Yorkshire Flags

Yorkshire Flags will be waving proudly on the first of August 2009. I hope we can see them for the rain and drizzle that typifies our summer so far . This picture was taken on Ilkley Moor as good a place as any (and better than most) for a Yorkshire Flag. For a fuller explanation of the ‘vexillology’, origins and heraldry behind the Yorkshire Flag look at the Yorkshire Riding Society

York stone makes the best Yorkshire Flags but they are a bit heavy to fly. These stones look like they have survived many a long year up on a moorland track above Windhill.
Our flagstones are now so popular they are also supplied from India (I think not in reality unless the Raj left a quarry name Yorkshire in one of the provinces).

Now for the biggest Yorkshire Flag

In the County Cricket Championship: Division One Table Yorkshire are currently 8th without a win in 2009. The headline in the Yorkshire Post could be ‘Yorkshire Flags’ every time we get a run chase or a tight finish. As long as we are still in Division One when the final flag is waved I suppose we will just have to stomach it.

Flagcrackers

The Flag Crackers of Craven are a Border Morris Set the practice venue is Farnhill Community Hall, at Farnhill near Kildwick – practice 8-10 pm every Wednesday. After all that practice and the fact that they will be 21 years old this October means the know what’s what when it comes to dancing on flags. Keep your eye out for a local performance this Autumn.

Mini Yorkshire Flags

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Mini Yorkshire flags for desktop

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Whale Meet Again

Whale Watching

Whitby’s historical past is revealed in by the Abbey and the monuments that dominate Whitby’s east and west headlands above the harbour. For 84 years Whitby’s fishermen were engaged in whaling. The whale jaw bone arch on the West Cliff, pictured above, was presented to Whitby by Norway in 1963 (probably for having stopped Whaling and leaving it to Norwegians and the Japanese).

Whitby Whalers were doughty folk between 1757 and 1837 (when the last boat was sold). There is a full history ship by ship on Whitby Lad website.

Whitby Coastal Cruises now arrange whale watching trips and they claim ‘Minke whales are the main sightings but we have also seen humpback whales and an occasional pilot whale. Whales have been here for 1000’s of years, all that is new is that we are now taking the public out to see them.’

If you don’t mind queuing for Fish & Chips one of Whitby’s busiest restaurants is the Magpie Cafe but there are many excellent chippies around that offer great value for money. The ‘Whitby Whaler’ is now the eponymous name of fish and chip shops in Pudsey, Blubberhouses (why not) and other parts of the county. Poorpunsandbadbusinessnamesareus.com

Whale Watching by Nolleos CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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Photos of Trough of Bowland

OK, so we’re veering outside Yorkshire’s boundaries. But, these are some photos of the Trough of Bowland

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A misty moor.

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sheep in distance.

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A full river in Trough of Bowland.

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Jubilee Tower at top of Quernmore hill, looking towards Trough of Bowland.
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When is a Bridge not a Bridge

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The great landmark viaduct at Ribblehead. One of the seven industrial wonders of Yorkshire.

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‘I spy no bridge’ at Burnsall just dry stone walls and dales.

 

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How do you get up to this bridge ? It is in the Middle-sborough. Its the famous transporter pet – aufwiedersehen

 

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Hummer it Humber bridge

 

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Great Public Toilets of Yorkshire

This public toilet in Lofthouse, Nidderdale is a grade II listed building. In fact it hardly looks like a public toilet but you can walk around the stone entrance and enjoy the delights of a grade II listed toilet. The toilet is even nicely decorated with flowers around the edge.

This is on the steep road from Lofthouse to Masham.

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Feldspar or Mill Stone Grit

Feldspar or Mill Stone Grit?  Feldspar is a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up about 60% of the Earth’s crust whilst gritstone is a fluvial sedimentary rock. Rock is not what you should expect with Feldspar in this case.

Feldspar is a four-piece acoustic band, writing and performing original songs with a folk-inspired sound. West Yorkshire lads Will Green – guitar, lead vocals and Ben Lloyd-Evans – piano, guitar, vocal harmony are joined by Ben Cashell – ‘cello and Rob Cope – soprano sax . They were performing at Otley Courthouse last night to launch their first CD ‘Bright Day’ The songs are all thoughtfully constructed and the live performance was a good show piece for the group who have been together in various guises for 5 years.

The Title track ‘Bright Day’ was inspired by J.B. Priestley’s Bright Day a huge critical and popular success that was partially autobiographical. Its message of hope and promise echoeing the expectations of a nation after the long dark years of war. It is a message that still resonates with our own troubled and changing times. “Bruddersford (the setting) always seemed to me to have the kind of ugliness that could not not only be tolerated but often enjoyed; it was grim but not mean.” J B Priestley 1946 in Bright Day.

Feldspar can be heard or seen on their website where the CD can be purchased. Lets hope they are another Yorkshire group like the Kaiser Chiefs ‘cos the lads done good’.

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Horological Tempus Fugiting

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John Dyson the jeweler’s created Time Ball Buildings in Briggate, Leeds in around 1865 with its clock and facade that now seems to be under threat. Leeds other famous clock monument is in Thornton’s arcade opened in 1877 by Charles Thornton, a Music Hall owner. The arcade is best known for its clock which features animated characters from Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe. Robin Hood and Gurth the Swineherd strike the quarter hours, Friar Tuck and Richard the Lionheart strike the hours.

Clock making has a long tradition in Yorkshire and Hull’s Wilberforce House Museum’s permanent exhibition explores Hull and East Yorkshire’s clock making trade from the 18th and 19th centuries. It including 14 longcase clocks from Hull, Beverley, Bridlington and Patrington. Many of these clocks are in full working order and have distinctive brass and painted dials .

In the 18th century many dales villages had their own clock maker. A Concise Guide to the Clockmakers of Northallerton and their Clocks, by David F. Severs lists 55 known clock makers from Northallerton. R. Bradberry of Leyburn, James Bothroyd and his son Richard, of Reeth were other dales village clock makers.

John Stancliffe of Barkisland were active in the 1730’s. The Snow family were making clocks just north of Harrogate. Samuel Fletcher in Dewsbury around 1790, John Hall of Grimsby and John Bancroft of Scarborough were clock making around the turn of the 19th century. Yorkshire clocks made after 1800 became wider, taller and more imposing, often with fine elaborate veneers to give them a majestic look. Pearson of Halifax used a trademark exotic birds to the centre of painted dials.

More Information Sources

Every hobby and pastime has it’s own data source and the bible for the clock collector is a book called ‘Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World’, by G. H. Baillie, with volume 2 by Brian Loomes. These two volumes cover almost 100,000 known makers from the English-speaking world . For those wanting to follow the interesting hobby of clock collecting the magazine of choice is Clocks Magazine. You may also be interested in the Antiquarian Horological Society web site

A book by local expert Dr David Firth ‘An Exhibition Of Yorkshire Grandfather Clocks – Yorkshire Longcase Clocks And Their Makers from 1720 to 1860’ is available from amazon by clicking on the picture below

Book Cover

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Yarn Spinner Yorkshire Tours

Yarn Spinner Tours developed Ghost Walks and Victorian Tours as a way of sharing knowledge and enthusiasm for getting people involved. They have now grown to offer a wider range of tours all over Yorkshire. Listen to tales of the dark and macabre as our ´ghost´ guides you around the streets of Leeds to some of the most haunted buildings in the land. You will hear tales about ghosts, poisonings, witches and murders!
Alternatively journey back in time to experience life in Victorian Bradford. Walk through the City Centre, with Yarn Spinners costumed guide, and follow in the footsteps of Victorians as they went about their daily lives, gaining a real insight into the conditions they endured. Learn of the illustrious characters that lived in and visited the town, as well as how Bradford became the most important industrial town in the British Empire.

A detailed calendar of events is available at Yarn Spinners Give them a try and let us know how you get on.

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Sam Smiths Old Brewery Tadcaster

I would like to tell you about the best beer in Yorkshire but I am still testing them all out. What I can tell you about is the best value for money beer brewed in Yorkshire (and therefore anywhere in the world). Tadcaster has been the home of great Yorkshire brewing since the monks of the 14th Century but in 1758 a brewing dynasty started to emerge. Started by David Backhouse and John Hartley The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and since 1848 bears the name of famous local brewer Samuel Smith.

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In 1847, Samuel Smith, and his son John bought the struggling brewing business from John Hartley’s widow family. John Smith took over the brewery forming John Smith’s Brewery in the same year the railway arrived in Tadcaster. He was later joined by his brothers Samuel (Jnr) and William. However William bought Samuel’s (Jnr) half and moved the business to a new (John Smiths) brewery. Meanwhile, Samuel (Jnr’s) son Samuel Smith inherited the Old Brewery on William’s death in 1886, and re-opened the brewery under his own name. A reet family t’do I’d say.

So by 1880 there was John Smiths Brewery which went on to acquire 20 local breweries over the next 40 years before eventually succumbing to Scottish & Newcastle/ Courage et al. Fortunately Samuel Smith Brewery remained and remains today independent in ownership and spirit.

Now a-days, run by Sam Smith brothers Humphrey Richard Woollcombe Smith and Oliver Geoffrey Woollcombe Smith they are coming across as curmudgeonly by banning TV & music in their pubs (hurray), taking down signage and refusing to accommodate smokers in new purpose built units. The managers do not like the changes but it keeps the prices down and the environment drinker friendly. Old Brewery Bitter and Extra Stout (for the missus) are still both well under £2.50 a pint in Yorkshire and also the cheapest good pint you can find in London. See London Sam Smith below:
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Hebden Bridge a Weekend or 500 Years

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Happy 507th Birthday to Hebden Bridge.

The packhorse bridge over Hebden Water  originated in 1510 and if you needed an excuse to visit this quirkly town in Calderdale the year long birthday celebrations may be what you were waiting for. It has just been awarded the best small market town. A well deserved award after the town pulled together after the 2015/16 Christmas floods.

When the Industrial Revolution descended on Hebden Bridge the hill sides were too steep for the area to loose its identity. The domestic activity of cloth manufacture and early ready made clothing thrived. This can still be seen in a row of houses called Machpelah, named after the Baptist minister, with special small windows for fustian cutting.
Fustian is a thick, twilled, short napped, cotton cloth used mainly for men’s wear. The active historical society at Hebden Bridge has an interesting article about a Fustian factory strike at the turn of the 20th century.

Hebden Bridge

Weekend Visit

  • There is a lot to see in the town but do not miss a trip up Hardcastle Crags a National Trust Property which they claim is a ‘Beautiful wooded valley with 19th-century Gibson Mill at its heart, an exemplar of sustainable energy’.
  • Heptonstall is linked to Hebden Bridge by the Buttress, a narrow pack-horse track paved with setts and as precipitous as any East cost village like Staithes, Robin Hood’s or Runswick Bays.
  • Midgehole is the start of several enjoyable walks and with a name like that who can resist.
  • In an evening there are many pubs including the White Lion dating from 1657 or the more modern art deco 1920’s Picture House.
  • Take a walk or evening stroll along the canal or alongside the river Calder.

Hebden Bridge

  • When you are tired of walking there are mountain bike trails and some great hill climbs for the avid cyclist. perhaps your bbike was bought or hired from this cycle shop.

Hebden Bridge

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