Haworth details

Just a few of the details that caught my eye when I was wandering around Haworth.

Alleys and lanes

Haworth, more than most places, is a bewildering jumble of narrow lanes, alleys and ginnels, some wide enough for vehicles but many only accessible on foot. It has grown up over many centuries, from the early days when villagers subsisted on a few acres of poor farmland and maybe some hand loom weaving or wool combing. By the time the Brontës lived here in the 1820-50s, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing; mills, powered by water and later steam, were taking over. Haworth was crowded, polluted and unhygienic. The average age of death was 24 and 41% of children failed to reach their sixth birthday! Nowadays, the crowded cottages are attractively converted, some of them are holiday homes, and the narrow streets are honeypots for tourists.

Hobbling around Haworth

I somehow managed to seize up my back a couple of weeks ago. Whilst I've regained some freedom of movement, it still aches. I'm trying to keep moving, as sitting still doesn't help. So, despite the temperature hovering around freezing, I took myself off for a hobble round Haworth. It was cold but there wasn't a breath of wind so it was actually really pleasant wandering around in the weak sunshine. I'd forgotten that the Brontë Parsonage Museum closes during January, as do many of the cafés and tourist shops, so there were only a handful of other visitors and I could appreciate 'the bones' of the village, rather than fighting through the crowds.

It isn't exactly a pretty place (too gritty and 'northern' for that) but it has a lot of charm, with its steep, cobbled main street (made famous recently as a challenging climb on the Tours de France and Yorkshire cycle races). There is a host of little alleys and backstreets to explore too, as well as the area around the Parsonage and church.

The imposing Hall Green Baptist Chapel sits at the bottom of the main street, with a glorious view of fields beyond. Haworth was an important centre during the Evangelical revival in the 18th century, which led to the birth of Methodism. (Interesting article HERE about that and Patrick Brontë's links to it).

The lack of crowds meant it was easier to appreciate the many different shapes and sizes of buildings that line the main street. There is a wondrous hodgepodge of houses, pubs and commercial premises clinging to its slopes.

Tong Park

My camera club will hold its biennial exhibition this summer, so I've been choosing a few photos to have printed. Stage two of the process is to get them mounted, so I trotted off to the picture framer that I use, in Baildon. It was a very cold, frosty day but, as the sun was shining, I also took the opportunity to have a short walk round nearby Tong Park.

Tong Park was a mill village that was built by the Denby family around their Tong Park Mill in the 1850s. Unlike Saltaire, little now remains of their empire. The mill finally closed in the 1990s and is now an industrial park. Some of the original village was demolished from the 1960s onwards and now the area is a pleasant and mixed residential zone. There are a few rows of Victorian terraced houses still dotted around. Interestingly, I noticed some of them are 'back to backs', where the houses share party walls on three sides, with only the front wall having a door and windows. They were often badly built and came to be considered unfavourably, so most have now disappeared.

What does remain is the mill dam, nestled in the Gill Beck valley. It provides a tranquil focal point in an area of grassland and woods, rich in wildlife and unusual plants that thrive on the glacial moraine.

The ducks were rather bemused that the lake was completely frozen over. They just stood around, seeming rather fed up with things. 

Climbing out of the valley, there was a good view back over the lake towards the Hollins Hall golf course and, to the left, the rather picturesque cricket ground. On the hillside (where the evergreen tree is) stands a war memorial, erected by the Denby family to commemorate the men from Tong Park who died in WWI.

YSP in mono

We've had a couple of talks recently at the camera club by photographers specialising in mono work. They have inspired many of us, me included, to scroll back through our archives and look for images that will convert effectively to monochrome. I found these two, taken at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, that I think look quite good in mono, especially when I gave them a slight sepia tinge.

The top one is part of a sculpture by Amar Kanwar, made of organ pipes salvaged from the 19th century chapel on the YSP site. Its title is 'Six Mourners and The One Alone'.

Perched on top of a rotting tree stump, the iron figure above is recognisably an Antony Gormley creation, entitled 'One & Other'. (In fact, the tree stump is so rotten that I gather the figure has now been removed, awaiting a new site.) Gormley's other works include 'The Angel of the North' and 'Another Place', the figures on Crosby Beach (HERE). He often uses casts of his own body. This particular sculpture speaks of isolation. The figure, with no distinct features, becomes the universal.

Windows, reprised

I generally try to avoid taking the same photo twice, although it can be a fascinating exercise to log the changes over the years. Here is an exception. I am fascinated by all these windows in the houses bordering the path down from Ilkley Tarn. I first noticed and photographed them in 2010 (see HERE) and, since then, very little appears to have been altered. I still find them oddly compelling, and a black and white conversion still seems to suit the image best.

Elsewhere in Ilkley, things are changing. The Rombalds Hotel has closed, as the owners decided to retire after 22 years and could not sell it as a going concern. It is now being converted into nine apartments. Ilkley is a popular place for well-heeled retirees and there are already a lot of apartments, in converted older buildings and newly-built blocks. The developers obviously think they can sell a few more.

Of more concern to me was the fact that the public toilets in the town centre were closed! I'd understood that the local town council had taken them on, when they were earmarked for closure by Bradford Council last year. So whether their recent closure is temporary, for repairs, or permanent, I'm not sure. It always seems daft to me that the only alternative is to pay for a coffee in order to be able to use a café's facilities - and then an hour or so later you just need the same all over again!

Framed

There is a good view from Ilkley Tarn over the Wharfe valley towards Middleton and across to the high moorland north of Ilkley. From this raised vantage point, Ilkley itself is more or less hidden below in the valley. There is a shelter beside the Tarn and its wooden structure offered a kind of picture frame to the view.

Looking in the opposite direction, Ilkley Moor rises up from the Tarn, everywhere russet-tinged with heaps of collapsed bracken. I rather liked the shape of this lone tree on the edge of the moor.

Practising at Ilkley Tarn

I met with a friend from my camera club one afternoon and we walked up to Ilkley Tarn. Both of us are keen to improve our photography and I'm still on a learning curve with my new camera, so we were trying out manual exposures - with limited success in my case! It was a dullish day and the light wasn't great, but we still enjoyed chatting and learning together. Coffee and cake in one of Ilkley's lovely coffee shops rounded off a very pleasant afternoon.

The Tarn sits on the edge of the moor, above the town, and was created out of a bog in the 19th century, initially as a mill dam. It then became a popular place to walk - and skate when the water froze in winter - and was 'prettified' with shelters, lights and paths. It even had a fountain at one time. It has been a popular meeting spot too. Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, spoke at a rally there.

It's still popular with dog-walkers and those seeking a gentle walk along decent, mud-free paths. You can happen upon it unexpectedly if, anticipating a moorland walk, you follow the path from the town. Indeed, beyond it there is access to Ilkley Moor proper. It always seems a little odd to me to come across the old Victorian lamp-posts that line the path. A bit of Saltaire in Ilkley or even a touch of Narnia in them.

The Work of Salts

This interesting oil and acrylic canvas called 'The Work of Salts' (2018) hangs in the People and Process Gallery in Salts Mill. It is by London-based artist Alke Schmidt, part of her Wonder and Dread project, which 'explores the politics and morality of global textile supply chains and situates Bradford's wool industry in an international context'. Against the backdrop of Salts Mill's long south elevation, Victorian female mill workers share the space with Peruvian women and their alpacas, the source of the wool that was to make Sir Titus Salt's fortune. He himself can be seen in the upper left corner, with a lady that I presume is his wife Caroline. A Victorian child with two Victorian ladies in their huge crinolines and cloaks refer to the clothing that could be made from the fine, lustrous cloth the mill produced. Also creeping in are Burmantofts pottery vases and the lilies that are always displayed in the 1853 Gallery, filling the air with their heady scent.

The artist is quoted as saying: 'The Mill left such a strong impression on me: its remarkable history of vision, hope and hard work; its visual impact; its great spirit and energy; its beautiful Victorian alpaca dress fabrics; the scent of lilies in the 1853 Gallery; and especially the people whose work has made Salts Mill a success then and now.'

Salts Mill Gallery 2

In Salts Mill, just beyond Salts Diner, there is a long gallery that is used for temporary exhibitions. At the moment it is featuring photographs by Ian Beesley, a local photographer celebrated for his social documentary work. The work shown spans four decades. It includes photographs from the1980s when he documented the slow shutting down of Salts Mill as a working mill, and some from 2017 when he returned to photograph the Mill's reinvigoration, picturing some of the same spaces in their current incarnation. (See also HERE). There are also some poignant portraits of men and women employed in trades that no longer exist. The images are accompanied by poems by Ian McMillan, an acclaimed Yorkshire poet, who is a friend of Beesley's and with whom he often collaborates.

The above photo is called the 'The Bobbin Doffer'.

'Look at this man, how he carries the bobbins so carefully, each hand just so.....

Look at this man, how he carries the bobbins like he's carrying history.
And he can't see where he's going.
Can't see which way History's heading.
But we can see him.'  

Ian McMillan

The Mill yard

Salts Mill looks huge from the outside but it's only when you start to explore within that its massive size and numerous wings and sheds really become evident. The photo above is the entrance from Victoria Road and the centre of Saltaire - the 'back entrance', one might say, although many visitors come in this way. (The front entrance on the south side is accessed from the Mill's car park and nowadays has a modern glass and steel canopy.) Hundreds of the mill's workers must have come through this gate, in through the door on the right (where the blue and white sign now is) and up the stone stairs inside, to get to their work every day. There's an archive photo HERE taken in 1946 and reputed to be Salts Mill, though it looks somewhat different.

The building still houses several businesses and high tech industries (mostly in the parts to the left and beyond), with the retail/visitor areas of shops, cafés and galleries mainly in the south wing on the right. But during the working day when everybody is inside, it's quiet - especially in winter when there are fewer tourists. Then you can walk up the yard and under the archway, feeling the stone setts under your boots and imagining, perhaps, that you're a mill girl on an errand.

Spot the kingfisher

No, the kingfisher is not called Spot... I mean, can you see it?

I've walked along the riverbank many times and had other walkers say to me: 'Have you seen the kingfisher?' Maddening that I have never seen it! Then, the other day, when I wasn't even really looking, I saw a flash of blue. I stopped and watched for a while as the bird flew back and forth across the river and up and down the banks.

My new camera has a shorter zoom than my Nikon had, so it's no good for bird photography. Even if I'd had a decent lens, I doubt I could have got a very good photo as the bird didn't sit still for long. This was the best I could do. They are brightly coloured but quite small birds, and they dart about quite fast. They are not uncommon around here but it is, nevertheless, always a real thrill to see one.

Triptych

Here I took a really boring image of seeds and dead leaves, cropped it several ways, played around with coloured layers and the saturation sliders and framed them as a triptych. Mad but quite fun.

Tlaloc

Tlaloc is the Aztec god of rain, water and earthly fertility. It seemed a good name for this image, again one I produced in Photoshop. I took an image of grasses beside the canal, then duplicated, layered and blended it, and played around with the saturation. I never know quite what will emerge from the process so it is quite a fun and relaxing thing to do.

Fairy lights

Playing in Photoshop again, whiling away the dark evenings. This time I used two photos of different grasses, layering, blurring and blending them. I quite liked this effect. It looks like tiny fairy lights strung through some illuminated glass wands. Well, you either like this kind of thing or you hate it!

Shibden saunter

I went for a short walk with some friends, on a day that turned out to be drier, brighter and rather lovelier than expected. We went to Shibden Dale, an area I didn't really know, situated in between Bradford and Halifax. It's a small valley that holds, at one end, the Shibden Hall estate (see HERE) and in the middle a rather nice 'pub with rooms', called the Shibden Mill Inn. The inn is a 17th century building that was a corn and spinning mill until 1890. It's quite pretty, nestled into the valley. I didn't get a photo of it as I couldn't find a good vantage point.

We parked near the pub and set off on our circular walk, past a few old farm buildings that have been converted into very nice residences, and then out into the fields. 

There were old stone flags along some of the route, a sign that it was once a packhorse route, linking the nearby hamlets to the mill and onwards to the town of Halifax.

The best views were looking south down the valley towards Shibden Hall, but that meant shooting into the sun, so it looks a bit hazy. 

We passed several very old buildings, including the Grade II listed Lower North Royd Farm, a traditional stone house built in 1699, with long, mullioned windows and a distinctive circular window above the front door.

As we climbed higher, there was a good view up to Queensbury, which boasts one of the highest parish churches in England at nearly 350m above sea level. You can see the church tower in the photo below, to the left. The mill chimney is that of Black Dyke Mills, once an important textile mill (and home to the famous Black Dyke Mills brass band), now converted to business units and a creative arts centre.

Just beyond the halfway point of our walk, we had to pass through an unusual tunnel - a relic, I think, of the quarrying that took place in the area. The hill we were skirting seemed to be a quarry spoil heap. 

Our route gradually descended then, past another attractive building, Lower Lime House, dating to the 17th century, also listed and with distinctive ball finials on the gable copings.

Then an easy amble back to the Shibden Mill Inn. I always like a walk that can end with a drink in a cosy pub! It had been rather muddy underfoot and we all said it would be a lovely area to explore in the spring, so I might return for another expedition one day.

Volunteers at Bracken Hall

These ladies are some of the volunteers who are keeping Shipley Glen's Bracken Hall Countryside Centre open, through the Friends of Bracken Hall and with the support of Baildon Town Council. They weren't all that sure about having their photos taken but they kindly agreed.

The Centre first opened in 1981 and was run as a private business by the people who lived in the adjacent house. Later it was transferred to Bradford Council, who ran it for many years as an educational outreach centre. Budget cuts meant that could not continue and the centre closed in 2013. A concerted effort by the Friends means it's now able to open at weekends. It organises guided walks and supports school visits to the area, as well as having an interesting and varied display inside, covering the social, industrial and natural history of the area. It also has a nice wildlife-friendly garden. It's well worth popping in if you're walking on Shipley Glen. They even offered me chocolates and a cup of tea!

The adjoining Bracken Hall House is now run as a luxury B&B and has five star reviews.