Memories of two royal visits to Brighouse
SINCE 1986 I have re-produced literally thousands of photographs showing Brighouse and the surrounding communities, areas that we all share and call home.
These have all been snapshots in time caught in the blink of an eye and have brought countless memories back to you all.
What would I say was a rare photograph involving our town? While not necessarily the rarest, one that is pretty close would be a photograph of Princess Louise, the first member of the Royal family to visit Brighouse. The visit was on May 22, 1907, when she was invited to open the new Smith Art Gallery.
I remember speaking to people 40 years ago who recalled stories their grandparents had told them about that "non-event", as they called it. No one other than her hosts the Armytage family and one or two 'well-to-dos' on the council really saw her, and she only spoke a handful of words, and then left almost as quick as she had arrived.
Alderman William Smith JP, the man who gave most of the money to build and fit out the new gallery was so incensed about the way the Princess seemed to completely ignore the local people who had lined the streets for hours, that he refused to follow the protocols of accompanying her back to the railway station, and left James Parkinson the Town Clerk to carry out that duty.
In contrast this week's featured photograph shows the procession of the second member of the Royal family to visit Brighouse. It was 1912 when the new King George V and Queen Mary embarked on their West Riding tour, which included a visit to Brighouse via Clifton. This was a far better and much more appreciated event than the one five years earlier.
The photograph shows their vehicle travelling down Clifton Common, making its journey that took it through the town on its way to the railway station entrance in Gooder Lane.
It was only recently, as a keen follower of all things Brighouse on eBay, that I saw the image (above, left), of the King and Queen for the July 1912 Royal visit to Brighouse.
It was offered for sale and fortunately I was able to purchase it for a few pounds. It is the only one I have ever seen and is in pretty good condition considering that it is almost 100 years old. I suppose now having said that it might be the only one to have survived the test of time readers will be contacting me to say, yes I have one too.
Nostalgia isn't exclusive to pictures, events, buildings or people of 50, 60, 70 or 100 years old, it could be the late 1960s or even very early 1970s when the town centre was going through one of its biggest upheavals when the town centre bypass and major demolition works were taking place. If you have an interesting photograph taken between those years why not give me a call?
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Weather for Halifax
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -2 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
