Kathleen Courtney

Kathleen Courtney was an Edwardian actress who starred in a variety of shows and pantomimes during the first decade of the twentieth century. If she had been alive now, she would have had a large Twitter and Facebook following, but given her time of popularity,  her photograph graced an endless series of Edwardian picture postcards.

A Brookfoot Triptych

After publishing one of my old vintage postcards of Brookfoot - which is little more than a bend in the river a mile or so west of Brighouse - on a Facebook local history site, I started a trawl through my collection to see if I had any more postcards featuring the same spot. I … Continue reading A Brookfoot Triptych

A Direct Line To Halifax

This is an old picture postcard featuring Crown Street in Halifax at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although it dates from an age of horse carriages and gas lights, it is a scene which will be familiar to all those who know the town. Most of the buildings featured in the view are still … Continue reading A Direct Line To Halifax

Park Pride

Old picture postcards provide us with a fine indication of what people saw as important about the area in which they lived or they were visiting. On some occasions they would reflect great industrial or commercial achievement: tall mills, railway viaducts that put mother nature in her place, or busy street scenes full of shops, … Continue reading Park Pride

Christmas Greetings To All

For my News From Nowhere Christmas Card this year, I have chosen a vintage postcard of a snow-covered Halifax Parish Church, which forms part of my Postcards From Homeseries. I am having some difficulty in pinning down the precise date of the photograph - the postcard had not been used, which removes one means of dating it - … Continue reading Christmas Greetings To All

Old Market, Halifax

This 1904 postcard shows a view that will still be familiar to any Halifax resident: the grand facade of the Old Market Arcade, looking towards Market Street and the Woolshops area.  The buildings at the bottom of Old Market have changed since this photograph was taken - and are changing again - but the gloroious … Continue reading Old Market, Halifax

Across North Bridge

A vintage postcard of North Bridge, in Halifax, back in the days when it was the main route out of town to the north. Back then, the buildings hugged the side of the road at both ends of the bridge, and it did not have to live under the concrete shadow of the Burdock Way … Continue reading Across North Bridge

Up The Hill To The Stafford Arms

This is a scene which will be all too familiar for Halifax residents of this present age. After the long slog up Salterhebble Hill, and the inevitable wait at the hospital traffic lights, drivers heading for Halifax can now speed past the restaurant that used to be the Stafford Arms Inn, with no tram lines … Continue reading Up The Hill To The Stafford Arms

Changing Times In Elland

In some ways the centre of Elland has changed little since this photograph was taken 100 years ago, whilst in other ways it has changed so very much. The Saville Arms is still open, and still dispensing beer, but the bank opposite has stopped dispensing cash and many of the shops stand empty. The clock … Continue reading Changing Times In Elland