A Visual Extravaganza in Keighley Local Studies Library

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

On Saturday 13^th July, Keighley Local Studies Library hosted members of the Keighley & District Local History Society in a full morning session examining the extensive photograph collection and the many other family and borough collections of records that include photographs and all kinds of images that reflect the development of the town and its community. The session started with an illustrated talk and presentation led by Angela Speight, assisted by Gina Birdsall.

Angela then answered some of the members’ questions about the Local Studies Library. Next was a chance to look around the many displays of records put out in the library. Staff even did some non-photographic research too.

Keighley’s collection was started over a hundred years ago with the deposit of around 150 images of the changing town of Keighley, produced as a survey by the Keighley & District Photography Association. This survey produced by Keighley photographers is now recognised by academic researchers into local history photography as one of the finest and unique for its forward- looking approach and its focus on the town’s development rather than nostalgic scenes, (please see earlier blog on this site by Professor Elizabeth Edwards).

Following that donation, members of the Association continued to donate photographs and were supported in this by library staff such as Reference Librarians Dr Ian Dewhirst MBE and Stewart Cardwell, himself a member of the Association. Both Ian and Stewart published books to showcase the collection and to promote interest in the medium of photography as a vibrant source of social history. Ian went on to write a weekly column in the Keighley News called “Down Memory Lane”, that was always illustrated with a photograph or an image of some kind. Over the years, many local people have continued to donate photographs and family collections, even including family albums.

The archive also holds a range of local business collections that show product illustrations and photographs of shop floors, staff at work, on works’ trips and celebrating national events such as Coronations. Our school archives have recently been boosted by the gift of the Schools’ Heritage Group collection and Janet Mawson is currently putting together a display based on the largest collection of images donated for a Keighley school, Highfield School. Janet is also working on a first for the library service, a heritage school reunion on 24^th August, to mark the receipt of the archive, also as part of the Keighley Library’s commemorative events for the library’s 120^th anniversary and as a fitting tribute to one of Keighley Library’s biggest fans, the recently late David Kirkley who was a founder member of the Schools’ Heritage Group.

The Library’s biggest and oldest collection that Angela Speight has been cataloguing is BK 36 that includes thousands of photographs and postcards including an incredible collection that staff believe was from a local photography business in the town as it has pages of numbered photographs with a corresponding numeric index.

We also learned something new about one of our collections, a set of double shot photographs mounted on card were identified by the Local History Society as a set of early Stereoscopic cards that show many Keighley scenes from the 1890s. The cards would be placed in a stereoscope so creating a 3D image of the scene, bringing it to life for the viewer and was a popular form of entertainment in the Victorian era.

Members of the Keighley & District Local History Society seemed to really enjoy the morning and staff even heard the words “excellent” and “brilliant”, and what more could you want from fellow local historians. A big thank you to all who attended and to Tim Neal for helping to organise the visit.

Keighley Local Studies Team

Bradford History Lunchtime Lectures – The Night Soil Men

July 5, 2024Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

Bradford Local Studies Library with Friends of Bradford Local Studies & Archives

‘The Night-Soil Men’

Launch of the new book by Bill Broady

Thursday 11^th July

Doors open at 1pm for a 1.15pm start.

“Set between 1893 and 1937, ‘The Night-Soil Men’ begins with a birth—of the Independent Labour Party– and ends with a death and a strange ceremony high on Ickornshaw Moor. Its main characters are Bradford MP Fred Jowett, Philip Snowden(the first Labour chancellor) and the eternally enigmatic and scandalous Victor Grayson. Long in its research and its writing, the book is wildly ambitious in its scope, with its concerns extending far beyond the political world…” The event will feature readings from the book by local author Bill Broady.

This is a free event, but booking is essential

For more information or to book a place please telephone or email Bradford Local Studies Library, Telephone 01274 433688, Email local.studies@bradford.gov.uk.

Bradford Local Studies Library, Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, BD1 1NN.

New Town Heritage Trail for Keighley

June 12, 2024Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

On Saturday 1st June, staff at Keighley Local Studies Library launched another in their series of Keighley Heritage Town Trails, this time: Pubs and Breweries’ History Trail of Keighley using the Keighley Local Studies’ Archives, price £2.50, limited publication only.

The trail consists of a walk around our town to look at 10 of the oldest pubs and how their histories, as with many old buildings, also help to tell the unfolding story of this unique place and of some of their associated characters, some of whom would contribute directly to Keighley’s development and achievements. In Keighley’s case there is the publican who founded Keighley’s Free grammar school in 1713 and so helped to launch the careers of some very high achievers from the subsequent Keighley Boys’ Grammar School, including two historians who changed the course of history writing: Sir Herbert Butterfield (who highlighted a Whig interpretation of history) and Lord Asa Briggs (champion of urban and social history, higher education, the Open University and code breaker at Bletchley Park).

Staff were helped in the writing and production of the trail by our local specialist in pub history, Eddie Kelly. He gave generously of his time and in-depth research of Keighley’s history over many years. The Library already holds a couple of Eddie’s studies in the library that are very popular with researchers, and he also produced his own history for the occasion: Some Lost Pubs of Keighley, From Church Green to the Pinfold that was published for sale for £7.50, limited publication only, all proceeds to the Library service.

A large display accompanied the launch including records from Keighley Local Studies’ substantial archive such as photographs, business archives and local estate agent’s Weatherhead collection of sale plans. Town plans and trade directories were also on exhibited and a source that proved very useful: Keighley Year Books and Almanacks because in their descriptions of local societies, they include how many met and even held competitions in hotels and pubs, like the Gooseberry Growers’ Association that held their annual meetings and prize giving at the Wellington Inn in Hanover in the 1870s. As always, news cuttings were an important addition as well as local histories of pubs, hotels and inns, business guides and books on how to trace your publican ancestry. Some of the buildings that were researched have fine historic architectural features and consequently are listed by English Heritage, these descriptions were also made available such as for one of the oldest, Taylor’s on the Green, formerly more locally known as The Lord Rodney.

Attendees were also fortunate to see a large sample from a very fine collection of beer mats by no other than ex Keighley Reference Librarian and local historian, Dr Ian Dewhirst MBE that attracted a lot of attention and brought back many memories of changing fads and fashions in drinking in Yorkshire pubs over the last 50 years or so.

The turn-out was satisfyingly about right for an unusually dry, warm and sunny Saturday and copies of both trails were sold and some since. The basic display is up for another week or so but due to the limited publication of both, it has been decided to publish some sections of the Keighley Local Studies’ trail online each week on this blog. We hope that you will enjoy them.

Keighley Local Studies Team

History of Pubs and Breweries of Keighley

May 31, 2024Bradford Libraries 1 Comment

Keighley Local Studies Library
Saturday 1st June
2.30pm -4.30pm

Well-known Local historian Eddie Kelly will discuss some of Keighley’s lost pubs, and there will be an opportunity for visitors to examine Archives including maps, plans and photos, of old hostelries in the town.

The study of Keighley’s pubs, some of Keighley’s oldest buildings, in turn reveals the progress and development of the town’s history and growth.

For example, how a pub landlord set a train of developments that directly led to the education of two of England’s greatest historians, both locally born and educated, Lord Asa Briggs and Sir Herbert Butterfield
Find out which pub the Brontes stayed in, and which was the scene of a Christmas murder.

This is a free event. No need to book.

For more information, please telephone or email Keighley Local Studies Library, Telephone 01535 618215, Email keighleylocalstudies@bradford.gov.uk
Keighley Local Studies Library, 1st floor, Keighley Library, North Street, Keighley, BD21 3SX.

Bradford History Lunchtime Lectures: Stained Glass – An Illustrated Talk by Derek Barker

May 21, 2024Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

Thursday 23^rd May

Doors open at 1pm for a 1.15pm start. Free entry to all events. Booking essential.

For more information or to book a place please telephone or email Bradford Local Studies Library, Telephone 01274 433688, Email local.studies@bradford.gov.uk.

Bradford Local Studies Library, Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, BD1 1NN.

Stained and painted glass has embellished places of worship since Anglo-Saxon times, but huge numbers of medieval glass windows were destroyed at the Reformation and during the English Civil War. The vigorous Victorian industry revived the practices and designs of medieval glass making to create a magnificent heritage of sacred and secular glass, with William Morris & Co. being only one of a group of gifted glass artists. Locally important glass can be seen at the Cathedral and many local parish churches such as Ilkley, Skipton and Haworth. Bradford Museums & Galleries deserve great praise for their curation and display of glass at Bolling Hall and Cliffe Castle, Keighley.