KEIGHLEY & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Several members of the the History Society attended the Mass given in St. Anne’s Church this morning, led by Canon Macreadie. We were then given an interesting and insightful history tour of the church by Graham Mitchell. We would like to thank Canon Macreadie and Graham for allowing and facilitating this visit. [Photographs by Tim Neal.]

This newspaper cutting of electrical fittings, cables and instruments that were damaged by a fire at a premises in Keighley is annotated as being from the ‘Electrician’ on 6th November 1925. The publication was possibly ‘The Model Engineer and Electrician’.

The premises belonged to Mr J. Ramsbottom, “a Keighley electrical engineer”. This was, presumably, the premises of J. S. Ramsbottom & Co. Ltd. of Bow Street in Keighley. The advert from 1928 gives us an idea of the kind of service offered by Mr Ramsbottom and the kind of domestic circumstances many people in Keighley were still enduring: “The dark evenings are drawing near. Will you be able to press a switch and flood your home with a cheerful glow? Or are you one of those unfortunates who struggle along in a dim half light. If so, consult us for everything Electrical.” The firm could also offer vacuum cleaners, electric kettles and other modern household appliances.

One of the services offered by the firm in the 1930s was a radio relay subscription service. This meant households, instead of having to buy and maintain their own radio, could hire a speaker and receive radio broadcasts via a relay system operated by Ramsbottom engineers (from a house on Lister Street according to the Keighley News). The service was taken up by nearly 1,500 households in the town.

J. S. Ramsbottom & Co. Ltd. continued to flourish and by 1966 it was described in the Official Keighley Borough Handbook thus: “J. S. Ramsbottom & Co. Ltd. are manufacturing electrical engineers and contractors and specialist engineers in radio, television and radio relay. This firm has extensive works and offices at Coney Lane Mills, and showrooms at present in Cooke Lane and Bow Street which, consequent upon Central Area Redevelopment, will, in the near future, be re-accommodated nearby. In Bow Street is an Account Payment Centre, enabling the many thousand weekly accounts to be paid by the customers with speed and efficiency. Also in Bow Street, in separate premises, is a modern Coffee Bar, offering a selection of light meals in addition to the usual coffee bar menu.”

The clipping was collected by George Crowther, who kept a scrapbook of photographs he took and articles he wrote for various publications. Crowther (d: 1960) spent 50 years with the Bradford and District Newspaper Company until his retirement in 1956. He started out as a press photographer in the 1920s and ended with six years as editor of the Keighley News (1950-1956). He was active in the St. John Ambulance Brigade and served on the Council of the Bronte Society.

The advert is from a guidebook to a Keighley Division Liberal Association Bazaar, held in the Municipal Hall in October 1928 and was donated by Tim Neal in 2019. The photograph of Bow Street was taken by Jan Perkins in 2006. Piece researched by Tim Neal.

The main black and white photograph was taken near the end of the 1960s transformation of Keighley town centre on 1st November 1969. It was taken by Robert Long as part of a project to record progress on the restructuring.

Bob Long, writing on Facebook in 2021: “I took this photo of the town centre re-development. There should be about 200 photos in all, but I haven’t got a clue where they would be now [the History Society has over 50 of them]. They were taken for Seymour & Harris architects in London. This was a three year contract I had with them, from foundations to finished shop fronts. I was just starting my photographic business. A friend of mine, a Mr Bill Cusker, was the site supervisor for Token Construction Company and got me the job of photographing the redevelopment site. I had to climb up scaffolding onto top of the rooves to get the best shot required. The contract was to take photographs once a month to show the progress of the construction for the architects. I did this for about two years until the shops were ready for occupancy.”

The development saw the flattening of buildings on Cooke Lane, College Street, Adelaide Street, Queen Street and Brunswick Street. In their place was built the new shopping precinct. Work started around 1965 and took almost five years to complete. The photograph was taken near the end of the work and is looking out over what was Cook Lane towards North Street. You can see many of Keighley’s prominent buildings in the background and most of these are still standing today over fifty years later.

Barclays Bank (photographed by Tim Neal in 2021) at 77 North Street. It was built around 1900 to serve as Cravens Bank and became Martins Bank from the 1920s until the end of the 1960s. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1986.

New Devonshire House (photographed by Tim Neal in 2021) at the junction of Scott Street with Devonshire Street. This was built on the site of the Devonshire Street Congregational Church which had had to be demolished due to infrastructure faults in 1964.

Civic Centre (photographed by Tim Neal in 2021) at 81 North Street. Built in the late 19th century, The building previously housed the town’s police station. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1986.

Town Hall (photographed by Tim Neal in 2021) on Bow Street. Built as the Town Hall and Post Office in 1900 and officially opened in 1902. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1986.

Wetherspoons (photographed by Tim Neal in 2019) at 89-97 North Street. The building was originally built as the Temperance Hall for Keighley Temperance Society, founded in 1825, dedicated to abstinence from alcohol. It was built in the 1890s. The building was sold in 1970 and a charitable trust was established, which distributed funds from the sale up until 2018. It opened as a Wetherspoon’s pub in 2004, ironically named The Livery Rooms (the livery stables were actually the building next door, now the pub’s ‘garden’). It was also designated as a Grade II listed building in 1986.

Keighley College (photographed by David Seeley in 2014) at the junction of North Street and Cavendish Street. When the black and white photograph was taken this was a very new building, having been built on the site of the Mechanics’ Institute which had been badly damaged by a fire in 1962 and was demolished in 1967. By 2010 the college building was out of use and was itself demolished by 2018, leaving the grassed area currently running alongside North Street.

The School Board Offices (photographed by Tim Neal in 2022) at 1 Lawkholme Crescent were built in the 1890s. They were designed by designed by James Lechingham of Bradford after a competition to win the commission. Since August 2009 the building has been the Buddha Land Kadampa Buddhist Centre. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1991.

Team photograph of short-lived local rugby league team Oakworth Wanderers taken before a match held on Saturday 31st October 1981. Oakworth Wanderers’ came into being when former Hull and Bramley professional Allan Bancroft, then a coach, and Dave Ingham left Silsden and formed their own club.

Rob Grillo, ‘Trying Times: Keighley’s Amateur Rugby Teams 1876-2011’ (robgrillo.co.uk): “Initially based in Keighley, (Oakworth Wanderers) were accepted at the last minute by the Pennine League to the new division seven for the 1980-81 season as ‘The Wanderers’. The club subsequently secured the old football ground adjacent to Oakworth Cricket Club on Wide Lane, and despite initial objections from local residents began their first season there. Only a few players had actually followed Ingham and Bancroft from Silsden. In November 1980 the club registered with BARLA as ‘Oakworth Wanderers’. Their first season saw them finish at the foot of division 7, with 3 wins and a draw from their 16 fixtures… The 1981-82 campaign began with the formation of another new Keighley club… It was mooted that five clubs was one too many for the town, and that existing sides teams – might struggle to attract sufficient players. Within twelve months Oakworth had resigned from the league, although this was not due to a player shortage but a lack of committee members. Their absence was at the time hoped to be temporary, but Wanderers were never revived and died a quiet death.”

In 2021, Keighley and District Local History Society acquired an extensive collection of photograph negatives taken by the Keighley News. Groups of negatives were held in small wallets with the date and basic labelling written on the wallet. These photographs are from that collection.

There was a fatal charabanc crash at Oxenhope on Saturday 30th October 1920. The vehicle had been travelling from Hebden Bridge to a knur-and-spell match in Laneshaw Bridge. Its brakes failed on the descent towards Oxenhope and it crashed through a wall at about 35 to 40 miles per hour. Tragically five occupants of the vehicle were killed.

A similar photograph to this accompanied a rather vivid report of the crash in the Keighley News of 6th November 1920: “Several char-a-bancs left the Hebden Bridge district about noon, carrying parties of sportsmen interested in a knur-and-spell match between a Hebden Bridge man and a Keighley man, which was to take place at Laneshaw Bridge, near Colne. One vehicle, a big 32-seater char-a-bancs, owned by Messrs. Greenoff and Shaw, of Rochdale, appears to have been the last to leave. It picked up passengers mostly from Pecket Well and Wadsworth district, and all went well during the climb up to Cockhill Moor, which lies between Hebden Bridge and Keighley.

“Everything appears to have gone well until the somewhat steep decline from the moors into the village of Oxenhope. For perhaps a mile and a-half the road from the moors drops steadily, and the approach to the village itself is fraught with many dangerous turns and twists. Near a well-known public-house, popularly known as ‘Dyke Nook’, something seemed to be wrong with the motor char-a-bancs, and, instead of answering to the movements of the brake levers, the heavy vehicle, weighing almost four tons, gradually got out of hand, and dashed along the highway at an ever-increasing speed.

“The driver stuck to his post, and fortunately was able to keep to the centre of the road. The race continued for almost a mile: the way was clear of traffic. Near Oxenhope Church, however, the sharp, left-hand bend was encountered, and because of its tremendous speed and weight it was impossible the char-a-bancs could take the corner. Scarcely any turn appears to have been made, however, and the vehicle dashed straight for the wall on the right-hand side of the road and through into the field.”

John Graham, recovering afterwards at Victoria Hospital for fractured ribs and a badly damaged hand, told the Keighley News that the vehicle must have been traveling at over 30 miles an hour, with the scenery whizzing by like when travelling by express train.

John Murgatroyd of Pecket Well, the passenger who had actually organised the trip, described the moments leading up to the crash to the Keighley News: “After going down the far slope for a quarter of a mile the driver tried to check the growing speed of the char-a-bancs. He applied both the foot and hand brakes to the full without checking the vehicle. It was an awful experience, for the motor was gaining speed at every yard. The driver held on to his steering wheel, and marvellously got round a couple of sharp bends. All the passengers must have realised that they were being carried along at a break-neck speed, but they remained calm, and there was no sign of panic. As we bowled on to the last long straight stretch, the char-a-bancs must have been going at forty miles an hour, and at the end was the hair-pin bend. No man breathing could have got a motor round at the speed at which we were travelling. As we approached the end I shut my eyes and awaited the end. It was an awful shock. Practically all were hurled out of the car, and I dropped in a field about twenty yards away.”

Keighley News: “The driver was a man named Tom Hay, of Rochdale, and he escaped with a cut hand and a severe shaking. Many of the passengers suffered from shock. One passenger, more daring than the rest, when he saw an accident was unavoidable, jumped from the rapidly-moving vehicle into the road. He rolled head over heels time and time again, and another passenger who was going to jump thought the man was killed, and decided not to leap, and crouched down behind a seat. He was practically unhurt, and the man who jumped received only slight injuries to the arm.

“All the passengers and debris from the vehicle, the wall, and from a hen-house which was in the field immediately behind the wall, were thrown into an indescribable heap. Thrown on to a heap of stones and against the trees the passengers sustained shocking injuries. Two passengers were picked up dead, and others were unconscious. The noise of the collision and the screams of the injured brought the villagers to the scene, and help was quickly rendered. Dr. McCracken, of Haworth, was in the village at the time and he was soon on the spot. Policemen, members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and nurses were on the scene quickly, and Dr. Maggs and Dr. Wilson, of Haworth, were summoned by telephone. A motor-ambulance from the Keighley Fire Station was called, and in this, on on a motor-lorry owned by Messrs. Merrall, spinners, Haworth, a number of the serious cases were taken to the Keighley Victoria Hospital, where medical men were awaiting the arrival of the patients.

“The great force with which the motor char-a-bancs hit the wall can be judged by the appearance of the vehicle after the accident. The radiator shows the marks where the stones hit it, and one side is broken away. The front axle is broken and the steering column fractured, but it was along the right side of the body that most damage was done. The whole of the side is broken completely away, the woodwork being in splinters, and all the aluminium panelling broken and twisted in all directions. The ends of the seats are directly in view, and instead of remaining parallel they are twisted in all directions.”

Amongst those who died were William Devenport Kershaw (35), an ex-soldier living at Keighley Road, Pecket Well, and his wife Alice (27 or 37 – the Keighley News quotes both ages). William died in Victoria Hospital, while Alice was killed at the scene. The other person who died at the scene was John Drake Turner (46) of Waterloo Bank, Wadsworth. William Ogden (56) of Ivy Cottage, Pecket Well, died on arrival at the hospital. Percy Brown Roe (30), Hebden View, Wadsworth, who had been a Sergeant throughout the First World War, died at the hospital during the evening. Four of the victims were buried in the cemetery at Wainsgate, near Hebden Bridge, on the following Thursday, following a service led by Mr J. T. Greenwood at the Baptist Chapel. William Ogden had been buried in the cemetery adjoining the Baptist Church the day before. Both services were attended by hundreds of locals, including people injured in the crash, and schools, pubs and businesses were shut in the victims’ honour.

The knurr and spell match at Laneshaw Bridge was delayed by an hour, but eventually took place in ignorance of what had occurred. On Thursday 4th November 1920, Keighley’s MP, Robert Clough, asked in the House of Commons whether an inspector from the Department of Transport would attend the scene of the accident and attend any follow-up inquiry. He was assured by Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Arthur Neal, that an inspector was already engaged. Reportedly thousands of visitors went to inspect the scene of the accident over the few days following its occurrence.

According to local historian Ian Dewhirst in his book ‘Down Memory Lane’ (Keighley News, 1993), at the inquest that followed, some expert witnesses criticised the driver for having come down the hill in top gear, but the owner of the charabanc defended his driver by saying “if he had come down in second gear the passengers would have thought that he was not a capable driver and that he was nervous”. Certainly accounts captured by the Keighley News in the days immediately following the accident, many survivors praised the driver’s attempts to control the situation.

The photograph of the crash was donated to the History Society by David Holmes. The photograph of Victoria Hospital is a detail from a Hall & Siggers postcard from the personal collection of Tim Neal. Researched and collated by Tim Neal.

Saturday 26th October 1985 was closing night for Keighley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society’s production of ‘Underneath the Arches’. The production starred Keith Marsden as Bud Flanagan and Geoff Rundle as Chesney Allen. The production played for a week at the Victoria Hall in Victoria Park, Keighley.

The show was previewed in the Keighley News of Friday 11th October 1985. The article revealed a connection between Marsden and the real-life characters: “Keith Marsden’s delighted to be playing Bud Flanagan in Keighley Amateurs’ production of Underneath The Arches. For his dad was apparently in at the ‘birth’ in Keighley of the famous Flanagan and Allen partnership. It all began, according to Keith, when his father, Ernest – an Amateurs stalwart – wrote a song for the golden jubilee of Keighley Gala in 1926. Florrie Ford heard it in a local pub, liked it, and wanted Ernest to write new lyrics so she could use it in her summer season at the Isle of Man.

“Negotiations were taking place in the old Kings Arms when two young downtrodden comics who were being tried out in Florrie’s revue arrived – saying they’d had enough and were going to become bookies,” Keith told me this week. “Florrie pleaded with them to change their minds – and offered to get them a few variety dates. Eventually she talked them round; was as good as her word, and a few months later Flanagan and Allen stopped the show at the old Argyll, Birkenhead. Within a year they were topping the bill at the Palladium.””

The newspaper cuttings were provided by Glenis Hey in 2020. The main photograph of Victoria Hall was taken by Roy Willoughby circa 1987. The sheet music for Ernest Marsden’s gala song is part of the John Normington Collection, donated by John’s daughter Liz Hornby in 2021.

Monday 20th October 1947 was opening night of the musical play “Rio Rita”, performed by Keighley Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley. The music was by Harry Tierney, with words by Joseph McCarthy, from the book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson. The original 1927 stage musical was turned into a RKO film in 1929, directed by Luther Reed.

The story is set on the US/Mexico border, where cabaret singer Rita Ferguson falls for Texas Ranger Captain Jim Stewart, while pursued by Mexican General Esteban. Meanwhile, Captain Stewart is seeking the notorious bandit Kinkajou, whose real identity is unknown (but could be Rita’s brother Roberto!). The climax is reached onboard the pirate barge owned by Esteban, which serves as a floating cabaret…

The Keighley production starred Hylda Saville Smith (1) as Rio Rita, Arthur Day (2) as Captain Jim Stewart, Eric B. Boster (3) as General Esteban, and Fred W. Pye as Roberto. Supporting roles were played by Albert E. Shepherd, Arthur Shackleton, Ernest Marsden (4), Dorothy M. Williams, Betty Phillips, Keith Marsden (5), John H. Crabtree, Pamela Fitzjohn, Victor J. Wood, Frank Hopkinson, Margaret Best and Marjorie Riley. It was produced by T. C. Wray. The cast photographs were taken by John Tobin of Keighley.

The programme was loaned to Keighley and District Local History Society for scanning by Tim Neal in April 2022. The full 48-page programme is available to view on our Flickr site.

The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society staged a production of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Yeomen of the Guard (or The Merryman and his Maid)’ at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley from 18th to 23rd October 1909.

The story is set in the sixteenth century and revolves around Colonel Fairfax, a condemned prisoner in the Tower of London, and his attempts to secure a wife before his execution for sorcery. He manages to escape the Tower disguised as a Yeoman and much confusion ensues before all is righted by the end.

It starred Arthur Greenwood as Colonel Fairfax, with E. G. Moulding, James Pearson, Willie Boyes, J. R. Hammond, H. Connelly, John Merrall, C. A. Greenwood, J. Greenwood, B. Hardacre, H. V. Wilkinson, Miranda Sugden, Ethel Bird, Miss Lambert and Mrs Heaton. The musical director was W. S. Wilkinson and the stage manager was W. G. Bedford. Scenery was hired from the Northern Theatres Co. Ltd. and was specially painted by F. G. Venimore.

The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society had only formed a year previous (in 1908) and the theatre had only been renamed the Hippodrome earlier that year (in 1909). Prior to that it was known as the Queen’s Theatre, although both names remained on the front of the building, and many programmes and adverts continued to refer to the ‘Hippodrome and Queen’s Theatre’.

This souvenir programme was a collaboration between photographer H. Charlton of Lawkholme Crescent, and the printers Wadsworth & Co. of The Rydal Press, Russell Street. The programme was donated to the Keighley and District Local History Society by Tim Neal in 2022. A second copy was received by the History Society from an anonymous donor later in 2022. Both copies are held in the History Society’s physical archive. The full document can be viewed on the History Society’s Flickr site.

The Keighley Division of the Liberal Association held a Bazaar in the Municipal Hall (Mechanics’ Institute) from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th October 1928. The purposes of the Bazaar were “1. To free the Association from debt, 2. To provide the means of conducting Active Political Work throughout the (Keighley) Division, 3. To combine the workers throughout the Division in one common object for the benefit of the Party”.

Stalls within the Bazaar included plain and fancy needlework stalls, a fruit, flower and basket stall, a fancy stall, a sweet stall, a mystery parcels stall, a china and glass stall, a home produce and pound stall, a perfumery and toilet requisites stall, a men’s miscellaneous stall, and a cigarettes and tobacco stall.

On the first day, the Bazaar was officially opened by Lady Carey Evans at 2.30pm. Thursday was opened by Lady Bain, Friday by Lady Fisher Smith and Saturday by Sir Charles Starmer. Music across all four days was provided by G. S. Sugden’s Orchestra. Refreshments were supplied by Mr W. Day (who had a confectionary shop on North Street).

Entertainment and events went on well into the evening on each day. These included The Trocadero Dance Band, a Cabaret Show by members of the Keighley Amateur Operatic Society, picture shows, Knuts Komedy Koncert Party, performances by the Clifton, Devonshire and Orpheus Quartettes, Andrew Beaver giving dramatic and humorous recitals, and even ‘Baby Cinema’ organised by local photographer W. Bruce Johnston.

The cover of the souvenir programme included a design by Miss Mary Haggas of Park Lane, Keighley. It showed “the gracious figure of Liberalism giving the Bread of Sustenance to the old and the Torch of Knowledge to the young”. It was chosen in a competition by the Bazaar Publicity Committee.

The President of the Keighley Division at this time was H. S. Clough and the Chairman was Councillor David Rhodes. Keighley first elected its own MP in 1885. For over thirty years, between 1885 and 1918, it had elected Members from the Liberal Party (Sir Isaac Holden, Sir John Brigg, Stanley O. Buckmaster, Sir Swire Smith, and William H. Somervell). The most recent election by 1928 had been in 1924 when the Liberals came third in Keighley. The next general election was to be held in May 1929 for which David Rhodes had already been selected as the Liberal candidate (in the event he came second).

The Keighley Liberal Club at this time was situated at the junction of Devonshire Street with Scott Street (having originally been on High Street). Members had access to a newspaper reading room, a billiard room and private members rooms. The building included Devonshire Hall, available to hire for wedding parties, luncheons, dances and so on. (This hall was later converted to a theatre space and became Keighley Little Theatre.)

The souvenir booklet was donated and scanned by Tim Neal in 2019 and is held in the Keighley and District Local History Society physical archive. The image was created by Tim Neal in 2022. The full booklet is available to view on the History Society’s Flickr site.

Francis Butterfield was appointed as the first President of the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society, at the society’s second meeting held on 15th October 1860. Butterfield was a blacksmith on Beckside at the time.

Also shown, a sketch from memory of the first Co-Op shop on Church Green, Keighley, by Thomas Heaps, drawn in 1910. 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 from ‘Half a Century of Co-operation in Keighley – 1860-1910’ by Joseph Rhodes, published by the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. in 1911. Image created by Tim Neal in 2022.