HISTORY SOCIETY @ KEIGHLEY LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY

June 2, 2025Bradford Libraries 1 Comment

The History Society held another of their research sessions at Keighley Local Studies Library on the morning of Saturday 31^st May 2025. Around twenty members attended, with Angela, Gina and Janet from the library staff opening up various photographic archives and maps of the area for people to peruse.

The session started with History Society committee member Tim Neal talking to attendees about 3D or stereoscopic photography. Many of those there could remember the phenomenon of View-Masters that were around from the 1950s to the 1980s. These handheld viewers used to be loaded with a cardboard circular disc holding seven different colour stereoscopic photos. When looking through the viewer these images appeared in 3D. Tim had brought along half-a-dozen View-Master viewers and a selection of geographical and event-based discs covering subjects as varied as Princess Margaret’s wedding in 1960 to a mid-century of Ottawa in Canada. Members were able to peruse these at their leisure.

Mel Whitaker, writing after the event: “Tim’s collection of ‘View Masters’ brought back many happy memories for all of us who had owned one – and really impressed those who had never seen one before!”

People were then introduced to a collection of card-backed slides from the library’s collection. These were stereoscope images of Keighley in the Victorian era. Local historian Eddie Kelly had already studied the cards and had been able to conclude that they must have been produced around 1895, judging by some of the businesses depicted and the development of some of the buildings in some of the pictures. Using either the vintage wooden viewer or modern plastic equivalents, attendees were able to see Victorian Keighley brought back to life in 3D.

Accompanying these stereoscopic images were selections of photographs, organised by area of town, from a variety of the library’s archive collections, showing the town from the 1900s to the 1960s. It was a period that saw enormous changes in the landscape of the town.

Andy Wade, writing after the event: “Had an excellent session in Keighley Library’s Local Studies room looking at stereoscopic photographs and some of the old photo archives and in particular, the chance to talk about what we were looking at, as there were some unique views of Keighley which I’ve never seen before.”

Finally, bringing us right up to date, the staff had set up the library’s virtual reality equipment, enabling members to view 3D recreations of a 1970s living room, and to explore potential habitats fifty years in the future.

Several members also brought their own items to add to collections, and could also explore their own research lines of query with the staff and the amazing resources that the library has to offer. The session was summed up by society member Jean McClennon: “An excellent and interesting session, thanks very much to all involved.”

The History Society will be holding another similar session on Saturday 18^th October, focusing in how to use the library’s resources to research the history of your own home.

Tim Neal
Keighley & District Local History Society
1^st June 2025

International Women’s Day Event

February 28, 2025Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

On Saturday, 8^th March, it’s International Women’s Day and to celebrate it, Keighley Local Studies Library, first floor of Keighley Library, is hosting a day of talks by popular women speakers. All talks are free as part of Keighley Library’s 120 Years’ anniversary celebrations and there is no need to book, so please come along and help us to celebrate women, women’s work and achievements.

At 10am, Diane Park is going to talk about her strong women book shop in Haworth, Wave of Nostalgia, that is as popular as ever and has certainly raised awareness of women writers and artists. Sharon Wright, author, journalist and playwright will speak at 11.30am. Sharon is no stranger to highlighting the lives of women in history who have been neglected and has written about the unique and daring lives of women balloonists and shone a light at last on the life of the mother of the Brontë children, Maria Branwell, with Maria’s very first biography. Sharon will be talking about an increasingly popular genre in book shops and libraries alike, narrative

non-fiction. In the afternoon at 2.15pm, Jude Rhodes, local historian and genealogist, a speaker very much in demand in Yorkshire as well as Keighley Library will address the question – who were the women nurses? As a former practising nurse herself, now nurse tutor, we can look forward to Jude’s professional incite along the way. The day will continue its high note with the multi-talented local historian, actress, author and raconteur, Irene Lofthouse, who will speak about those women in Keighley who few might have heard of in their life time or since but who entered politics, ran businesses and generally helped to put Keighley on the map during a period when hearth and home was regarded as a woman’s only natural sphere outside a few caring professions.

There will be accompanying displays of archive records, a sale of authors’ publications and a display by the Men of Worth about women serving as nurses and as land army personnel. Refreshments will be served mid- morning and mid- afternoon between speakers.

Keighley Mechanics’ Institute: it’s foundation 200 years’ ago and it’s National and International reach

January 10, 2025Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

As part of the City of Culture celebrations, Keighley Local Studies Library is planning a day of events to celebrate the foundation of Keighley’s own Mechanics’ Institute, a cultural institution that had enormous reach in its heyday and was one of the first in England, following on the heels of the very first in Edinburgh in 1821 and Glasgow in 1823.

Founded formally by 4 working men at a public meeting held on 14 February 1825, join Jude Rhodes, lecturer in local history and genealogy and the Local Studies’ staff, as they take you through a one place study of this institution, its history, influence and far-reaching impact. We shall look at the characters whose lives the institution and its member influenced, including the Brontë family and later how it benefited scholars of Keighley’s Grammar School, including internationally famous historians: Lord Asa Briggs and Sir Herbert Butterfield. We shall also look again at the Institute’s associations with Andrew and Louise Carnegie and their ultimate gift of the Keighley Public Library to the town in the 1890s.

In the afternoon, Colin Neville, writer and editor of the popular “Not Just Hockney” web site, will take us through the Institute’s history, emphasising the role of the School of Art, the subject of his very latest book in his series on the history of art in the Bradford District. Colin will show how the art school became internationally renowned through its technical education, led by Sir Swire Smith, and how it produced artists, art historians and teachers such as Sir Augustus Spencer who became Principal of the Royal College of Art in London. Colin Neville’s latest book, “Keighley School of Art” will also be on sale.

Both events are free, just turn up on the day please. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our wonderful archives.

The History Society and the Library

December 11, 2024Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

The Keighley & District Local History Society was formed in late 2004. It was created to focus on the history of the town and the surrounding area, looking at the industries and mills, the shops and streets, the parks and buildings, key players such as business people, mayors and politicians, and was designed to complement the Keighley and District Family History Society which already existed (and which continues today as Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society).

The history of the History Society is inextricably linked with that of Keighley Library, although there are no official or formal bonds. The need for the existence of the History Society emerged from discussions around how to celebrate the centenary of the Public Library, which was 100 years old in 2004. One of the key players in those discussions was Pauline Barfield, who was Senior Information Manager in the Local Studies Library at the time. Pauline was also the guest-speaker at the very first open meeting of the society, held in the Local Studies Library on Wednesday 15th December 2004, and was later made Honorary President of the society.

Another important crossover figure is the late Ian Dewhirst, who was Reference Librarian at the Library from 1967 to 1991. As well as being a driving force behind building the invaluable collection of locally focussed documents, photographs and paraphernalia that now form the backbone of the Local Studies Library’s collections, Ian also wrote over twenty books focussed on the history of the town and the wider Yorkshire area that brought awareness and knowledge to a broad and grateful readership. It was only natural that Ian was supportive of the idea of a local history society for the town. Although never formally involved in its running, Ian gave at least half-a-dozen talks to the Society before his untimely death in January 2019.

With very few exceptions, the History Society has held open meetings on the second Wednesday of each month ever since it started. These have mainly been held in the Local Studies Library (and we are extremely grateful to the Library for facilitating this) – which is a very natural fit, committed as we both are to “preserving and sharing” the stories of the town and surrounding area. For various reasons (including when the Library was undergoing a major facelift for most of 2007) we held our meetings in other local venues. These have included the Swire Smith Hall of Keighley College (when it was on the other side of North Street to the Library), the service room of The Knowle funeral home, the Civic Centre, and St. John’s Church in Ingrow. Of course, along with the rest of the world, we had to move our meetings in 2021 onto Zoom as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and we continue to offer this ‘innovation’ today as we broadcast the majority of meetings over Zoom live from the Library for those members unable to join us in person.

But the Library has always been our main home, and we have held around 200 hundred monthly meetings and other events there. Guest speakers over the years have included former town mayor Graham Mitchell, Haworth historian Steven Wood, principal curator of the Bronte Parsonage Museum Ann Dinsdale, Ian Walkden and Andy Wade from the Men of Worth Project, former Keighley News journalist Sharon Wright, postcard collector Kevin Seaton, textiles expert Pam Brook, art historian Colin Neville, local stalwart Charlie Bhowmick, Bradford historian Kathryn Hughes, and many many others. And the range of topics is way too expansive to even start listing.

The success of the History Society is stronger now than it has been at any point in its twenty year history. We continue to meet on the second Wednesday of each month, mostly still upstairs in the Library. We have over 75 members who live both locally but also come from further afield – people keen to maintain links with a town that was important to them in their past. We try and spread the word about the fascinating history of the town at events like Keighley Show, the Heritage Open Days, Yorkshire Day celebrations, and other history-related celebrations.

Our single objective remains “to preserve and share” the history of the town and the surrounding area. People continue to be extremely generous and continue to loan or donate items that enable us to do this. We record and catalogue these items, from personal photographs, postcards, leaflets, publications – all sorts of items! – which we then seek to share via our digital archive on Flickr. Our Flickr site currently has over 25,000 items available to view by anyone, and continues to grow.

If you’d like to find out more about the History Society, please look us up on our website or our Facebook page – or better still drop into one of our meetings on the second Wednesday of the month in Keighley Library!

Tim Neal
Keighley & District Local History Society
keighleyhistory.org.uk
facebook.com/keighleyhistorysociety
flickr.com/keighleyhistory

All the photographs are “courtesy of the Keighley & District Local History Society”. The one of Tim Neal on his own at his desk is by “Cath Muldowney Photography”

Keighley’s updated Roll of Honour is unveiled.

November 16, 2024Bradford Libraries 2 Comments

KEIGHLEY’S revised Great War roll of honour was formally unveiled during an event at Keighley Local Studies Library on 9th November. The names of 102 servicemen and one woman who gave their lives during the First World War had been missed from the original roll.

The unveiling was performed by three-year-old Libby Griffiths, Ryan Firth, 16, and Liam Firth, 14. All three are descendants of Private Jowett Coulton, who was born in Keighley and lived in the town before emigrating to Canada, where he enlisted in the army. He was killed in action in France.

Libby Griffiths unveiling the Roll of Honour with Deputy Town Mayor Cllr Chris Herd and Andy Wade, of The Men of Worth.

The signature page of the updated Roll with its 103 new names, signed by the parties involved in its creation.

The Updated Roll of Honour on display upstairs in the Local Studies Library, Keighley Library.

The Men of Worth Project were awarded funding by the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund in early 2024 and this has been supported with funding from Keighley Town Council.

The purpose of the grant was to add more names to the Borough of Keighley Roll of Honour and to celebrate the centenary year of the original book and our wonderful Borough of Keighley War Memorial, which was unveiled in Keighley’s Town Hall Square on 7th December 1924, attended by several thousand people.

Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Bev Mullaney, Bradford Council Leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Director of the Men of Worth Project Andy Wade and Bradford Councillor Caroline Firth.

Other relatives of those honoured were present, together with guests including West Yorkshire Deputy Lieutenant David Pearson, MP Robbie Moore, Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Bev Mullaney, deputy town mayor Cllr Chris Herd, Bradford Council leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, district and town councillors and standard bearers.

Head of Libraries & Archives, Christine May talks about the libarary’s history with the Roll of honour.

Irene Lofthouse portrays Frances Hildred Mitchell, the first woman to be added to the Roll.

Cultural historian Irene Lofthouse adopted the guise of Frances Hildred Mitchell – the first woman to be recognised in the roll alongside the men. Frances was a Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps worker she died aged just 23, from influenza and pneumonia while still nursing in military hospitals a year after the war had ended.

Deputy Town Mayor Councillor Chris Herd with Standard Bearers

The new Roll of Honour and the original Roll of Honour are on permanent display upstairs in Keighley Local Studies Library and an exhibition by The Men of Worth Project on all those added to the new Roll of Honour is on display until December the 6th 2024.

December the 7^th marks the 100 year anniversary of the War Memorial and Roll of Honour, at noon, an interpretation plaque will be unveiled at the town’s war memorial. For more information about the project please see the link below.