KEIGHLEY & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
WE PRESERVE AND SHARE
This is an event that might be of interest, co-organised by writer and friend-to-the-History-Society Sharon Wright. The Bronte Day Retreat is taking place on Saturday 10th May 2025 over in Thornton. More details on the poster or visit the website www.emmaliveyoga.com
Some of you may have seen the tribute to the late Elsie Scott in this week’s Keighley News. Elsie, who was born Elsie Greenwell, was renowned in the town for her skills as a dancer, performer, choreographer and dance teacher. We have just published the programme for the 1968 Amateurs production of ‘West Side Story’ on our Flickr site.
Elsie acted as choreographer on this show and was singled out in the opening paragraph of the Keighley News’ review, remarking on how she coped with the remarkably limited space on stage in the Ritz cinema. Reviewer Allan Robinson wrote: “To my mind, choreographer Elsie Scott was the ‘star’ of Keighley Amateurs’ opening presentation on Wednesday night for the marvellous job she did in such cramped conditions.”
Andy Wade, from the Men of Worth Project, gave an excellent talk to History Society members and guests at the Civic Centre on Wednesday evening. His talk was entitled “Keighley’s Roll of Honour Centenary” and covered the origin of the War Memorial in Town Hall Square, and the town’s original Roll of Honour book containing almost 1,000 names of the men from Keighley killed during the First World War, and brought the story up to date with how over 100 additional names have been uncovered and are recorded in a new additional book. Huge thanks to Andy.
Next month’s talk will be Colin Neville on Keighley-born artist George Demaine, on 14th May 2025.
Photographs taken by Tim Neal.
The latest members’ newsletter is out now. Available free to History Society members as a PDF, the newsletter comes out four times a year. This latest edition is 20 pages long and contains articles on a society visit to the Brontë Parsonage, the M&S store on Low Street, Keighley Amateurs stalwart Arthur Day, a new book that includes coverage of the “Keighley Martyrs”, the Holden Memorial in Holden Park, and plenty of dates for your diary for history-related events coming up in the area.
If you wish to join the History Society, it costs £15 a year and the easiest way to join is to come along to one of our monthly meetings in the Civic Centre (second Wednesday of every month).
Keighley Library is closing for a number of weeks from THURSDAY 13th MARCH. The main library will be operating a ‘click & collect’ service, but the LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY have a different system. Read below for details.
Thursday 13th and Friday 14th March: The Local Studies Library will offer a by-appointment service only to visitors who need to access publications and original records for their research. Visitors will be required to book their visit in advance to use the appointment service. Visitors should then turn up at the entrance on Spencer Street at the allotted time and will be taken up to the Local Studies Library.
Week commencing Monday 17th March: The Local Studies Library will be closed completely for one week to allow for essential collections work. During this time, the team will respond to urgent enquiries via email only.
From Tuesday 25th March: the by-appointment service will resume. This will last for the duration of the refurbishment work which is expected to last for about three weeks.
Please check the library website and social media for updates
March’s History Society meeting will be guest speaker Thomas Zugic looking at the causes of the Civil War and the significance of places such as Adwalton Moor, Tadcaster, Bradford, Selby and Marston Moor. He’ll also be exploring some of the tactics employed and the weapons used, including bringing along some reproduction weapons and armour, and a diorama of a typical Civil War army. [Background image is a detail from The Battle of Adwalton Moor by Jean Moust.]
The meeting is on Wednesday 12th March 2025 and will be held in the main hall, upstairs in Keighley Civic Centre (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A CHANGE OF VENUE). Doors open at 7.15pm. There is a lift to access the first floor. Entry is free to History Society members and is £3.50 to anyone else – all are welcome to attend. The meeting is scheduled to finish around 8.45pm. Members of the History Society also have the option of joining the meeting online via Zoom.
Membership of the History Society costs £15 for the calendar year. You can join at any of our face-to-face meetings (cash only please) or online via the society’s website.
Just published on the History Society’s Flickr site, the pages from a booklet marking the opening of Airedale General Hospital in December 1970. The hospital was officially opened by Prince Charles, who is quoted in the following week’s Keighley News as saying “I hope this building stands up for a very long time.”…
The History Society has been informed that we can’t hold our monthly meetings on Wednesday evenings in the Library for the foreseeable future. Because all of our speakers have been booked for this year, we are looking at an alternative venue.
For March’s meeting (guest speaker Thomas Zugic: The Importance of Yorkshire to the Civil War), the meeting will be held in the Main Hall, upstairs in the Civic Centre. The Civic Centre (for those who don’t know) is very close to the Library – on the same side of North Street but further up the road towards the Parish Church. There is stair-free access via a lift at the front of the building and a second lift indoors. The Main Hall is located on the first floor. Doors will open at 7.00pm and the meeting starts around 7.20pm (finishing around 8.30pm).
We are arranging venues for the remainder of the meetings for this year – keep an eye on society emails, the newsletter, social media and our website to keep up-to-date.
Events marking International Women’s Day 2025 are being held at Keighley Local Studies Library next Saturday (Saturday 8th March 2025). Guest speakers include three women familiar to the History Society: author and journalist Sharon Wright, social historian Jude Rhodes and performer and historian Irene Lofthouse. The library will also have special displays to look through.
Details for the day can be seen in the poster, and all of the talks are free to attend. No need to pre-book. Support our local library!
This Saturday (1st March 2025) from 2pm, Cliffe Castle is hosting a talk on the history of handbell ringing, with demonstration and the opportunity to take part, as part of the Season of Music organised by the Cliffe Castle Support Group.
“In the late 19th and early 20th centuries tune ringing on hand bells was extremely popular across the industrial towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Teams played with large sets of bells, often upwards of 150 bells per team.”
To book a free place, ring 01535 618231 or email cliffe.castle@bradford.gov.uk or call to the museum and book in person.