Saturday 26 January 2013

Above: older Silsdeners will remember this single-storey stone building in Elliott Street at the
rear of Queen Street as "t'wooden hut" (pictured below) of their childhood where a tempting
array of sweets and ices was always an attraction. The stone property, built in 1989, was a
sandwich shop and then a tattoo parlour before being acquired in 2003 as a base for
caravan repairers and LP Gas specialists Keith and David Wilkinson. 

The wooden hut was almost as old as Queen Street itself.  A Miss Mary Stater, described as a retailer of confectionary, is believed to have been the first trader there from the late 1880s. Other shopkeepers down the years included two brothers called Hanson, in the 1940s/50s Mrs Grace Rose,  then a Mrs Fort and later a Mrs Bancroft. It was not the only wooden hut to serve shoppers in Elliott Street (see below).
Pictured above is Mrs Charlotte Throup in the doorway of a similar structure on the opposite side of Elliott Street, across the road from the school and adjoining the factory which became Briggs Printers. This hut sold vegetables, fruit and cigarettes and was opened by Charlotte's husband, Ethelred Bentley Throup, at the turn of the 20th century. Born in 1878, Ethelred had been apprenticed at the age of 11 to his father, Joseph Laycock Throup, a local greengrocer. (Joseph and his wife Emma had at least 13 children and many of them became local retailers or ran delivery services by horse and cart.)
Above: Ethelred Bentley Throup, in his shopkeeper's apron, is pictured with his son, Joseph, who is holding bananas. Joseph was born in 1912 so this photograph was probably taken around 1920. Older residents will remember Joseph, who died only a few years ago, and his sisters Emma, Mary and Violet.

Monday 21 January 2013

Silsden awoke to snow on Monday, January  21. With  schools closed, children and parents lost no time in making the  most of the 10cm-deep covering. This snowman attracted the attention of passers-by at the junction of Laurel Grove and Haythorns Mount.

Monday 14 January 2013

Silsden had its first snowfall of the winter on January 14.  Fields were covered but main roads cleared quickly. Freezing temperatures later in the day after the snow had melted were a more serious threat. This photograph near Far Ghyll Grange was taken in December 2010 when snow persisted on the hills.   

Sunday 13 January 2013

Above: This view (January2013) of the Hainsworth Road frontage of Waterloo Mills is in marked contrast to the photograph below, probably taken in the early 1960s. The substantial Waterloo Mill, between Howden Road and the Leeds/Liverpool Canal, was built in the early 1860s and over the years was occupied by several well-known textile firms. The part of the mill shown above was home to Hebert Green before being converted into swish apartments and houses.

Above: View through the archway at Waterloo Mill from Hainsworth Road showing part of the handsome courtyard, or rather mill-yard, housing development.
Above: the eastern end of Waterloo Mills (the title varies between singular and plural) is occupied by Snugpak, which started more than 30 years ago as a cottage industry and has grown to become an international brand for sleeping bags and insulated clothing for extreme weather. The company has twice won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade.


Sunday 6 January 2013

GROWERS' GALLERY (4): It has been a few years since summer in Silsden was this sunny. Pictured at work in their productive allotment are brothers Mick (left) and Ken Ideson.
Four views of Kirkgate over the years, looking towards the Post Office from or near the junction with Aire View. Above: mid-morning on Sunday, January 6, 2013.
Above: late 1950s. The Milk Bar on the left later became a launderette and is now the Rice Bowl Chinese take-away shop with the red frontage in the first picture of the series. Note the hoist arm and goods door by the first-floor window before the Milk Bar sign. The shop in the left foreground was a draper's, which also sold corsets and ladies' underwear. It is now Hill's Bakery.
 Above: late 1940s/early 1950s. The pavement scene shows some evidence of the post-war baby boom.
Above: postcard stamped 1915. The double-fronted shop in the left foreground is the property that many years later became the Milk Bar. The UFO-like mark on the Post Office gable end is a cross made by the person who sent the postcard to a Mrs Chiddy in Giggleswick. The Post Office was indicated because it faced the correspondent's own shop. (The stamp cost a halfpenny.)