A massive thank you to Heather Millard, Community Curator for Bradford and District Museums and Galleries, who addressed the History Society’s monthly meeting on Wednesday 11th June 2025. The meeting took place in the Main Hall of Keighley Civic Centre and the subject was “The Stained Glass Windows of Cliffe Castle”.
Heather gave some background on how the Butterfield family created Cliffe Castle on the bones of what had been Cliffe Hall, with showy highlights like the “Butterfield Window”, an enormous stained glass artwork at the top of the main stairs, plus the examples held in the stained glass gallery in the museum. A big thank you too to the dozens of people who came along, in person or on Zoom, to enjoy the fascinating talk.
Our next meeting is Wednesday 9th July when the guest speaker will be John Hindle, talking about “Roman Army Life in West Yorkshire”.
The History Society’s next meeting will be held in the main hall of Keighley Civic Centre on Wednesday 11th June. The guest speaker will be Heather Millard, Community Curator for Bradford District Museums and Galleries. Her talk is entitled “The Stained Glass of Cliffe Castle”. It will cover the glass original to the house, the ones that are missing, those brought into the museum collections, and the ones that have been restored.
Heather says: “When you visit Cliffe Castle, one of the key features that you can’t miss is the Stained Glass on display. Spanning several centuries, the glass on display tells many stories – from the spectacular Butterfield Window, seen on the Grand Staircase – the pared back early 20th Glass by Hugh Arthur Kennedy, or the Pre-Raphaelite glass by Morris and Co featuring pieces by Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Morris and more. My talk delves in the stories behind the windows and explores some of the fascinating histories behind what you now see.”
The History Society’s monthly meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month. Our meetings are held upstairs in the main hall of Keighley Civic Centre on North Street. There is a lift at the front of the building and one inside for anyone who needs it. Doors will open at 7.15pm, and the meeting starts at around 7.20pm. We finish around 8.30pm. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting. Entry costs £3.50 (or free if you are a history society member). History Society members also have the option of joining the meeting via Zoom.
New members are always welcome to come along. You can join the society at any of our meetings. Membership costs £15 for the calendar year or £20 for a couple living at the same address. As well as the monthly guest speakers there are also members-only events such as a forthcoming behind-the-scenes visit to the Bronte Parsonage Museum. Details of the society’s meetings and events can be picked up at any of their meetings or from the Local Studies Library desk.
A huge thank you to Colin Neville, curator of the Not Just Hockney website, for his talk last night on local painter and sculptor George Demaine. It was fascinating and thought-provoking, and the perfect opportunity to appreciate the work of this artist. Over thirty society members and guests enjoyed the talk, in person at the Civic Centre and over Zoom.
Next month’s talk is Heather Millard on the stained-glass of Cliffe Castle, upstairs in the Civic Centre on Wednesday 11th June 2025.
Great article in this week’s Keighley News, promoting our next meeting which will include a talk by art historian Colin Neville on artist and sculptor George Demaine. The meeting is on Wednesday 14th May, at 7.15pm in Keighley Civic Centre. All welcome (free to History Society members and £3.50 for non-members, pay on the door).
The next History Society meeting is Wednesday 14th May 2025, starting at 7.15pm, upstairs in the Civic Centre on North Street, Keighley. The guest speaker will be Colin Neville, curator of the Not Just Hockney website about artists from the local area. His talk is entitled “The Courage of His Convictions” and focusses on artist and sculptor George Demaine (1892-1966), who grew up living on Malsis Crescent in Keighley. He studied at Keighley College of Art and then at the Royal College of Art in London. He was a committed Wesleyan Methodist and when he was called up to serve in the First World War he objected and claimed exemption on the grounds of his religious beliefs.
Colin says: “George Demaine, and thousands of conscientious objectors like him, demonstrated a different type of courage to the men and women who served during the Great War, that is the courage of their long-held religious or political convictions not to take the life of another and particularly in a war. It was a courage to stand by these principles in the face of often savage public reaction, military bullying, and harsh periods of imprisonment with hard labour.”
George was imprisoned for three years with hard labour for his refusal to serve in the armed forces or undertake any war related work. The talk illustrates George’s life and work: from art student locally, to his imprisonment, and how he forged a career for himself in the post-war years.
There will also be the opportunity to buy copies of Colin’s different publications on local artists. These usually cost between £5 and £10. Please bring cash if intending to buy.
The History Society’s monthly meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month. Our meetings are held upstairs in the main hall of Keighley Civic Centre on North Street. There is a lift at the front of the building and one inside for anyone who needs it. Doors will open at 7.15pm, and the meeting starts at around 7.20pm. We finish around 8.30pm. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting. Entry costs £3.50 (or free if you are a history society member). History Society members also have the option of joining the meeting via Zoom.
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.
April’s History Society meeting will be The Men of Worth Project’s Andy Wade explaining how it was found that several people were missing from the original roll, leading to the submission of over 100 candidates who were approved by a review panel of local people and added to the second roll of honour book. He’ll also talk about the associated centenary events surrounding this work.
The meeting is on Wednesday 9th April 2025 and will be held in the Main Hall, upstairs in Keighley Civic Centre. 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 meetings in the Library (cash only please) or online via the society’s website.
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.
