A talk by Alan Pearson, Thursday September 27th 2026. 11:30-12:30 at Bradford Local Studies Library, Margaret McMillan Tower.
“Starting here on Steeton Moor, on the edge of a sea of ice that stretched all the way to the North Pole, we are going to follow a string of lakes and the overflow channels that connected them. At the end of the Ice Age, huge volumes of meltwater cascaded across the hills high above the Aire Valley. This river ran for 50 kilometres alongside the ice and passed through places in Bradford where I grew up. Over the last five years I have walked along all these ancient riverbeds and recorded in photographs the retreat of the glacier, detailing each new channel as the ice melted back. Join me for a walk in a barren, frozen landscape when a glacier filled the Aire Valley.”
Booking is essential – contact Bradford Local Studies at local.studies@bradford.gov.uk or tel. 01274 433688 to reserve a place.
It was with great sadness that Keighley Library staff heard of the death of Steven Wood early Monday morning, 13th July.
Steve, as he was known to us, was a great friend of the library and of its staff. As a well-known local historian and authority on the history of the Haworth area, he often visited the library for research purposes. He gave freely of his time and expertise when we had any particularly challenging enquiries and helped not only staff but many other researchers and even appeared on television programmes about the Brontës in Haworth.
Steven Wood with his 2014 book, Haworth, Oxenhope & Stanbury From Old Maps. (image from the Keighley News)
Only recently, Steve helped library staff in the production of the Brontë trail booklet around Keighley, when we tried to work out the different routes the Brontës walked from Haworth to Keighley. Some staff can also fondly recall a legendary winter ramble with him years ago and being thoroughly informed by him about the history and topography of the Haworth area, including water courses, so that by the end of the walk, it wasn’t just a drink that we hurried to the pub for on such a cold day.
Steve became a regular library volunteer, his work digitising the library’s archive collections on the Haworth area are of immense value. Always happy to share his research with us, his copies of databases, images and information were regularly deposited with the library as he kept abreast of developing digital technology from hard copy transcriptions of Haworth Parish registers to image indexes and maps and plans on CD.
Steve’s published works continue to be an invaluable source of information on Haworth and its locality and it’s a relief to note that he managed to complete his history of Haworth Parish Church that was a project he had set his heart on and his scholarship as an historian will be well showcased on publication. We look forward to adding this history to our library and to his collection of many other fine works here.
We shall miss our friend and chats with him about his other passion – books and book fairs that he used to visit. Steve was a regular bibliophile and knew such a lot on this subject that, again, he was happy to share with us. On a lighter note, he had a lovely sense of humour and would send us the occasional funny cartoon about having too many books in the house (like one or two staff here) and about libraries generally. At Christmas, he would shop for chocolate goodies and never fail to bring some in for a tea break. Steve was a lovely and very accomplished gentleman, generous with his time and knowledge, and we shall continue to miss him very much.
Join us on Wednesday 15th July 4-6:30pm, to celebrate the launch of the Bradford Local Studies Library Community Cookbook. Created with recipes sent in by members of Bradford’s many communities.
Including a talk by the Cinderella Club, on the 130th anniversary of them starting to feed Bradford’s children, which led to the 1904 report which eventually became the Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906.
Booking is essential and you will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at £5.99 (cash only).
Do you want to record your family memories but don’t know where to begin? Do you have a box of old photographs, keepsakes or documents you’d love to make sense of? This welcoming, creative workshop will help you start your journey into family history.
This free event helps you explore your family history through scrapbooking and creative journaling. Discover how to begin tracing your ancestry using the library’s archives and resources.
Then use your own memories photographs and memorabilia to start creating your own personalised heritage journal.
Participants are encouraged to bring copies of items they would like to include. We can provide copying support on the day if needed. A starter journal and all craft materials will be provided.
Booking Essential. Suitable for adults and young people aged 12+ (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult).
