A nice little curio – an advert for Nugget boot polish featuring East Riddlesden Hall. The newspaper is unknown but the advert appears to be from around the 1940s.
Local landmark in advert
Category Archives: History
From Stables to Beer Garden
The building on North Street in Keighley is undergoing a transformation at the minute as it becomes a beer garden for the Wetherspoon’s pub next door. It was erected as the Town Hall Livery Stables in the early 1890s, before becoming the Regent Picture House in 1920. It then became the Star Bingo & Social Club from 1964 to 1976. The premises reopened during 1980 as the Orbit DIY store then after further closure it returned as Champers Night Club upstairs and Charolais Steak House on the ground floor. The building’s final incarnation was as Last Orders which closed in 2015. In August 2019 the entire building was demolished except for the front wall overlooking North Street. With thanks to Eddie Kelly, David Seeley and Tim Neal.
St John’s Church Visit
The History Society has arranged a visit to St John’s Church in Ingrow next Wednesday (14th August). All are welcome.
There will be a talk about the history of the church, the opportunity to explore the graveyard, and a guided look around some behind-the-scenes parts of the church. There will also be the chance to look through some of the archive albums of photographs of the church and its role in the community.
Entry costs £3 (or £1 if you are a History Society member). There will be tea and coffee served. Please note the main presentation, access to the graveyard and seeing the albums are on the level (there are a couple of steps to get into the church), but steps and stairs are involved in most of the tour so please wear sensible shoes.
Doors open at 7pm. No advance booking is required.
July Guest Speaker
Next Wednesday’s (10th July) guest speaker talk is Cross Roads Parish Councillor Peter Clarke talking to us about the history and traditions of the University of Bradford from being a small technical college to becoming a prestigious institution with Harold Wilson as chancellor. His talk is entitled “McKinlay’s People – History & Academic Traditions of the University of Bradford”. It follows other recent ‘broader’ talks such as those on Richard III and the Bradford sweet poisonings.
Guest speaker events happen upstairs at Keighley Library. Doors open at 7pm and talks start at 7.30pm, usually lasting around one hour. A lift is available for anyone with access concerns. Tea and coffee is served. Everyone is welcome and admission costs £3 (£1 for History Society members).
Photographs provided by Peter Clarke and (c) University Archives, Special Collections, University of Bradford.
Liberal Bazaar 1928
A recent addition to the History Society’s archive – a booklet for a Liberal Association Bazaar held in Keighley in 1928. All the pages have been scanned and uploaded to our Flickr account. As well as some political history of the town written by J. J. Brigg and photographs of various dignitaries of the time, there are dozens of adverts for local businesses.
Sunny Hill Estate
Sunny Hill Estate in Exley Head was built by J. W. Midgley in the mid-to-late 1920s, with houses for sale from £440 to £550 (or a £40 deposit and then 12 shillings and 9 pence per week). All images are from the History Society’s digital archive on Flickr.
Guide to Keighley Corporation Museum
Keighley Corporation Museum opened up in the former Eastwood House in what became Victoria Park in 1899. It was housed there until relocating to Cliffe Castle in 1959. The History Society has recently acquired a guide to what there was to see at the museum in 1940, which makes for fascinating reading.
Quebec Bridge
This postcard of the long-since demolished Quebec Bridge in Keighley was posted on the 25th April 1904. It was one of the Wrench Series of postcards published in the early 1900s. It is a painting of the bridge but it is clear how an original photograph has been used as its basis. The postcard is held in the History Society’s archive while the photograph is courtesy of Bradford Libraries, Archives and Information Service and was part of the K100 Picture Collection.
Happy Easter Weekend
Wishing everyone a glorious Easter weekend. These are two Easter services cards from St James’ church in Cross Roads with Lees from the early 1950s, plus a postcard of the church. All images from our digital archive.
Wyedean Flickr Album
Last week the History Society organised a visit to Wyedean Weaving Co. Ltd. in Haworth. We have just uploaded over 200 photographs and 12 short videos of the visit to our Flickr page. Click below to see more.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/keighleyhistory/albums/72157704547393892