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Hemsworth, Market Street 1965 (ref. H204020) | The discovery of the Barnsley Main coal seam totally transformed the town from relying on agriculture to mining the new gold, coal. The sinking of the Fitzwilliam and the South Kirkby pits in the 1870s led to a huge rise in the population; the town was rebuilt with hundreds of back-to-back terraced houses. Two railways vied for the Hemsworth coal trade - the Wakefield to Doncaster in the 1860s, and the Barnsley and Hull Railway from 1880. |  Add your own Memory
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Batley, Market Place and Branch Road c1955 (ref. B642015) | Batley was the north's shoddy town: its prosperity came from the process of breaking down and reweaving woollen cloth from waste rags. The raw material came from as far afield as Berlin and Rotterdam. Between 1850 and 1880, the population of the town tripled. As it grew, fears were expressed that the local dialect might die out, so in 1860 a glossary was published containing local words and phrases. The Zion Chapel (1869) on the far right seated 600, and the Sunday School catered for 1000 children. | Add your own Memory
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Batley, Commercial Street 1952 (ref. B642016) | A double-decker bus brings trade to the town's main shopping street. Batley was one of the pioneers of steam trams; they ran from 1874, and the depot in Bradford Road later became Wilson's Mill. The railway came in 1848, and by 1890 the town had links with Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds, giving fast access to major trade markets. Even in 1945, three-quarters of the town's population was employed in the textile trade. | Add your own Memory
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Batley, Commercial Street c1955 (ref. B642014) | Formerly a dirty, rutted lane, this was changed into a shopping centre from 1872 with the demolition of the Hick Lane cottages. In their place emerged Exchange Buildings, the town's first block of shops. However, by 1881 traders were complaining that Commercial Street was in a disgusting state. It was not improved until 1903, when wooden blocks were used on the roads to keep the noise down. By 1906 the Co-operative store was established in the Market Place; it stayed here until its demolition in 1977. Others stores date from the thirties, including Woolworth's (1931) and Burton's (1937). Many of these were swept away in the next redevelopment of 1964. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Bingley from Ferncliff 1894 (ref. 34744) | John Wesley's verdict on Bingley's townspeople was that they were 'genteel'. A century after his visit, the town had been transformed from a quiet village to a vibrant part of the textile industry. The Leeds/Liverpool Canal and the railway both increased access to new markets across the Pennines and down to the south. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Main Street 1949 (ref. B98012) | Here we see the beginnings of the age of affluence, with black cars starting to compete with public transport, just as the trolley bus had replaced the earlier trams. The Hippodrome Cinema on Main Street replaced an old smithy, which was demolished in 1913. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Main Street 1926 (ref. 79084) | The ladies of the town used to meet in Main Street at the Loft Café. In 1904, this thoroughfare was straightened - the new route cut through an old graveyard which contained the remains of the poet John Nicholson. The Market Hall and stocks once stood on Main Street opposite Ferrand Lane. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Old Market House 1894 (ref. 34755) | Completed in 1753 at a cost of £12, the Market Hall, Butter Cross and the stocks were removed at a cost of £16 6s from Main Street to the Prince of Wales park in 1888, which is where we see them in this photograph. Trade at the original site was decimated in 1787 by an outbreak of Black Plague. The stocks on the left were still in use in 1870 - they were reputedly the last to be used in Yorkshire. More recently the whole structure has again been moved, this time back to the centre of town near the Arts Centre. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Boating on the Aire 1923 (ref. 74415) | The view from this side of the river includes the industrial gasworks, but further down river past the weir is the rather more pleasant Myrtle Park, which opened to the public in 1908. The land was a former country mansion, Springhead. The original Town Hall has been in the grounds from 1770. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, Five Rise Locks, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal 1894 (ref. 34748) | These locks were constructed in 1774 on the Leeds/Liverpool canal, which transformed the town of Bingley into an industrial centre. Along the canal are over ninety locks, but this is the most dramatic set, rising an amazing 59 feet. From top to bottom the passage of a barge takes 28 minutes. | Add your own Memory
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Bingley, from Altar Row 1894 (ref. 34745) | The canal in 1773 and the railway from 1847 brought huge trade and confidence -and pollution - to the small town of Bingley. The massive mill on the right, part of the Bowling Green complex, still stands, and is now used by Damart. Just below the mill is the railway station of 1847, and to the left is the Three Rise canal lock. The famous Five Rise lock is just out of the picture on the left. A total of eleven locks in a three-mile stretch from Shipley give a rise of 120 feet. | Add your own Memory
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Boston Spa, Spa Baths 1897 (ref. 39437) | This is an ancient farming settlement. The name derives from bos, Latin for ox, and ton, Anglo-Saxon for township. A Roman villa was here from AD200. The famous spring was discovered on the banks of the Wharfe by labourer John Shires on 4 June 1744. From then on, interest grew in visiting the town for its noted health benefits. The spring issued 36 gallons an hour, and the commercial possibilities were formalised with the building of the Spa Baths between 1810 and 1819. | Add your own Memory
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Boston Spa, High Street 1893 (ref. 32000) | This region was originally in the Celtic kingdom of Elmete. The word Spa was added to the town's name in 1840 when the Penny Post began. Boston never achieved the fashionable fame of other Yorkshire spa towns like Ilkley and Harrogate, however, the buildings here on the High Street illustrate the affluence generated by the mere mention of sulphurous, saline water with purgative qualities. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Lister Park Bandstand 1923 (ref. 74400) | The park occupies the original site of Manningham Hall, which was demolished; the land was given to the city by its owner, Samuel Cunliffe Lister. The Cartwright Art Gallery was built here in 1904; the gallery is a tribute to Edmund Cartwright, inventor of the power loom. The statue of Sir Titus Salt was moved here from outside the Town Hall in 1896. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Lister Park Lake 1921 (ref. 71629) | The Bradford Exhibition of 1904 stimulated the laying-out of this former country estate. As well as a Somali Village, the Exhibition also contained a switchback railway and also a water chute, which cascaded into this lake. These fairground rides had previously been used at three other exhibitions; they later went to the 1907 exhibition in Dublin. Today, the park is a wonderful oasis away from busy Manningham Lane. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Tyrrell Street 1897 (ref. 39510) | One year after this photograph was taken, lines were laid for the new electric tramcars. These continued to run through Tyrell Street until 5 November 1949. Bradford's complete tram system closed on 6 May 1950 when trolleybuses took over - they lasted until 26 March 1972. On the final day of the trams, crowds came out to mourn their passing. Many placed pennies on the tracks to be clipped as a souvenir. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Manningham Lane 1902 (ref. 48570) | This is one of the main routes out of the city. Behind the horse and carriage is the old Yorkshire Penny Bank (1895). On the left is the Theatre Royal (1864), originally the Royal Alexandra Theatre. This was a cinema from 1921 to 1976, when it closed and was demolished. In 1905 Sir Henry Irving was on stage as Becket. His final words in the play were 'Into thy hands, O Lord'. He died that same evening at the Midland Hotel where he was staying with his manager, Bram Stoker, author of 'Dracula'. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Darley Street 1897 (ref. 39508) | In the thirty years from 1880, Bradford's population doubled to nearly 300,000. The quality of life for the inhabitants continued to improve with the provision of many fine public buildings and parks. Darley Street was originally part of the gardens and orchards of the old manorial estate. By 1897 it was a very fashionable shopping area. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Market Street 1897 (ref. 39509) | Market Street was formerly called New Street; it was completely transformed in 1860. To the left is the entrance to Brown and Muff's emporium, which opened in 1871. The Wool Exchange (1867) was a triumphal tribute to the roots of Bradford's prosperity. Market Street also included the Central Free Library. | Add your own Memory
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Bradford, Kirkgate, Market Buildings 1897 (ref. 39507) | This imposing building of 1878 replaced an earlier market. Here, shoppers were offered an impressive choice of produce right in the centre of the city, just opposite the tram and trolleybus stops outside the town hall. The cast iron frame contained two 60ft-high domes, and huge figures of Pomona and Flora stood over the arched entrance. This market was demolished in 1973. | Add your own Memory
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