Showers at Shibden

I met my daughter and granddaughters (and their dog!) at Shibden Park recently, for a couple of hours. We had a great time, exploring the park and the playground. There was opportunity for that ageless tradition of 'feeding the ducks' - and yes, we used proper bird food, not bread. It was a windy day and there were some very sharp showers but we managed to dodge the worst of them.

Then we had a ride on the little train, which happily has started running again with suitable modifications to promote hygiene during this time of coronavirus. They were spreading families out in separate carriages and staff were disinfecting the seats between trips. It is quite hard, I find, to remember to keep sanitising hands and so on. The little ones are better drilled in it than I am - but then, I rarely touch things when I'm out, whereas they were using the play equipment and so on.

My youngest granddaughter, in particular, has always been super-excited by this little train, ever since she was tiny - but for all of us, it was refreshing to do something 'normal' and joyful for a change.

We tried a 'selfie'... It wasn't especially successful as I had the phone on the wrong setting - doh! But then, these days, I am better a little blurred!

Drum Machine party

I've featured Drum Machine on my blog before. They are an exciting drum collective, based in Hebden Bridge. I didn't expect to see them at the Piece Hall but they were there to give a party atmosphere to the opening of the new sculpture exhibition, 'People Play' (see yesterday).

Listen to them HERE.

I think I like their performances so much for two main reasons: firstly, being deaf, deep sounds are much easier for me to hear. Drumming resonates within your body in an rather engaging way. Secondly, it reminds me of my childhood, when we used to watch the Miners' Parades through my home town. Each coal pit had its own brass band and I loved to feel the bass of the drums vibrating in my tummy as they passed by.

 I recently had chance to join a short workshop on African drumming (not with Drum Machine) and that was fun too. I've not much sense of rhythm to be honest - but I didn't let that stop me!

People Play

I met my daughter at Halifax's Piece Hall recently, for a meal and then a trip to the theatre. We went to see 'Giovanni Pernice: This is Me' at the Victoria Theatre, a touring dance show starring the Italian professional dancer from 'Strictly Come Dancing'. It was colourful, cheeky and actually very funny in parts, with fabulous dancing, lighting and costumes as you'd imagine. We had a very good time, part of our Christmas present to each other. It's not often that just the two of us meet up separate from the rest of the family, so I enjoyed that.

Beforehand I explored the new sculpture installation in the Piece Hall courtyard. Called 'People Play', it has been commissioned from emerging artist Alice Irwin. It consists of nine large, colourful painted metal characters, exploring the concept of childhood, play and also referencing the treatment of children in the textile trade in Victorian times. I found it quite fun, though not especially engaging. Children (perhaps inevitably) seemed more drawn to it and to the holes and spaces within the figures. The Piece Hall is such a vast space that things within it seem tiny by comparison so, although the pieces were substantial, they still seemed a little lost in the space. But perhaps there is food for thought there too... 

It looked more interesting after dark, when a heavy rainstorm created reflections to add to the illuminations created for the exhibition's opening night.

Industrial quirks

The Calderdale Industrial Museum showcases some of the more unusual local industries. Halifax is famous for being the birthplace of the now ubiquitous 'cat's eye' reflective road studs. They were invented in 1934 by Percy Shaw, who patented the invention and set up a company to manufacture them, which is still in production. There are several stories as to how they came to be invented. Most seem to relate to the steep and precipitous road between Halifax and Queensbury, which Percy Shaw often drove along. It has a steep drop on one side and it is said that he got the idea to light it with reflective studs, having seen a cat's eyes shining in the light of his car headlamps or, possibly, from navigating through the fog by the gleam from tramlines picking out the route. He sounds to have been quite an eccentric, but in 1985 he was made OBE for his services to export.

Halifax also manufactured heavy earthenware used in sewage pipes, drainage and domestic sanitary ware. There were clay mines locally as well as coal mines, and there are exhibits in the museum related to mining, with heart-rending tales of children (boys and girls) as young as 5 or 6 spending their days crawling along narrow, filthy tunnels hauling carts full of coal, or sitting alone in the dark by the ventilation doors, to ensure a supply of air. This was stopped in 1847 by the Mines Act, after which only boys aged 10 and up could work in the mines.

Cast iron lamp-posts, taps and pipes were made in Calderdale:

Halifax also made - and still makes - confectionery. There is a factory near the railway station, originally Mackintosh's, now part of Nestlé, that produces Quality Street, After Eight Mints and other goodies. The museum has a large tin of Quality Street that appears to be falling in through the ceiling - to the delight of at least one small child that I saw there.

Industrial colour

There was plenty of wonderful colour in the threads on the weaving looms. This particular model was a moquette loom. Moquette is a thick, woven, velvety, short pile, hard wearing fabric with distinctive patterns, used traditionally for upholstery, in particular the seats on public transport: our trains, buses and London Underground trains. Holdsworth Fabrics in Halifax still make it, one of the very few manufacturers left. Wherever you are in the world, if you get on a coach, you're likely to be sitting on Holdsworth of Halifax moquette.

Industrial monochrome

I was drawn to the details in the exhibits in Calderdale Industrial Museum. Boxes of bolts and blacksmiths' tools seemed prime candidates for a monochrome treatment.

So too did the fine wires hanging from the carpet looms - the means, I think, by which the carpet pile is pulled up into loops.

The engines and machines had intricate cog wheels. Cogs always have a fascination for me. Whether huge like these or tiny and delicate, they are finely engineered to fit and turn accurately to transmit power from one shaft to another. Such a clever idea!

Calderdale Industrial Museum

I'd heard good things about Calderdale Industrial Museum in Halifax. It's only open on Saturdays so it has taken me a while to fit in a visit but it proved to be a real gem. Much smaller and more intimate than those of Bradford and Leeds, it is nevertheless packed full of interesting exhibits and there are some experienced and enthusiastic volunteers, very willing to share their knowledge with visitors. It is something of a community success story. The museum was opened in 1985 by Calderdale Council to promote the industrial heritage of the Calder valley; budget cuts led to its closure and mothballing in 2000. Since 2011, a team of volunteer enthusiasts have worked hard to reopen it and they have enabled it to open one day a week, with many of the exhibits now working and able to be demonstrated to visitors. I think it is still a work in progress but it's a very heart-warming story and it's worth a visit. It's well situated, right next to Halifax's famous Piece Hall. I can recommend its café too. I had an excellent pot of tea, served with a smile, for just £1. That's about a third of the price of one in the Piece Hall itself.

One room is dedicated to the story of the manufacture of carpets, which was one of Halifax's major industries in the 1800s and 1900s. Crossley Carpets at Dean Clough Mills was one of the largest carpet factories in the world, covering 20 acres and at one time employing over 5000 people. It ceased production in 1982. In the museum they have a working Wilton-Brussels carpet loom. Wilton carpet weave is made with the pile threads woven through as a continuous thread, raised above the backing by means of wires or hooks. It can be cut or left as loops.

Wooden, horse-drawn carts like the one below would have been a common sight on the streets of our towns and cities, carrying produce and raw materials and often taking goods to be transported by barge on the canal network.

Art in Dean Clough

At Dean Clough, I particularly wanted to see an exhibition of photographs of Haworth and other places linked to the Brontës: A Brontë Reader, by Helen Burrow. They're black and white images, taken with a Holga camera, so they have a characteristic blurriness and grittiness which rather suits the subject matter. The exhibition is partnered by a book of the photos paired with quotes from the Brontës' books, letters and other reflections.

Whilst I was there, I explored the other galleries, and these were some of the artworks I enjoyed:

Exquisitely coloured and complex bas-reliefs, made of folded and crimped paper - by Pierrette Vergne (lovely name too!)

A series of life drawings made by Doug Binder, painter in residence at Dean Clough.

Playful ceramics by Ian Stewart, including Gorilla with kitten (above).

An oddly compelling sculptural installation by Connie Lo Ho Yee: In the Absence Of... that involves illusion (how is it held up?), sound and 3D printing. One of my friends remarked that it looked like 'toothpaste in space' - well, yes...

My favourite exhibit, possibly, was a photo of Dean Clough taken in the 1930s by the famous photographer Bill Brandt: Catchpoint - Hail, Hell and Halifax.

Dean Clough in Lego

The Dean Clough Lego project came about as the result of a discussion amongst staff about the difficulties of depicting the huge site (see yesterday).  The individual mills are so close together, in a deep valley, that it is difficult to photograph them or convey their size. An aerial view would show the whole site but lose the historical details. Someone - perhaps jokingly - suggested building it in Lego. Thus it was that in 2009, Michael Le Count (a primary school teacher) and Tony Priestman (a computer data specialist) began to construct a model, in their spare time, using only commercially available Lego pieces. They are still at it! It's a huge model and astonishingly detailed, well worth seeing.

Dean Clough

Once the world's largest carpet factory, Dean Clough in Halifax is, like Salts Mill in Saltaire, a triumph not only of the Industrial Revolution but also of the entrepreneurial vision of men in more recent times. As with Salts Mill, one of those men was the late Jonathan Silver.

The carpet factory, Crossley's, opened in the mid-1800s and closed in 1983. It was then bought by Sir Ernest Hall, along with the young Jonathan Silver, who began to develop it as a business and cultural complex. The partnership between the two men did not last long as they had very different ways of working. Jonathan left and in 1987 he bought and began to develop Salts Mill with a similar vision.

(There's another connection too. In 1866 Titus Salt Jnr married Catherine Crossley, daughter of the Halifax carpet magnate, Joseph Crossley, joining the two great textile dynasties.)

Nowadays the complex of mills holds over 150 different businesses with over 4000 employees. There is a hotel, a theatre and several gallery spaces, restaurants, a gym and retail premises. It is a busy working environment and a tourist attraction, with over 60,000 visitors a year.

It has certain similarities to Salts Mill on the exterior but is not as ornate. Though larger in total area, it was in fact several different mills in its heyday. Inside it has a rough industrial vibe in parts but it is divided into much smaller spaces and feels more contemporary. It has lost the sense of a Victorian mill, which Salts Mill still proudly capitalises on.

Shibden Hall Park

By the time we arrived at Shibden Hall, the sun had come out and the sky was an intense blue - but it wasn't a lot warmer! We skirted the house this time and headed down to the boating lake where there is a nice café. Coffee and cake warmed us up a little and we were able to rest our aching legs before the long walk back - up and over the hill again!

There are still masses of daffodils in bloom everywhere. They seem to have lasted a long time this year. Some trees have blossom and some have new vivid green leaves.

I noticed the first native bluebells too, on south facing slopes. They're rather early. We usually expect to see them in May, not April. Let's hope they last as long as the daffodils and we can really enjoy them. They too are such an intense blue.

Halifax panorama

I walked with a friend recently, from the Piece Hall in Halifax to Shibden Hall (see HERE) and back. It's a strenuous climb out of the town and up over the hill. You do, however, get a splendid panoramic view of Halifax if you look back. 

It was a bit hazy but you might be able to pick out a few landmarks. Looking south west:

The Wainhouse Tower was built as a chimney for a dyeworks in the 1870s, with the intention to combat pollution. The works were sold before it was finished and it was never actually used, but became a folly and a landmark. You can climb 403 steps to the top, should you wish! It is 275 feet tall. 

In front of that is a large, black, modernistic office block, built in 1973 as the head office for Halifax Building Society, now part of the Lloyds group. 

I've labelled The Piece Hall, that amazing Georgian wool market (see HERE) and in front of that is the spire of the demolished Square Chapel, now part of Halifax Library (see HERE). 

Down at the front of the photo is Halifax Minster, its stone still blackened from years of pollution (see HERE). (The grime of the Industrial Revolution has been sandblasted off most public buildings in our northern towns.)

Looking due west (and zoomed in a bit) you can see the huge bulk of the Dean Clough mill complex. I'll be posting some more photos and information about that soon, as I visited there separately a couple of weeks ago. In front of the mills is a red painted Victorian bridge known as North Bridge, over the River Hebble. It is now dwarfed by the concrete flyovers built across the valley in the 1970s to try to alleviate Halifax's traffic problems.

I don't know about you but I love being up high and looking over a view like this, trying to pick out the familiar places seen from a different angle. It was, however, freezing cold so we didn't linger too long before setting off again on our walk, at a brisk pace to warm ourselves up. 

Cloudburst

That's April for you... One minute it's warm(ish) and sunny and then there's a cloudburst. In this instance it was actually a sudden hailstorm that passed over, as I was driving over the hills near Denholme. The view as the storm moved away was rather better from higher up but there was nowhere to pull the car off the road; this was the first place I could safely stop. Still quite dramatic.

Halifax Minster

The Minster Church of St John the Baptist in Halifax dates to the 1400s, though there is evidence of stonework from earlier periods. It has, of course, been altered over the years, though it still contains wooden box pews from the 1600s. Most of the medieval stained glass was removed during the Puritan Commonwealth period (mid 1600s) and there are several leaded windows with plain glass from this period. Most of the stained glass that now exists, including the East window, is Victorian.

It's a large church and quite dark inside, full of dark stonework, heavy wooden pews and a dark panelled ceiling, that is actually painted but difficult to see the detail. It has, however, a friendly and cosy feel despite its size and it's full of beautiful and interesting features, including two lovely side chapels (see one below).  The sun was shining through the windows when I was there, casting coloured light onto the walls and pews, and I chose to capture random aspects that suggest the play of light and colour in the dark interior.