often almost superglued to the sides of valleys - like Crawford-Swifts on Claremount Road, Halifax in this photo of mine from 35 years ago. Commercial premises of the modern era … Continue reading Industrial Superglue

A Photographic Sports Jacket

Someone asked me the other day whether I had any photos of the Daily Tailors shop in Halifax - and going through my archives, I discovered I had one - or at least half of one (think of it as a photographic sports jacket rather than a suit). The photo must be one of my … Continue reading A Photographic Sports Jacket

Waiting For Change

Halifax as it was sixty years ago. If you compare and contrast it with Halifax as it is today, you will find that most of the structures are still in place - but the shops have changed, the signs have changed, the cars have changed, and you can no longer wait for 30 minutes. The … Continue reading Waiting For Change

If It Wasn’t For The Trees In-Between

Back in the 1950s, there was a school geography textbook which, in the section on urban geography, had a picture of Halifax, and pupils were encouraged to count the number of mill chimneys. My photo was taken a decade later, but you could still make a decent counting exercise out of it. These days you … Continue reading If It Wasn’t For The Trees In-Between

Cauldron Lip

If you follow Howes Lane from Northowram to the point when it overlooks the Shibden Valley, you can get wonderful views across that valley towards Halifax. The industry, the heat, the life, and the movement of the town seem to spill over into the quiet valley. I have photographed this cauldron lip many times over … Continue reading Cauldron Lip