Archive for Archives

Keighley Council’s historical archive is to be saved

March 29, 2013 / / No comments

The Keighley Town Hall cellars have been the repository for records since the Council came into being, but it’s not been general knowledge that these records have remained in storage in the Town Hall cellars for many years, untouched since Bradford Metropolitan District Council took over in 1974. The History Society had been informed by Bradford Council staff that these archives had to be removed as soon as possible so that the storage area could be brought back into use with the implication being that some of the archive could be damaged, or even lost in the process if we didn’t act quickly.

We visited the archives for ourselves, fully expecting to see a few dozen books and files but were very pleasantly surprised to see over 1000 large leather bound ledgers and files, containing the whole history of Keighley Council activities. They include:

Poor Rate record books for Keighley; Haworth; Oakworth; Oxenhope and Stanbury.

Valuation lists

Bond certificates

Record of Keighley Sanctions to borrow

Sinking fund accounts

Keighley Corporation accounts

Council minutes books, several years worth, dating back to 1877

Ledger books

Rent books

Road apportionment records

Water rate records

Gas rate records

Numerous stamps

Ballot boxes

Large linen backed maps

After the initial shock, we took the 1914 Stanbury Poor Rate book over to Keighley Library as a sample to show to staff, then came away to make plans to carry out what would effectively be a rescue mission. This would involve moving the whole archive to Russell Street storage rooms held by Keighley Town Council so that none of it was lost until a plan could be formulated to house the archive permanently, perhaps with grant funding assistance. We visited the cellars again and had carried out some indexing, when we were contacted by Library Staff informing us that they were going to take over the archive and were making plans to create space within the library archive rooms and cellars in order to keep it in Keighley. They will have to lose their main workroom and open up the cellar storage area, but they are confident that they able to take the whole archive.

Whilst it would have been a worthwhile experience to save and store this archive, we are happier with this outcome because it takes the pressure off us as a voluntary society and the archive will be staying in Keighley which is its rightful home. We would have struggled to make it available for anything like the 60 hours each week that the library is open. It will take many weeks or even months for the library staff to index and archive the whole archive, but we look forward to it becoming available to the general public and have offered our support to them in this endeavour. It will open up a whole new section of Keighley’s history to study and research.

Category: Archives, Books / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

70′s Themed House opening at Bradford Industrial Museum

December 10, 2012 / / No comments

The Industrial Museum in Bradford is developing a 70′s themed house as part of its collection.

Based in the row of reconstructed homes at the site the new house will compliment the existing themed homes. Intended to bring the collection more up to date the museum hopes to add oral history archives of local peoples memories and a collection of toys, games and local sayings from the period to add authenticity.

The museum are keen to hear from local people who are happy to share their memories, or who have toys / games from the period that they would be willing to donate or loan to the museum for display in the 70′s themed home.

Contact details and further information can be found in this article from the Telegraph and Argus. If you have stories that are specific to Keighley, please consider sending them to the Society for inclusion in our archive. Stories can be submitted via the form on this page.

Category: Archives, News / Tags: ,

Archiving photographs of the Olympic Relay in Keighley

November 20, 2012 / / No comments

The West Yorkshire Archive Service are in the process of archiving photographs taken of the Olympic Torches Relay through the area.

Thousands of people turned out in keighley to watch the Olympic Torch pass through the town in June. Now the West Yorkshire Archive Services are hoping to archive photographs taken by members of the public. These will be used to create an exhibition relating to the relay and link in with peoples memories of the Torch passing through the town.

To contribute to this social History project, your photos can be uploaded at nowthen.org or sent via Twitter to @wyorksarchive. Alternatively, pass them to a Committee member and we will ensure that the photographs are submitted to the project.

Photographs don’t need to be professional quality. The emphasis is on highlighting the personal memories of the Torch relay, so shaky snaps taken on a mobile are more than welcome for this project!

Category: Archives / Tags:

FREE conference for and about community archives

August 9, 2012 / / No comments
FREE conference for and about Community Archives
Planning for……..The Future

Monday 17th September 2012

9.30am – 4pm at Holiday Inn Brighouse

Community Archives: The morning session will feature speakers including; Adam Lopardoon funding, Sarah Shooteron taking the project forward after the funding ends, Garry Brannanon using social media to engage not just promote.

After lunch delegates have the opportunity to take part in workshops to help develop their skills and knowledge.

Workshops will include photography conservation, cataloguing in the real world, getting out into the community & networking and digitising records.

Of interest to all involved in community heritage from members of Community Archives, to those working in Archives, Museums and Libraries and with community groups.

To book your FREE place that includes lunch email sshooter@wyjs.org.uk or call 0113 393 9774

Once you have registered your place you will be sent full details and given the opportunity to book two free training sessions on a first come first served basis.

Category: Archives, Events /

Wartime Keighley

April 14, 2012 / / No comments

This excellent video was shared on our Facebook group by Jan.

The video below, filmed by Alwin Pickles, combines modern footage of sites in Keighley, archival images and a narrative provided by Desmond Jackson.

The video covers a variety of wartime issues:

  • The view the Luftwaffe had of Keighley
  • The ARP in Keighley
  • Changes in the town since the war
  • Sites of Air Raid Shelters
  • Military bases and sites in the town
  • Painted Wartime signs that still exist
  • Wartime Industry in Keighley
  • War Memorials

If you have any wartime photographs of any of the places mentioned, or of any other sites in Keighley at the time, please let us know.

For further information about Keighley during the Second World War:

Visit Keighley Library to see the displays that are currently on show in the upstairs rooms. These relate to the now listed Pillboxes in Steeton and the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment during the war.

Visit the Men of Worth project website. Here you can find information about many Keighley folks involvement in the war.

Category: Archives / Tags: ,

Keighley Police Archive

April 4, 2012 / / 8 comments

The museum based in the Keighley Civic Centre has, along with lots of artefacts, been given a large portion of the Keighley Police Archive.

This archive covers crimes, investigations and incidents going back over 100 years. The Local History Society will be working with the Civic Centre management team to transcribe these documents and archive them.

There promises to be some very interesting and the odd strange tale in the archives. For example, here’s a record from 1901 based on the accounts of two On Duty Policemen in Haworth:

21/12/1901. 0045 hours. Location: Haworth, West Yorkshire. As two uniformed police officers, PS JOHN JOHNSON and PC CLARK were walking along a snow covered beat in Haworth when suddenly a green light illuminated the surrounding area. The officers looked up to the sky to see a luminous UFO shaped like a cigar pointed at both ends. The object emitted occasional flashes and sparks. They watched the object for 15 minutes as it slowly and silently moved across the night sky before disappearing into the distance. PS JOHNSON stated that the object was seen at an altitude of 100-150 feet before gradually gaining height. Two members of the public reported seeing similar objects in Keighley and Shipley respectively.

Originally cited in the Keighley News, 02/12/94, the report by these officers is classified as a Close Encounter of the First Kind.

Whilst much of the archive is ‘run of the mill’ documentation, we’re sure that there’ll be lots in there that can be used for interesting displays and / or educational materials for our local schools.

If you are interested in assisting in the transcription and archiving of these documents please e-mail us to let us know.

Category: Archives / Tags: , , ,
 
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