Bradford History Afternoon Lectures Bradford Local Studies Library
‘Is your house called Windyridge? Willie Riley (1866-1961), famous Bradford author’ an illustrated talk by David Copeland Thursday 27th November, 2.15pm
“W. (Willie) Riley, 1866-1961, was a Bradford businessman and later in life a best-selling author, mainly of novels, most being set in his beloved Yorkshire. The talk will tell the story of the remarkable life of Willie Riley, and about his books. In this Year of Bradford, City of Culture, it is good to remember one of Bradford’s illustrious and remarkable men of culture.”
These talks are given by members and supporters of FoBALS (Friends of Bradford Archives & Local Studies) with Bradford Local Studies Library and West Yorkshire Archives Bradford. Doors open at 2pm for a 2:15pm start.
The History Society recently held the third of its Local Studies Library Archive sessions at the library in Keighley. We’ve been organising these sessions because we know that between our 70+ members, we have some people working on individual projects who use these sessions as a spur to progress them further, and because we know that some members won’t be fully aware what a terrific resource the Local Studies Library is with its comprehensive collection of documents, maps, directories, photographs, plans and so on.
This time a couple of committee members thought it would be helpful to focus on how to research the history of particular properties (most usually the one people now live in). I personally had attended an open-session on this very topic at the library a couple of years ago, so I knew how beneficial it would be, plus I’d moved house in the meantime and had a new property I wanted to find out more about! Properties of interest to other members included a former vicarage, a converted barn, a farmhouse, a manor house, a nursery and numerous other properties dating from the seventeenth to early twentieth centuries.
The session started with Angela and Gina giving a presentation on the various collections and resources available within the library. These included the more obvious (you might think) local maps, and building plans, and expanded to census records and electoral records which would help you discover who was in your property before you. But then they talked about resources like court records from the 17th century, taxation records and rate books, and a whole host of other avenues to take your research down.
After the presentation, Angela, Gina and Janet were on hand to take our members through the various examples of records they had brought out, and that covered virtually every available surface in the upstairs library. They had also prepared a number of packs for individuals with details for some of the properties people were interested in. This included, for myself, a plan of a property linked with my own, that I am now keen to share with my neighbours who occupy said property.
Over twenty members of the History Society came along to the session (including one member who actually came to donate a plan of her previous home to the library). The morning was extremely well-received by our members. But I’ll let them say that in their own words…
“I found Saturday’s Archive session most helpful and enjoyable. The librarian ladies had gone to great lengths to help us further our study of the property we are researching which I greatly appreciate and wish to thank them again for the print outs of various documents and maps. Without their expertise and great knowledge of our Library’s resources I would have been overwhelmed.” – Eveline Rhodes
“I really enjoyed the session at the Library on Saturday. The preparation and presentation of archive materials was as always extensive. The members of the Team were knowledgeable and informative, offering links to people at various stages of their genealogical journey in addition to those seeking information about houses and buildings of interest, the two of course being closely intertwined. The Team are enthusiastic and readily accessed individual historical materials when requested. Keep up the good work.” – Eileen Whitley
“The Library Ladies, Angela, Gina and Janet, presented an impressively comprehensive array of information sources for us to consider. They had also prepared an individual pack of ‘site-specific’ information plus maps, to identify the age of my particular dwelling. This was immensely helpful and I am grateful for their time and focussed effort.” – Graham Mitchell
“I found the library session very useful and the staff gave a good presentation on what resources were available – and where to find them in the library. A few good tips too on which resource to use and when. I had not realised there were so many useful sources of information other than old OS maps and I can see myself calling in quite often now to try and dig out bits of history relating to a couple of projects I am working on; some listed buildings in Cross Roads and the history behind bridges in the Worth Valley and Keighley.” – Roger Grimes
“The library team are very knowledgeable and organised. Always helpful and will help with ideas on how to move forward. The archives themselves are well kept and organised and on Saturday they pulled together a lot of useful books and documents. Their handout is a very helpful and informative document. The session was really useful and it has inspired me to get back into my research on our house and local hamlet.” – Sally Morgan
“Following an interest in when my barn in Ingrow was built and its history, I attended the recent Property History Research lecture at the Local Studies library. I was amazed and excited by the range and depth of the physical records held in the library. This demonstrates to me how vital the Local Studies library is in curating and preserving the history of our town.” – John Rodger
We are all looking forward to future archive sessions in 2026.
The Men of Worth Project have been busy creating a Remembrance Trail in Oakworth and the launch event will be at Oakworth Community Hall on the 30th of October. About 100 A3 boards will be installed by volunteers on lampposts around Oakworth on 28th October 2025 and they will be on display until the end of November.
The boards will be positioned near to the former homes of each man. People who read their brief stories on the boards can visit The Men of Worth Project website and/or use their phones to scan a QR Code on each board to go to the website to read their whole stories. We hope it will give people a sense of where these brave soldiers lived, before going off to war, never to return.
Andy Wade, project director states:
“One hundred A3 boards will be seen on lamp posts around Oakworth from the end of October until the end of November. People who read their brief stories on the boards can use their phones to scan the QR Code on each board to go to the Men of Worth Project website where they can read their whole stories. We hope it will give people a sense of where these brave soldiers lived their lives before going off to war, never to return.”
Keighley Mayor, Councilor Chris Herd, responeded: “Keighley Town Council is proud to support the Oakworth Remembrance Trail, ensuring the bravery and sacrifice of our local service people are remembered where they lived. This project, in partnership with Men of Worth and the Army Cadets, honours their legacy and brings our community together in respect and remembrance.”
For More information on the Men of Worth Project please see the website Men Of Worth
Buildings, bridges and beehives! The theme for this year’s Heritage Open Day is architecture and all about exploring how we’ve designed and built the world around us.
This year as part of Heritage Open Days Tim Neal of Keighley & District History Society will be giving a talk about Keighley Now & Then, looking a how the town has changed through his collection of Lillywhite Postcards. The talk is free as part of Heritage Open Days and is on Saturday 20th September 2.00-3.00pm, upstairs in the Local Studies Library,
Here are just a few of the postcards and photos that will be used in the talk.
Cavendish Street Keighley, now and then. Cliffe Castle Gateway Skipton Rd.Town Hall Square Keighley.
Elevation of Mansion House 1878
Sections of Mansion House 1878
Floor Plans of Mansion House 1878
We will also have on display some of our collection of Building Plans showing Prominent Keighley buildings which are part of our Archive Collection.
This is a heartwarming autobiography from former professional Keighley Rugby League player, David “Pete” Adamson, now living in Texas, but still following “the passing game”, that has been such an influence on his Keighley youth, career in the armed forces and as a trainer in his retirement years.
Both David’s parents were from Keighley and though he was born in Wath-on-Dearne in 1942, he returned to Keighley with his mother after the early death of his father. His mother, Mary, was one of ten children and had taken work in the local Keighley mill from the age of 11, crawling under the machinery to pick up bobbins that had fallen on the floor. On returning to Keighley, she returned to the textile trade with a job at Knowle Mill (formerly Heaton Mill) to support herself and her son.
David’s father, Sidney, had played rugby in Keighley and his influence led to David’s lifelong passion for the game. This is a story of hard times and good and how the game supported him and brought joy into his life, even during his army service abroad. David writes about his times as a player for Keighley Albion Amateur Rugby League Club and his professional play for Keighley RLFC.
The book is dedicated to his lovely wife, Miriam, who, when they recently lived over here in Haworth for a while, volunteered in Keighley Local Studies Library. Miriam even joined us recording her research into stagecoach travel from Keighley in the 19th century, it’s still available, check it out on this website:
Thanks once again Miriam and David for the generous donation of books to Keighley Library.
The Courage of his Convictions: The Life and Work of George Demaine by Colin Neville (ISBN: 978-1-0682899-0-3)
This fully illustrated book is number eleven in the Not Just Hockney series of books on the work of past artists in the Bradford district. The full list of titles can be found on the Home page of the website at www.notjusthockney.info Keighley Local Studies Library presently has 2 copies available for loan, more to follow soon.
George Frederick Demaine was a committed Methodist, husband and father; a talented painter, sculptor, model-maker, film set designer. He received his initial training at the Keighley School of Art at the Mechanics’ Institute. As a Conscientious Objector during World War One, he was imprisoned.
Colin Neville goes on to say,
“For those men that enlisted or were conscripted into the armed services, their courage came, not so much in their enlistment or acceptance of conscription into the services, but how they responded later. Their courage came from standing alongside their comrades once the real bloody horror of this war was exposed to them. Millions paid the ultimate price for this.
For George Demaine, the nature of his courage was to stand firm to his principals; principals that shunned participation – in any way, shape or form – that served this particular and pointless war. This was a courage in the face of open, bitter and sustained hostility from all sides.
But unlike the Fallen of the Great War, George lived. He lived to become a creative member of society in general, and in particular during World War Two, when he used his artistic talents to save lives and property from enemy bombing. Commitment, courage and talent of the type displayed by George Demaine always deserves recognition and its place in history.”
As usual, for Not Just Hockney publications, the book is beautifully illustrated, this time with kind permission from John Demaine, grandson of George Frederick Demaine.
Bradford and District Local Studies 