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.
