God's Own County

Saltaire Village Yorkshire

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Hortoris

David Hockney galleries, a Round Church, a Reed Organ museum and a model village are just some of the highlights to savor on a trip to Saltaire. The village was founded in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt for the workers in the mill and their families. It included neat stone houses with running water, a hospital, an Institute for recreation and education now called Victoria Hall where music and dance events are staged. The village also provided almshouses, allotments, a park and a boathouse which was recently damaged in a fire.
Sir Titus was a canny philanthropist siting his massive mill complex between the river Aire and the Leeds Liverpool canal alongside a railway station that is still open on the Leeds to Settle line. To get staff to move over 10 miles from Bradford he needed to make some facilities available but the model village has stood the test of time and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mill has fantastic vaulted ceilings and stone slabs for flooring that would pull down many modern buildings. The space is now used by the NHS, an electronics manufacturer but mostly as a unique exhibition and retail space. As the UK home for displaying David Hockney’s works the mill has 3 floors of singular works by this artist from telephone book covers to Opera sets, photographic montages to paintings in several mediums. Interspersed are retail opportunities notably specials book sales and 3 eateries. The whole facility exudes quality and this is replicated on their web site

The Saltaire streets are given girls names that are reminiscent of a gone by era like Maud Street and Grace Street. (Sorry if these are popular modern names but I doubt that somehow)

Credit
Saltaire Church by JohnSeb CC BY-SA 2.0

Posted in Yorkshire Trips and Places | Tagged canals, rivers, trains | 2 Comments

Gargrave North Yorkshire

Posted on October 28, 2015 by tejvan

gargrave

Canal running past Gargrave.

Gargrave is a great little village on the outskirts of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a convenient starting point for walkers and cyclists. It is 2 miles west of Skipton bisected by the busy A65. There is also a canal running through the village. The canal offers an excellent towpath for walkers and cyclists.

Within Gargrave there are a few excellent local shops. The famous Dalesman cafe is a well worth a visit for tea and teacakes and an old fashioned sweat shop.

From Gargrave you can go north about 6 miles to Malham or North East towards Grassington and Kettlewell. The south side of Gargrave is also well worth visiting even though it is not in an official National Park.

Like many Yorkshire villages Gargrave is not short of activities and various clubs have been organised by the locals.

Village Hall
Womens Institute
Football Club
Cricket Club
Bowls Club
Golf Society
Civic Society

Posted in Yorkshire Dales | Comments Off

Conisbrough Village and Ivanhoe Castle

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Hortoris

Conisbrough near Doncaster was the setting for Sir Walter Scotts ‘Ivanhoe’. Using the Castle as the basis for a Saxon stronghold during the reign of Richard 1st the tale about chivalry and knighthood daring-do led too a TV series in the 1960’s. The castle is not the oldest part of Conisbrough as St Peters Church is the oldest building in South Yorkshire dating from AD 650-700. At the time of the Norman conquest the manor was held by King Harold and consisted of the church and 28 vills or villages. In the 16th century the castle suffered neglect and eventually became a ruin. In 1990 the Conisborough castle was floodlit and became a tourist attraction.

Conisbrough was one of the important royal manors of Yorkshire. Its Court Rolls provide us with a unique account of the working lives and relationships of its inhabitants. The Rolls survive in large measure across eight centuries. This project aims to show what can be done with such remarkable documents. Through it, you can discover the historic workings of a manor and learn more about Conisbrough and how its past has contributed to its present.

Conisborough In 20th Century

Coal mining started in 1867 at Denaby and was the deepest mine at the time. Soon Cadeby started just across the river then in 1912 a terrific explosion cost the lives of 35 miners followed by a further 40 fatalities amongst the rescue party in a second explosion. The colliery closed in 1986

Kilner Bros were based at Providence Glass Works where they made the famous Kilner jars and bottles until 1938

ICI had a Powder Works at Denaby making detonators until 1963

In the mid-1990s, a new tourist attraction, Earth Centre, opened on the nearby site of the former Cadeby Main Colliery; it closed in 2005.

Cycling is popular around the area and routes include this Conisbrough cycle route.

Photo credits
conisborough_castle_05 by becky fryer CC BY 2.0
Untitled by steve p2008 CC BY 2.0

Posted in Our Yorkshire, Villages, Towns and Cities, Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | Tagged cyclinh, walking | 1 Comment

The Lupin Man of York – George Russell

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Hortoris

Photo CC by Thor Thorson 1

George Russell 1857 – 1951

George Russell developed a passion for Lupins, gathered seed from North America and around world and then grew them on two allotments in his home city of York. He never carried out vegetative propagation or hand pollination, preferring to let natural pollination by bumble bees do the hybridisation for him. At the end of each season he collected seed from the very best plants and sowed it. Any inferior plants were rigorously removed. George Russell, like most Yorkshiremen, only wanted the very best, and was ruthless in his selection.
For 23 years George had bred his Lupins and resolutely refused to sell them commercially. But in 1936 a deal was done for his seeds to be grown at Bakers nursery Boningdale as long as George had the right to ‘Rough’ or deselect any that did not meet his standards. Once the seedlings were in flower George was sent for so he could inspect the crop. Jimmy Baker must have been flabbergasted when George insisted on destroying 4,200 of the 5,000 seedlings (some quality control eh! modern growers take note).

The Lupins on his York allotments were improved through breeding. The top varieties had flowers all around the stem in a wide range of colours. Eventually George Russell allowed his seeds to be sold and in 1937 they were selling at 12 seeds for one shilling equal to 1d each.

Lupins were introduced into Britain from North America in 1826. The blue flowered spikes we occasionally saw on railway embankments were the predominant colour. Fast forward a hundred years to 1937 and the Royal Horticultural Society awarded its highest honour to a ‘ jobbing Yorkshire gardener’ George Russell for developing a strain of Lupins that were causing a sensation.

Photo cc by Magnio

The Chelsea Flower Show 2008 displayed the Lupins below. As Lupins are not very long lived plants many of George Russels varieties have been lost but this display shows some of the great flowers that George showed it was possible to grow. Why not try in your garden this year. Lupins are available as plants or seeds from Thompson Morgan

Photo cc by steve 2.0

See Old Lupin photos on Gardeners Tips.

Who could get 2 allotments now with the current fashion for growing your own? Who would have the patience to wait so many years before they tried to make any money out of the flowers they had bred?

Posted in Yorkshire Folk, Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | 2 Comments

Havercakes at the Dog & Gun

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Hortoris

Driving back from ‘that place’ this week I stopped at the Dog & Gun in High Malsis near Cowling (pronounced Co-lin our barmaid said). The Timothy Taylors Dark Mild hit the spot and someone else offered to drive. The pub was busy for a Monday because the grub was so good and the highlight was a traditional Haver Cake as a sweet.

Clapcake or havercake is an ancient oat cake after Haver meaning an Oat in Norse. In this part of the world one of our traditional foods is Oatcakes which we usually toast and apply liberally with best butter and they are magic. They are a sort of pancake made from Oats. In the old days these were called Havercakes and in the remoter parts of North Yorkshire and the pennine area they are still called that.

‘The way the Havercakes used to be made was to mix Oats with water and milk in a bowl and leave to ferment overnight. The next day this mixture was stirred until it became a kind of mortar consistency and then was poured out onto a piece of flat board criss-crossed with grooves that encouraged the mixture to spread evenly and yet not to run all over the place, until it formed a round pancake about the size of a dinner plate. The Havercake would bake in a matter of minutes on a fire stone. Of course today these cakes are made on a cast iron griddle on the cooker.

If the cakes were to be eaten fresh they would be served up by rolling them into tubes with a heavy fruit jam filling, such as Rhubarb, Quince or Plum jam. The Dog and Gun used a mixture of Bramley Apple and Sultanas. If the Haver cakes were to be stored they would be suspended over a length of pole near the fire and allowed to dry until they were hard, they say these cakes lasted for ever once they dried out. When required the half moon shaped folded cakes would be placed in canvas bags to be eaten later in the fields or at work etc. these bags became known as Haversacks.

Recipe for the Havercakes

Ingredients
1 pint mixed milk and water
5-6 oz fine oatmeal
1oz yeast 3oz flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
Mix the flour, salt and oatmeal. Warm the liquid and stir in gradually to make a smooth batter. Crumble in the yeast, stir gently and leave to stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. Stir again and cook in a strong, well-greased frying pan. Pour in enough batter to cover the base fairly thinly and turn out when cooked.

The old Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in Yorkshire were known as the ‘Havercake Boys’ as these cakes formed a major part of their rations. On recruitment days the recruiting Sergeants would tour the inns with a Havercake pierced on the end of his sword held in place with a ribbon of the regimental colours. To take up a soldier’s life with this regiment was a real case of ‘Having your cake and Eating it’
Timothy Taylors brewed a special HaverCake Ale in Keighley in 2002 to help the ‘Dukes’ celebrate 150 years service to their county and country “A very robust Yorkshire ale (ABV 4.7%) brewed to match the qualities of the famous ‘Dukes’ Regiment – it has strength, balance, clarity and a good head” and it is hand pulled. The ale was later relaunched in 2006 and is also available bottled.

I recommend a Lunch or Dinner at the Dog and Gun and give the Havercakes a go

Credits for Havercake Pictures
Google Images
93130_soldier by stans_pat_pix, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
London Architecture Bike Tour by M.J.S CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Duke of Wellington with a haversack on?

Posted in Food and Drink & Yorkshire Products, Our Yorkshire | 1 Comment

Fiery Fred Trueman Fantastic Raconteur

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Hortoris

Fred Trueman’s last recording talks about cricket and life in the Dales in his own unique style on this Fathers Day CD.

For the first time in a longtime Yorkshire cricket club seem to be ‘framin’ and it would have been interesting to know what Fred would have made of our current exploits.
20 Twenty cricket was played in the local evening leagues for decades, long before it became a money raising venture, and I think FST’s comments about this subject would have been slightly on the caustic side.

My favourite Fred story was, as you may expect, dragged out as a long tale but I will edit it drastically and hope he isn’t able to breath fire down on me.
The scene was an Ashes test with England fielding .. ‘and I went back to my mark and hurtled into the wicket, a rap on the pads, Howzat? One for none. I went back to my mark and hurtled into the wicket and the bails were off, two for none. Then in came the great Sir Don Bradman. I went back to my mark and hurtled into the wicket, the ball was in the air, a fantastic catch on the long on boundary, three for three hundred and seventy six.
Told by a bowler with a stammer you were amused long before the punchline.

Posted in Books Club & Literary Work, Yorkshire Folk, Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | Tagged characters, sport | 2 Comments

Huddersfield’s Harold Wilson – Baron Wilson of Rivaulx

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Hortoris

Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, 11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995
Harold Wilson was born in Huddersfield where this statue is on display. He attended Royds Hall Grammar School, Huddersfield and Jesus College Oxford where his intellect enabled him to become a don at the age of 21. He wrote ‘A New Deal for Coal’ before becoming an MP for Ormskirk.
When Hugh Gaitskell died in 1963, Wilson was one of the main contenders for the party leadership and defeated his more right-wing rivals George Brown and James Callaghan. As leader he won a narrow margin of 4 seats in the 1964 elections.

Quotations and Sayings of Harold Wilson

This Wont Affect the Pound in Your Pocket
Wilson coined the name of the charity ‘War on Want’
Thirteen years of Tory mis-rule…..
A week is a long time in Politics
The white heat of the technological revolution.
Robert Maxwell the original Bouncing Czech
Given a fair wind, we will negotiate our way into the Common Market, head held high, not crawling in. Negotiations? Yes. Unconditional acceptance of whatever terms are offered us? No.
The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.
I’m an optimist, but an optimist who carries a raincoat.
And like many Yorkshire folk ‘If I had the choice between smoked salmon and tinned salmon, I’d have it tinned, with vinegar.’
I’ve buried all the hatchets. But I know where I’ve buried them and I can dig them up again if necessary.

Books by or about Harold Wilson from Amazon

Other Wilson Facts

Harold Wilson was the youngest minister since Pitt and Prime Minister at 48.
Harold Wilson was created the first Chancellor of the University of Bradford in 1966 a position he held for 20 years.
In Wilson’s resignation honours list he caused some consternation with what was called the Lavender list and honours included Lord Kagan, the inventor of Gannex, who was eventually imprisoned for fraud.
In his period as prime minister Harold Wilson saw reform of the divorce laws, the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality the advent of the Open University and the abolition of capital punishment. Wilson kept Britain out of the Vietnam War despite American pressure to join them.

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Facts About Sheffield

Posted on October 15, 2015 by tejvan

Sheffield ‘the city of steel’ has undergone profound change since its iconic steel industry closed down in the 70s and 80s (as well as coal mine closures).

Sheffield Town Centre

The name Sheffield is derived from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city.
Historically Sheffield is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and is now part of South Yorkshire.
The population of the City of Sheffield is 555,500 (2010 est.) and it is one of the eight largest regional English cities.
In the Nineteenth Century, Sheffield gained reputation for being premier producer of steel. It made key innovations in the development of stainless steel. This was used in a variety of tools and cutlery and became very popular. This growth of the steel industry made Sheffield a key player in the industrial revolution.
After much regeneration, the Sheffield economy is said to be worth £9.2 billion in 2007 (2007 GVA)
Sheffield has two universities – Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.

Tinsley_Viaduct_and_Blackburn_Towers_21-04-06

Sheffield Cooling Towers. The two towers were destroyed in a controlled explosion in 2008. (BBC link) There were part of the former Blackburn Meadows power station and they were situation close to the viaduct on the M1.

Interesting Facts About Sheffield

Sheffield has the highest ratio of trees to people of any city in Europe. 2.5 million trees.
As early as the fourteenth century, Sheffield was known as a place for the production of knives. It was even mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
In 1991, Sheffield hosted the World Student Games at the new Don Valley Stadium and Sheffield Arena
In the 1980s, it was often called ‘The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire’ because of its strong left wing politics.
The Sheffield District of Hallam was said to the wealthiest part of the UK, outside London, in a 2004 report by Barclays bank.
Sheffield is known as a ‘green city’ It provides much energy from incinerating waste.
Sheffield boasts the world’s oldest football club – Sheffield F.C. It was formed in 1857, mainly by a group of cricketers. Sheffield F.C. won the F.A. Amateur cup in 1904.
Sheffield Wednesday is one of the oldest professional football clubs in the world, and the fourth oldest in the English leagues.
Sheffield Crucible Theatre stages the annual World Snooker Tournament
The Sheffield Ski Village is Europe’s largest outdoor artificial ski resort
Sheffield is sometimes informally known as the largest village in England because of isolated location amongst seven hills, though city status was granted in 1893.
Sheffield hosted the world’s first football tournament (played under Sheffield Rules) – the Youdan Cup in Feb-March 1867, featuring 12 teams. The competition was won by local side Hallam at Bramall Lane. It preceded the FA cup by four years.
The Sheffield Rules was a code of football used between 1857 and 1877. They had a big influence on Football association rules, which later finally codified the game. Sheffield Rules introduced the concept of corners, free kicks, heading the ball, and goal keepers.

Continue reading →

Posted in Our Yorkshire, Villages, Towns and Cities | Tagged facts, sheffield | 7 Comments

Howard Webb the Refs Referee

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Hortoris

Known for his bald head and refereeing the World Cup final, Howard was born and brought up in Rotherham. His middle name is Melton and you don’t get many of those to the pound.

Refereeing Career

In 1996, he was appointed as a Football League and two years later the Premier League as an assistant referee
In 1998 he was promoted to the Football Conference as a referee.
2003 saw him as a Premier League referee and was appointed as a FIFA official in 2005.
An FA Cup Final, a UEFA Champions League Final and a FIFA World Cup Final have all been refereed by Howard Webb

Controversy

Referees face unfair and biased criticism all the time. Howard gets less than most by dint of his integrity and skill (not because there are currently no Premiership teams from Yorkshire).

‘Webb bore a one-week demotion from officiating in the Premier League down to the Football League Championship in April 2009, a punishment sporadically imposed on referees who make high-profile contentious errors. Webb had been earlier been appointed to referee the year’s FA Cup Final, arguably the highest domestic honour for an official, when he awarded Manchester United a debatable penalty kick while they trailed 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. The penalty was converted and United went on to win the match 5-2. Webb later admitted he had made “a mistake” but had made the decision “honestly”.’*

This year Howard was pilloried by some media for awarding a penalty to Manchester United in the FA cup against Liverpool when Dimitar Berbatov gulled him. Later in the same match he sent off Steven Gerrard for a dangerous challenge on Michael Carrick further inflaming Liverpool supporters.

What footballer doesn’t make numerous mistakes. It is time referees were treated with far more respect.

Last year Howard Webb received the MBE for service to sport. Howard Webb has been a serving police officer through most of his refereeing career.

Sources photo creative commons Crop of [http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetelf/2114896330/in/datetaken/ Howard Webb] |Date=December 16, 2007 |Author=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetelf/ thet)
*wikipedia

Posted in Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire Folk, Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | Comments Off

Goldthorpe a Gory Glimpse

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Hortoris

Regeneration has not worked particularly well for Goldthorpe in the South Yorkshire coal mining area.
Shops are boarded up and the market of up to 64 stalls the means of buying cheap food and clothing has had regeneration plans cut.

A village recorded in the doomsday book, Goldthorpe was a medieval farming area in the Dearn Valley. In 1988 it got a railway station but lost the coal mine that had helped the village to grow to 7000 people.

The Barnsley council ‘Goldthorpe Masterplan’ was approved in January 2009 to address:
• Poor quality housing
• New housing that is becoming isolated from the existing settlement
• Poor condition of the existing school
• An underused main shopping area, and a popular but poorly located market

But little was done when funds were available and now cash is tight action seems to have stopped all together. All the talking and quango involvement has done nowt. What a shame the hot air and cash wasted wasn’t better directed into action!

Sources
‘Goldthorpe: Queen Street Sunday morning. Easter 1968

This one features the air pollution which struck me when I visited the area for the first time that same Easter. Of course these days the air is crystal clear. No mines, no jobs, no air pollution!
My mother-in-law told me how her mother-in-law (Edgar’s mother) on a visit to their new home on the Hampshire coast said: “You don’t wash your curtains very often, do you Sheila?” Apart from not being exactly the way to endear yourself to your daughter- in-law, this highlighted the extent to which the struggle to keep the home clean in the coalfield just didn’t pose the same problem down South.
Note that by 1968 at least one family in Queen Street had a car to wash of a Sunday morning, and everyone appears to have a telly.
I think that during his Easter 1968 trip to Yorkshire Edgar must have been consciously trying to record the place, time and people with a few quality shots.
From by florriebassingbourn, on Flickr under Creative Commons (above)
Goldthorpe – backs also from florriebassingbourn, on Flickr shot by Edgar (top)
Thanks, the photographs are evocative of another era.
Big Issue North
Exterior picture of Goldthorpe Church by Dearnsman
Continue reading →

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