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Cliffe Castle was officially opened as the new venue for the town’s museum on Tuesday 14th April 1959, when benefactor Sir Bracewell Smith handed over the title deed to the building to the Mayor and other representatives of the town council. At the same time a portrait in oils of Sir Bracewell, by A. R. Middleton Todd, was unveiled. The History Society has in its collection a copy of the programme that accompanied the reopening.

Cliffe Castle is a Victorian mansion, built as Cliffe Hall at the height of Keighley’s industrial prowess by architect George Webster for local lawyer Christopher Netherwood. It was purchased by the Butterfield Brothers in 1848 to serve as the family home and was used as a summer home by Henry Isaac Butterfield from 1878, who set about having it redesigned as a Gothic castle by architect George Smith. At this point it was renamed Cliffe Castle. It then passed to his son, Frederick Butterfield, until his death in 1943. Many of the original pieces of furniture and ornaments were taken away or auctioned by Henry Isaac Butterfield’s granddaughter, Countess Manvers (1889-1984), when she inherited the house in 1943.

The park and house were bought by Sir Bracewell Smith (Keighley-born hotel entrepreneur and Lord Mayor of London), and they were presented to the town in 1950. Sir Bracewell then set aside a trust fund of £100,000 (later increased to £120,000) which paid for a complete adaptation, restoration and ongoing maintenance of the building. The alterations were designed by Sir Albert Richardson and Mr E. A. S. Houfe, Architects of London, who also supervised the reconstruction work. One of the key changes was the introduction of the main hall – the octagonally shaped Bracewell Smith Hall – for use on ceremonial occasions and as an exhibition room. This meant demolishing various service rooms such as the kitchen, larder, servants’ hall and butler’s pantry. Other work included the refurbishment of the reception and dining rooms, to exhibit appropriate museum collections. Other structural alterations included demolishing one of the castle’s towers (the Nursery Tower) and reducing the height of the remaining one (both for safety reasons).

The Heritage Lottery Fund contributed £3.5m towards a £4.5m regeneration project for the park grounds in the 2010s. The work included the recreation of the Victorian glass palm house with adjoining new cafe, replacement aviary, and pond and water features. Other elements restored to their original splendour included ornate gates at the Skipton Road entrance, two Italianate marble fountains which last worked in the 1970s, and decorative streetlights, including a cast-iron dolphin lamppost (made to the same design as those on the Thames Embankment in London). The bandstand was given a new lease of life and heritage-style seating and waste bins and urns were added. The work was recognised in 2018 with a Green Flag award, a Platinum award from Yorkshire in Bloom, and a BALI National Landscape Award (for Regeneration Schemes over £500k).

A major restoration project inside Cliffe Castle reached fruition in March 2019. The large stained-glass window halfway up the Grand Staircase had originally been designed by the Powell Brothers of Leeds and was installed in 1878. At the centre was a panel depicting Henry Isaac Butterfield, his wife Marie Louise, and their son Frederick, all wearing Elizabethan costume. The portraits in the remaining nine panels were destroyed and replaced with plain glass in the 1940s, in accordance with the will of Sir Frederick Butterfield. When the house became the museum, these were enhanced with small roundels featuring portraits of Queen Victoria, her son Prince Albert Edward, Mrs Judge Roosevelt and Mary Butterfield, which had been relocated from their original positioning in Henry Isaac Butterfield’s boudoir. The 21st century work on the glass was undertaken by Jonathan and Ruth Cooke Ltd., and included removing the existing glass for careful cleaning and repair, and the reinstatement of full colour panels replacing the plain glass. No records from Powells remained, so the new colour panels were designed inspired by the existing Butterfield family panel rather than being exact reproductions of what had been there initially. At the same time as the glass was restored, work was carried out replacing the stone tracery by Stone Edge Ltd.

The image accompanying this article is a Lilywhite postcard of Cliffe Castle from the early 1960s, with the cover of the booklet celebrating the 1959 reopening and two images from the booklet showing the Bracewell Smith Hall and one of the reception rooms before items were added.

These two posters on the history of Keighley’s railways and the town’s now iconic station were unveiled by Graham Mitchell (Keighley Station Partnership Team Leader) and Phil Walker (Keighley Business Improvement District Officer) on 10th April 2018. The posters are hung in the waiting room on Platform 1 of the station.

The two posters were the work of a group formed to improve the information facilities at the Station for both local residents and visitors. The Keighley Station Partnership was formed from an initiative by train operator Northern to involve local volunteers and businesses as a ‘Friends’ group to improve the station. The partnership included the Aire Valley Rail Users Group, Bronte Country Partnership, Dementia Friendly Keighley, Keighley BID, the Keighley Bus Company, Keighley Town Council, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and the Men of Worth Project.

The new history posters, created by Graham Mitchell, describe the arrival of the Leeds & Bradford Extension Railway in 1847 and its impact upon the town, with the creation of three separate station buildings, and after the 1884 arrival of the Great Northern Railway, the development of enormous railway yards in Cavendish Street and East Parade for the handling of the wide variety of engineering and textile products of Victorian Keighley. Keighley BID paid for the design work and printing of the posters. The text on the posters was taken from a presentation which Graham made to the History Society in 2017.

The story of Keighley’s railway station(s) is one of the Tales of Transport being told by the History Society as part of their contribution to this June’s Transport Festival.

This newspaper clipping of two men working away at a coalface above Riddlesden was published in the Keighley News of the 8th of April 1922. It was taken by journalist and photographer George Crowther on a visit to the newly re-established Howden Colliery.

Digging for coal appears to have been happening around the Rivock Edge-Howden Gill outcrop above Riddlesden since the 17th century. A range of techniques may have been used, from opencast (where the coal is simply dug out from the surface), drifts (digging horizontally into the side of a hill) and shallow shafts (where a short vertical shaft leads to a seam that is gradually hollowed out leaving a bell-shaped pit). According to local historian Ian Dewhirst in his ‘A History of Keighley’ (1974): “The Riddlesden and Morton Banks landscape was scarred – till 1856 – with coal workings, a complex of shallow shafts or ‘day-holes’ abandoned when they ran too deep for convenience. The seam was six feet thick in places, but water-logged, and the coal of inferior quality.”

There was an attempt in the early 1920s to resurrect the business of coalmining in the area, led by Edwin Pitt (appropriately enough!) with partners George W. Simpson and Harry Lund. George Crowther wrote of his visit to the pit in the Keighley News of 8th April 1922: “Floundering along in mud which was ankle deep, endeavouring to avoid the slippery line of rails, stumbling along to keep up with the leader and endeavouring to keep out of the way of those in equal difficulties in the dark behind, the incident was one of real excitement. To raise one’s head meant a bump against the pit props above, while an extra lurch found a pit prop projecting from the side, unnoticed in the shadow of the man with the lamp. The mud and the rails at the feet provided sufficient difficulties, and it was with no little relief that it was noticed that the way became somewhat drier as it went down. A turn in the passage left the place without natural light, and little could be seen but shadowy forms of members of the party. At a spot where the roof was somewhat higher, a welcome halt was called, and Mr Pitt pointed out a thick seam of coal. At first the strangers to the underworld could distinguish no difference from the surroundings, but when eyesight became accustomed to the darkness the formation of the seam could be distinguished, and pieces were chipped off. Hereabouts, we were assured, there was coal in abundance, but work was being continued until still larger quantities were reached.”

The mine owners are listed in 1922 as being Edwin Pitt, George Simpson and Harry Lund, then for the period 1923 to 1933 are Edwin Pitt, George Simpson and Mr Emsley, with the pit closing in July 1932. According to an article in The Telegraph and Argus of 15th August 1998, “Further records of the colliery’s progress are sketchy. It was certainly still operational in 1927, but it is believed its demise – perhaps due to exhausted supplies or simply the fact it was no longer viable – came about soon afterwards.”

The cutting is from a scrapbook of articles and photographs by George Crowther held in the History Society’s archive, the main picture also accompanied the piece in the newspaper and shows (left to right) George Simpson, Harry Lund and Edwin Pitt. With thanks to Eddie Kelly for providing the main image and a copy of George Crowther’s article.

This month’s History Society guest speaker is Irene Lofthouse, giving her talk on two prominent local women, Rachel Leach and Anne Lister. Irene spends her time excavating hidden histories and secret stories. Gathering the bones, fleshing them out, dressing them in suitable attire to enable them to live again and tell their tales, recreating lost times, linking the past in the present and inspiring audiences to think about their own lived experiences.

This talk is happening upstairs at Keighley Library on Wednesday 13th April 2022 and is open to both members and non-members. The charge for non-members is £3, payable on the door. To reserve a place, please email klyhistory@yahoo.com

If members wish they can join in by Zoom instead (this option is only available to paid-up History Society members). Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Please check social media or our website nearer the time for any updates.

Happy birthday to the Keighley News, which was first printed on 5th April 1862 and so is celebrating being 160 years old! The paper was launched in 1862 by prosperous Bradford printer William Byles, with its first editor being Scottish schoolmaster Duncan Campbell. The paper supported the Liberal cause, in recognition of Keighley as a town of strong radical politics. Competition came along eleven years later in the form of the Keighley Herald, with its Conservative outlook. This lasted until 1911 and since then the Keighley News has been the sole local newspaper.

But it wasn’t the first. One of the first on record was The Monthly Teacher, edited in 1829 by the Reverend Theodore Dury. Other earlier attempts included The Keighley Visitor and General Advertiser, also monthly, overseen by the Temperance Society; and the very long-titled Keighley and Haworth Argus and Kildwick and Cross Hills, Steeton and Silsden Advertiser.

The Keighley News is still available today – in print and online – under the stewardship of Alistair Shand – and long may it continue. The images seen here are adverts that appeared in a centenary supplement published in April 1962, celebrating the first 100 years of the paper. The paper itself has outlasted many of the firms that are shown here toasting its longevity. Enormous thanks to History Society member Colin Kirkham who provided us with a copy of the supplement.

One of the “Tales of Transport” that the History Society is keen to tell, as part of its contribution to the Keighley Transport Festival, is the story of cycling within the town and surrounding area.

We are looking for a volunteer who can pull together 500-1000 words on the history of the cycling clubs within the town, from the Victorian era to the present day. This may be something someone has already researched, or it may be something someone has the time to look into (our deadline is the middle of May).

If you are willing to help us out, please comment below and we will get back to you, or email us at klyhistory@yahoo.com

The 1st of April often marks the start of a new financial year. The History Society has in its collection the Annual Report of the Chief Librarian for the year 1st April 1948 to 31st March 1949. The Chief Librarian at this time was Fred Taylor. The report was published on behalf of the Borough of Keighley Libraries and Museum Committee, headed by the Mayor of Keighley, Alderman J. H. Wright.

At this stage the town’s library services covered the Central Library on North Street, the Children’s Library, and branch libraries at Haworth, Morton, Oakworth, Oldfield, Oxenhope, Riddlesden and Stanbury. Across all the libraries, almost 82,000 books were available to browse and borrow. There were nearly 535,000 books loaned to readers over the year.

One of the most in demand titles over the year was Winston Churchill’s account “The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm”, published in 1948 and the first instalment in what was ultimately a six-volume series. Other popular titles included World War Two personal histories “Winged Dagger” by SAS Commander Roy Farran and “The Wooden Horse” by prisoner of war Eric Williams.

The outside of the Central Library was given a fresh lick of paint and fluorescent lighting was installed internally. Another key event of the year was the re-establishment of a children’s library, that section having been closed in 1943. The full report can be found on the History Society’s Flickr site.

The images show a portrait of Chief Librarian Fred Taylor, a picture of the Library from a 1950s Lilywhite postcard, and the cover of the Annual Report. All of the images come from the John Normington Collection, donated to Keighley and District Local History Society by John’s daughter Liz Hornby in September 2021.

John attended Ingrow Primary School and later won a scholarship for Keighley Boys’ Grammar School. His first job was at Keighley Library, where he remained (except for a break for National Service in 1947-49) until taking early retirement in March 1984. He was made Chief Assistant (Deputy) in 1953 having studied at the Leeds School of Librarianship. He ultimately became a lecturer himself in Cataloguing and Classification. He worked alongside local historian Ian Dewhirst for many years.

Illustrations of the first Co-Op shop on Church Green, Keighley, by Thomas Heaps, drawn in 1910 from memory, and of the second Co-Op store on New Bridge Street, that operated from March 1862 to 1896. The shop in which the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society began its business life was one of a block of three in Church Green between the Commercial Inn and the Devonshire Hotel. The shop was run by John Farrar Pickles, Benjamin Morrell and Joseph Moorhouse (Society Treasurer). Customers had to ascend two or three steps on entering the shop. The shop was originally occupied by Mr Cockshott, who remained as landlord of the site. The shop opened in October/November 1860. The original shop closed in March 1862 when Cockshott wanted to change the details of the rent, and the shop relocated to premises on New Bridge Street.

Illustrations taken from ‘Half a Century of Co-operation in Keighley – 1860-1910’ by Joseph Rhodes (Fellow of the Institute of Journalists and of the British Esperanto Association). Published by the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. and printed by the Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited, Hamilton Road, Longsight, Manchester in 1911. Copies of the book are held in the History Society’s physical archive. The contemporary photograph of Church Street was taken by Tim Neal in 2019.

Thank you to everyone who joined our talk on Lily Cove on Wednesday evening – either in person (for the first time since March 2020) or on Zoom. It was a terrific talk by Sharon Wright. Thanks also to Wave of Nostalgia bookshop in Haworth and to Graham Mitchell.

This illustration of the proposed entrance gateway and lodge for Cliffe Castle appeared in The Architect magazine of 8th March 1879. The architect behind the design was George Smith of Bradford. It shows two elevations and the plans of the ground floor and chamber. Cliffe Castle at the time was the home of Henry Isaac Butterfield, it had only just been renamed Cliffe Castle having been Cliffe Hall up until 1878. The completed gateway and lodge was an adaptation of these initial plans.

The accompanying caption in The Architect reads: “The lodge and gate shown in the illustration are proposed to be erected on Skipton Road, Keighley, on Mr. H. J. Butterfield’s property. The cost will be about £2,000. Mr. George Smith, of Bradford, is the architect.”

The original document is held in the physical archive of Keighley and District Local History Society. Alongside the plan is a photographic postcard of the entrance published by Lilywhite Ltd. of Triangle in around 1920.