Yorkshire - God's Own County

February 8, 2010

Top York Churches

Filed under: Yorkshire Cities, Yorkshire Trips and Places — brian @ 12:37 pm

York St Cuthbert St Helen on the Walls and All Saints Peasholme is some name for a Church Administrative unit. Now working with St Michael le Belfrey, St Cuthbert’s is currently applying for planning permission to improve the external appearance of the surrounding grounds. Who said this Administrative unit was not in use today. Reputedly the oldest parish church in York it was reconstructed by Saxons using roman masonry.

St Saviour’s Church, St Saviourgate which like many other churches in York has been re-purposed and is now put to a community and educational use. If you use a snickelway down the side of Fibbers in Stonebow you get an unusual view of St Saviour’s church demonstrating how in medieval times the church was built on a hill.

St Michael’s le Belfrey was rebuilt between 1525 and 1537, during King Henry VIII’s break with Rome. John Forman, the Minster’s master mason was responsible for the Tudor gothic style with renaissance influence. It was, and still is, the largest parish church in the city, originally serving a wealthy community of merchants and craftsmen. Furnishings are nineteenth century, pews and reredos with 14th century glass in East window. Guy Fawkes was baptised at this church. It is within a few yards of The Minster.

This Marygate church, St Olave’s, was badly damaged during the Civil War. The font dates from 1673 and there is some medieval glass in the center of the east window

To make up a tour of churches visit All Saints North Street for exceptional glass, Holy Trinity Goodramgate, St Mary Castlegate for pre-conquest masoary, Holy Trinity Micklegate, St Helen St Helen’s Square, and St Martin-Le-Grand Coney Street which was badly bombed during the second world war.

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February 5, 2010

Days Out for Kids to age 92

With Half Term and Easter just around the corner you may want some ideas where to take the kids or grandchildren for a day out. This is just a short selection of Yorkshire based attractions and I would add the Royal Armouries in Leeds and the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Jorvik Viking Centre is a York based time travel experience that is worth queuing for ‘Whether it has been five or fifteen years or even your first time to visit JORVIK, the JORVIK Viking Centre has something new for everyone’ ‘Vikings were warriors. More precisely, Viking is the name by which the Scandinavian sea-borne raiders of the early medieval period are now commonly known.’ Dig around in York there is a wealth of interesting historical activities you can get the children involved with.

The Magna Science Adventure Centre at Rotherham ‘Leap, twist and climb your way around mind-blowing structures and gravity defying activities at one of Europe’s largest outdoor play areas or Spray, squirt, mist and drench…and more importantly get very, very wet at one of the UK’s largest outdoor water play areas.’ If that sounds like the fun your children will enjoy then Magna may work for you.

The Deep ‘The worlds only Submarium’ in Hull is a winner of many awards which include gold award for The Green Tourism Business Scheme and silver for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2009 and it should have got another award for inventing a new word so it can claim to be ‘the worlds only’. With attractions such as Slime, Coral Realm, Kingdom of Ice and a Twilight zone there is something for everyone including the 3500 fish. The Deep in Hull you will find fun and an education about our seas.

Eureka moments come only occasionally when you get to my age but kids up to age 10 experience them at every twist and turn of this Halifax museum. ‘Everything at Eureka! has been designed to inspire children to find out about themselves and the world around them through 100s of hands-on exhibits’.

National Coal Mining Museum (NCM) at Overton near Wakefield explores mining through the centuries. Don a hard hat and descend into a mine then visit the pit ponies to find out what they did for the mining effort. Admission is free!

York Castle Museum ‘is one of Britain’s leading museums of everyday life. It shows how people used to live by displaying thousands of household objects. It is best known for its recreated Victorian street, which combines real shop fittings and stock with modern sound and light effects, to evoke an atmosphere of Victorian Britain. Prison buildings are explored in York Castle Prison, where visitors come face to face with ex-prisoners including highwayman Dick Turpin, who was hanged in 1739 for horse stealing.’ Tickets do allow you to revisit during the next 12 months if you can’t take it all in at one visit.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is South Yorkshires newest attraction of 45 acres of walkthrough including Lemur Woods and Wallaby walkabout. Ideal for environmentally friendly children who want to see a range of animals including the most endangered the Painted Hunting Dog. May only open at weekends until summer but check here.

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Twirlies on Trolley Buses

Filed under: Yorkshire History and Heritage — Tags: nostalgia, transport — brian @ 12:24 am

Twirlies you know, the ones who stand at bus stops with their free passes and ask if they are ‘too early’ because it is not yet 9.30am.
Well they would have needed to get up early in the morning to catch the Bradford Corporation Trolley Bus No 7 to Thornbury.
Ten Bradford trolleybuses are now preserved at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft , Lincolnshire. In the tram shed at Bradford Industrial Museum there is the pictured Trolley bus plus the only tramcar left in Bradford.

The Bradford trolleybus was an electric bus that drew its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolleypoles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit, unlike a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as part of the electrical path and thus needs only one wire and pole. This increased the amount of street furniture and the cost of maintenance. However the buses were quite, clean and exceptionally good for the hills rising from the center of Bradford to the suburbs.

Bradford became the first (1911) and last city (1972) to operate trolleybuses in the United Kingdom. Bradford introduced a one-man operated trolleybus route to Bolton Woods in 1915, with the West Yorkshire Road Car Company, which later formed the City Circle route with the link to Bankfoot and Lister Park service.

Double deck trolleybuses were first introduced in 1921. The last rear-entrance trolleybus in Britain was also in Bradford and is now owned by The Bradford Trolley Bus Association

Many of the Twirlies will have enjoyed the experience of riding to the Trolley buses but also remember the delays when they were ‘off their Trolleys’. As a Twirly my self I even remember Bradford’s trams that pre-date the trolley service but that is a whole new subject. The Trolley bus evokes a distinct nostalgic feeling and even though it is out of the county I will have to visit Sandtoft.

This is the only book I can find on Electric buses and Trolleys but be warned it costs £41.65 and that is from discounter amazon.

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February 4, 2010

Art in York at New School House Gallery

Filed under: Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire Arts & Music, Yorkshire Trips and Places — brian @ 4:21 am

‘Crunchtime 2010′ is an event depicting International Artists’ Responses to Global Issues running in York until 6th February 2010. Sorry it is crunchtime if you want to visit the various venues where events are taking place, as you have only a few days left. There is a seminar at the Guildhall at 5pm this evening and talks, debates and screenings tomorrow and Saturday.

My visit to the event introduced me too the New School House Gallery in Peasholme Green near St Cuthberts and the Quilt Museum.

‘Housed in a grade II former schoolhouse, the gallery is showcasing work in contemporary ceramics, glass, wood and metal, textiles and jewellery by both established and up-and-coming makers. It will also exhibit paintings, prints, mixed-media work, sculpture and installations by artists from the UK and abroad.’ read more on the New School House Gallery website. This new venture is planning a series of themed Exhibitions starting on 11th February with Home , then 1 April – 22 May with Reclaim followed by Navigation, 53º North and Open in August. If that isn’t enough reason to visit the gallery it is located in The Secret Garden’ . After a mind broadening trip you can have coffee and cakes at Le Langhe delicatessen.

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Otley You Are Not Drinking Enough

Filed under: Food and Drink, Yorkshire Trips and Places — Tags: beer — brian @ 4:06 am

Is the economy so bad down in Otley that no one is drinking enough to keep the pubs viable. Always a great place to drink, Otley landlords must be having a hard time after the opening of Sainsbury’s and Netto’s new supermarket.
The Summercross is shut for good (or bad depending on how you look at it). Will the Woolpack and Yeoman ever reopen as pubs?
Is the new work just started on the Bowling Green going to see oit reopen as a J D Wetherspoons? At least the eyesore will be renovated by March I am told.

In the last couple of years there have been problems for other pubs in the town. It is great to see the Black Horse, Red Lion, Fleece and Cross Pipes back serving good ale. I hope their trading is ‘ale and hearty but that is down to us drinkers.

Otley needs more visitors to help boost the economy. It is a good base to explore the dales to day trip for lunch or just a drink in the numerous surviving pubs. see pubs in Otley list. It is even better if you are looking for a night on the town in a traditional, pub rich, market town so get to Otley before the next closure.

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February 3, 2010

Greetings Cards a Yorkshire Industry Making Millions

Filed under: Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire Business and Money — brian @ 11:45 am

What is in the water in Yorkshire that makes us the center of the UK greeting card industry?

Unfortunately old companies like W.N. Sharpe’s of Bradford have been gobbled up long ago by American giant Hallmark but the operation still continues in Bradford and Castleford. ‘Hallmark founder Joyce Hall was born the youngest of 3 sons to the poor but religious Hall family in Nebraska. J.C.Hall was a hard worker and in 1910 he boarded a train to Kansas City as a young man with a vision – this is when the Hallmark story really began. Based at the YMCA, he started selling postcards via a mail order business, which developed to become the world leader in greeting cards. In 1958 Hallmark set up in Bradford and grew by a series of acquisitions.’ ‘Classic Cards, Bradford: The History of W.N. Sharpe Ltd’; is available as a pamphlet from the Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society. Now a days Hallmark is seen on satellite TV with a host of programmes shown on it’s own channel.
This seasons Valentine’s Day cards are on display at Hallmark.

Down the road in Dewsbury Hallmark’s largest international competitor operates.
‘For more than 100 years, American Greetings Corporation has been a manufacturer and retailer of innovative social expression products that assist consumers in enhancing their relationships’. So runs the corporate blurb that can only come from an American company better known to us in the UK as the owner of Carlton Cards. They also own Care Bears and Holly Hobby on whose web site I have just enjoyed playing kids games

Today’s financial press reports that Wakefield based greeting card company Card Factory has been put up for sale but with the deal likely to go to a private equity firm this could mean more investment and the circa 4500 jobs should be safe. In addition to generating sales in excess of £150,000,000 the staff and company donated £1m to its corporate charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Collinsons have been established for over 100 years and now operate from Shipley in the West Riding. ‘ Focusing on Wedding stationery and Christmas cards, Collisons offers a wide choice to both the Wedding and the Christmas card market. Many of our Christmas cards are Charity based.’

History of Greeting Cards according to Wikipedia

The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 1400s, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year’s greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-1400s, with the oldest Valentine in existence being in the British Museum.[2]

By the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing and mechanization. read more

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February 1, 2010

Ennis England Capitain and Yorkshire Olympic Hope

Filed under: Yorkshire Folk, Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes — Tags: sport — brian @ 5:44 am

Jessica Ennis the Sheffield lass was outstanding this weekend. World champion as a heptathlete, she was up against one of the best specialist hurdlers in the world, Lolo Jones. Winning the 60 metres hurdles and beating the world indoor champion in that event is extraordinary. A great performance by a great all-rounder.
“Letting a heptathlete, who practises every event, beat me when I’m only working on one thing…that’s kind of crazy but no excuses Ennis had a great race” said Lolo Jones.
Already there have been eight personal best’s from the South Yorkshirewoman in 2010 including this weekends hurdles and 1.94 meters in the highjump.
Jessica captained the British team at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow on 30 January 2010 but is to miss the Commonwealth games in Dehli this backend. Keep up to date with her career by clicking on her name.

Heptathlon
Heptathlons replaced the pentathlon as the primary women’s combined event when the javelin and 800 m were added for the 1984 Olympics. The women’s outdoor heptathlon consists of the following seven events, with the first four contested on the first day, and the remaining three on day two,
100 m hurdles
high jump
shot put
200 m
long jump
javelin throw
800 m

Other multiple event contests are now becoming progressively more popular particularly involving water sports. The established and key competitive events are:

Biathlon, cross country skiing and shooting
Duathlon, Triathlon running and Cycling with swimming for a triathlon, Quadrathlon with Kayaking
Pentathlon, the old Greek competition of long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw, followed by (the stadion) a short foot race and wrestling.
Modern pentathlon, a late 19th century soldier Pierre Coubertain established this event with shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrian, and cross country running.
Octathlon, primarily a youth or junior event

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January 31, 2010

Top Ten West Riding Churches

Filed under: Books & Literary Work, Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire History and Heritage — Tags: churches, locations, trips — brian @ 9:07 am

To select but 10 churches for a ‘best of’ list was impossible so I tried to find 10 varying churches in each Riding and this is my effort for the West Riding of Yorkshire. I would be happy to consider for inclusion a readers top ten if you send me details.

St John Baptist Adel is one of our finest Norman churches and is a Grade 1 national treasure and an architectural gem. Internal decoration, chancel arch and carvings are of top quality. Through the church yard is York Gate a garden open for Perennial the gardeners charity
St Cuthbert Fishlake (above) is believed to have safeguarded the remains of Cuthbert from the Vikings. The priest’s doorway is Norman and the south doorway is one of the most decorative in the country.
Hatfield St Lawrence is a large cruciform church with a crossing tower externally perpendicular with some good windows and crenelations . Norman and medieval features include a fine clerstory, monuments and font.
St Mary’s Sprotborough like other churches had its tower heightened in the perpendicular period. Monuments from 13th century onward and an interesting rood screen make this an interesting church to visit.

Shipley St Paul’s (above) is the original 1826 parish church of Shipley. It has dark, soot blackened sandstone walls that befits a church from and set in the industrial West Riding.The building, an historic “Waterloo” or “Commissioners’” church also has a “listed” organ
Birkin St Mary’s is an impressive Norman church with a 14th century south aisle. Due to associations with the Templars there are items of quality in many areas of this fine church.
Halifax St John is the largest 15th century parish church in Yorkshire. Fine 17th century ceilings and communion rail, poor box and box pews are key features.
St Andrew`s Church Aldborough was partially destroyed by Scots raiders in 1318. The present building is the third church to occupy what is thought to be the site of a Roman Temple of Mercury in Roman garrison town of Isurium Brigantium. The north wall dates from around 1330, and carries a brass of William de Aldeburgh dating from around 1360.
Dewsbury All Saints or minster has been rebuilt in 18th & 19th cneturies but many sculptural pieces from the 9th century have ben reincorporated. There is also some stunning stained glass.
St. Mary Tickhill housed Austin friars and has north and south porches. There is also an important church organ from the mid 19th century

The Yorkshire Church Notes of Sir Stephen Glynne (1825-1874) Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record is available by clicking on the picture below but at a price of £28.50. You may choose to spend the money visiting or donating to the churches mentioned ABOVE.

The medieval review says this book (Editor L.A.S. Butler) has ‘effectively rescued Glynne’s Yorkshire Church Notes from merely describing a frozen moment in time into a valuable resource for those who wish to trace for themselves the 19th-century changes in church architecture’. ‘A major contribution to the study of Yorkshire church architecture at a time of change’. Leeds Civic Trust.

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January 24, 2010

Yorkshire Tennis

Filed under: Wit and Humour — admin @ 5:50 pm

A recent post on the cost of hobbies got us looking at the game of tennis. Yes, tennis is played in Yorkshire, it just wasn’t the number one sport in the mining communities though…

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January 21, 2010

Yorkshire Bank Funding National Trust

Filed under: Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire History and Heritage — Tags: gardens, National Trust, trips — brian @ 5:13 am

The UK’s biggest ever plant hunt is underway with a survey that will cover tens of thousands of plants at more than eighty significant National Trust Gardens. The project is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank, sponsors of the Outdoor Programme which also includes help to conserve and protect National Trust gardens through investment in greener gardening initiatives.

Using the latest technology including GPS positioning to record plant locations over 1,000,000 plants are being recorded to give an overview of the largest collection of cultivated plants in the UK. Many of these plants tell the history of a garden’s creation, people’s passions and changing fashions through the centuries.

During the three year sponsorship deal Yorkshire Bank is also supporting the Greener Gardens initiative to improve the way both the Trust and its supporters can maintain gardens in more environmentally sustainable ways. This includes composting on an industrial scale, rainwater harvesting and reviving old wells, to experimenting with drought-resistant varieties of plants and introducing solar-powered lawnmowers.

It is good to see a bank putting something into more than just executive bonuses.

Locations from the National Trust Yorkshire section that you might like to visit include

Beningbrough Hall & Gardens
This imposing Georgian mansion contains one of England’s best baroque interiors. Over 100 pictures are on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. Outside there is a delightful walled garden and a fantastic adventure playground.

(more…)

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