LOCAL HISTORY TITLES

While the local interest pages on our main website are being re-designed, here's a list of books we have stocked in the past. The prices may have changed, and some may no longer be available, but it's worth asking!

Heptonstall - Hardcastle Crags - Mytholmroyd - Midgley - Todmorden - Luddenden - Sowerby - Halifax - Illingworth - Anne Lister - Calder Valley - West Yorkshire - Yorkshire - Pace Egg Play - Rushbearing - Transport: Canals - Rail - Trams and Buses; Family History; Further Afield

Hebden Bridge

Hebden Bridge: a short history of the area - Peter Thomas, £5.99
From the early struggle for survival on the bleak hilltops through the growth of the woollen industry and move down to the valley bottoms and Fustianopolis, up to the area's decline and revival. Peter Thomas is a well-known local author. B&w illustrations.

Hebden Bridge 1510 - the 500-year-old bridge (£1.00)
A fold-out poster with a late-19th-century photo on one side and notes about the history of the bridge and of Old Gate on the other.

Alice's Album - the Story of a Hebden Bridge Photographer's Studio - Issy Shannon and Frank Woolrych, £10.95
The illustrated story of Alice Longstaff and her studio, and of Crossley Westerman who founded the studio in the early 1890s.

A History and Guide to the Parish Church of Hebden Bridge, St James the Greater, £2.00
Members of the Church and Local History Society produced this little nicely-illustrated booklet with a history of the church, built in the 1830s and guide to some features still to be seen. The 1933 centenary booklet was used as a basis. Profits to the church.

A Century of Stars: Hebden Royd Red Star AFC 1908-2008 - Peter Thomas, £4.00
Hebden Royd Red Star AFC, under its various names, is the oldest continuously-existing club in the Halifax League and celebrates its centenary in October this year. Full of memories, interviews, anecdotes and photographs.

A Race through Time (video/DVD) - Nick Wilding, DVD £12.99, video £9.99
From the "Tale of Two Towns" team, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd's first road movie - a high-speed fast-film car journey from Cragg Vale to Heptonstall Road shot in 1947 by Kenneth Crabtree with members of the Literary & Scientific Society, placed alongside a modern version shot in autumn 2003. The film also includes archive photographs and commentary and memories from Lloyd Greenwood, Doris Hurst, Donald Crossley and Clara Manning.

Hebden Bridge Now and Then (DVD) £5.00
An 18-minute DVD showing the contrast between pictures taken of Hebden Bridge and Mytholm in the past by Harry Pogson and modern-day photos taken by Nigel J Lloyd. All profits go to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

History of Hebden Bridge - Colin Spencer and Hebden Bridge Literary and Scientific Society - OUT OF PRINT

Heptonstall

Heptonstall: A Village of Memories - Nick Wilding, DVD, £14.99, 1h22m
New from the Excalibur stable, a DVD devoted to Heptonstall: who is the strange and beautiful carving in the far corner of the old St Thomas-a-Becket Church, and what disturbing discovery was made in the loft above it? How did the old dialect affect communication with those from the south, and how did the original Church organ survive the anti-popish onslaught by soldiers of Elizabeth I? "Heptonstall, Village of Memories" embarks onto a fascinating journey into the past and brings to life many tales from long ago, with the usual mix of strange facts, quirky reminiscences and archive stills and video.

The Old and the New: A History of the Two Heptonstall Churches, £1.50
Illustrated pamphlet from Hebden Bridge Local History Society with full information on the two churches and a nice picture of the old one as it was.

Hardcastle Crags

Hardcastle Crags, Past and Present - Ray Riches and Peter Thornton: DVD, £12.99
This lovely 90-minute DVD about our local beauty spot takes us all round the Crags and investigates their history.

Mill, Murder, Mystery - Peter Thomas. OUT OF PRINT

Mytholmroyd

Summat A'Nowt - Steve Murty, £9.95
In this fascinating and personal insight, Steve Murty looks at the history of the Calder Valley and the surrounding area over the centuries covering, amongst many other topics, hand-loom weaving, child labour and domestic fashions. Born and brought up in the Township of Stubb, Mytholmroyd, he focuses on the development of this ancient hamlet, its people and properties, within the context of the events that took place around the valleys.

A Village Childhood - Gertrude M. Attwood, nee Ogden, £12.00
A personal recollection of Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge in the 1920s and '30s. Gertrude looks back at those early years and describes how they influenced her life. Sumptuously illustrated, with lots of fascinating detail about everyday life.

Before the Mast: In the Grain Races of the 1930s - Geoffrey Sykes Robertshaw and Elvin Carter, £12.99
More than 70 years ago Mytholmroyd-born Geoffrey Robertshaw was an able seaman on the tall ships during the 12,000 mile voyage between Australia and Falmouth. During the four month voyages he took photographs and kept a personal log and these have now been edited into a fascinating book by relative Elvin Carter, with a stunning collection of Mr Robertshaw's photos of daily life on a square rigger complete with storms!

It's Water Under the Bridge - Mollie E. Sunderland - OUT OF PRINT
The story of flooding in Mytholmroyd incorporating the history of Mytholmroyd Bridge; all proceeds to Guide Dogs for the Blind. Many photographs.

Cragg Vale: a Pennine Valley - Stephen Welsh - OUT OF PRINT
Back in stock, this history of settlement and conquest from prehistoric times to the 20th century.

Midgley

Pennine Perspectives: Aspects of the History of Midgley - Midgley History Group, ed. Ian Bailey, David Cant, Alan Petford and Nigel Smith, £18.00
Launched at Midgley Pageant on 30th June 2007, and two-and-a-half years in preparation, this splendid well-illustrated book covers many aspects of Midgley's past, from pre-history, through to medieval times, the Victorian era and the early twentieth century. Topics include religion, railways, Murgatroyds', quarrying, farming, self-help, housing, pubs, leisure, riots, geology and folklore. The whole of the ancient township of Midgley is covered, including Midgley Moor, Luddenden, Luddenden Foot and Mytholmroyd as well as the village. It has 352 pages, hardback with over 160 illustrations of photos, maps & archive documents.

Todmorden

Todmorden Album 4 - Roger Birch, £20.00
A further fascinating insight into a century of life in Todmorden. The book contains 229 black and white photographs selected from private collections, family albums and picture archives, with detailed and informative captions.

Todmorden Album 3 - Roger Birch, £20.00

Roger Birch's third collection of old photos of Todmorden.

Todmorden Antiquarian Society's pamphlets
Stoodley Pike (£2.75), Todmorden Cameos (£5.50), The Development of Todmorden 1700-1896 (£3.50) and Portrait of a Town: mid-19th century Todmorden (£2.50).

Todmorden Travellers - E. M. Savage, £2.00
"A snapshot of what life was like for some of the intrepid travellers to the New World" - including Canada, Australia, American and New Zealand. I'd been wondering why when I typed "Todmorden" into Google Earth it took me to Ontario - blame the Helliwells!

John Ramsbottom - A Victorian Engineering Giant by Robin Pennie, £9.95
This well-illustrated book about Todmorden-born John Ramsbottom is publIshed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society.

Lament for the Mills - Robert Cockcroft (£7.99)
This unusual and striking book from an author born in Todmorden tells the story of the Cockcroft family and their mills through skilled poetry, prose and some great black and white photos - some supplied by Roger Birch.

Luddenden

Luddenden Saga: a brief history of a Yorkshire Village - Vikki Egerton (£7.99)
Based on the narrative used in the village's celebration of the Millennium, with b&w photographs.

A History of the Lord Nelson (Luddenden) - J. A. Heginbottom, £3.00
Published in 1991, this little booklet, illustrated by Abigail Edgar, gives the history of the Luddenden pub and its local connections.

Sowerby

Growing up in Sowerby ... and more - Jean Illingworth, £9.99
The ancient hilltop village of Sowerby with its fine Georgian church can be seen for miles around. Jean Illingworth's engaging history weaves her own memories with the recollections of others in her local community to reveal a rich and detailed picture of the life and character of this "very special" place.

Halifax

Halifax - John A Hargreaves, £20.00
The definitive history, exhaustively researched and superby illustrated.

Benjamin Rushton, Handloom Weaver and Chartist by John Hargreaves, £5.00
From well-known local historian Professor Hargreaves, the story of a Halifax local hero who struggled for justice for the handloom weavers from the time of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 until the final years of Chartism in the 1850s.

Halifax Pubs - Stephen Gee, £12.99
An illustrated tour of the most interesting pubs, inns and taverns of Halifax with lots of old photos.

More Memories of Halifax, £10.99
From True North books in Halifax, another collection of old photos of Halifax as it used to be.

Illingworth

125 Not Out: the Story of Illingworth St Mary's Cricket Club, 1884-2009 - Andrew Smith, £10
From Illingworth CC President Andrew Smith, a history of Illingworth Cricket Club which celebrated its first 125 years last year. Nicely produced in colour with lots of facts and figures and loads of illustrations

Anne Lister

I Know My Own Heart: the diaries of Anne Lister, 1790-1840, ed. Helena Whitbread, £15.00
The decoding of a selection of Anne Lister's voluminous diaries took Helena Whitbread six years. This selection tells the story of her life, preoccupations and loves from adolescence onwards as she fretted within the confines of provincial life of Halifax and area while living with her aunt and uncle at Shibden Hall

No Priest but Love - excerpts from the diaries of Anne Lister, 1824-26, ed. Helena Whitbread, £15.50
Another selection from her diaries, covering Anne Lister's amours in Derbyshire, Halifax and Paris in 1824.

Nature's Domain: Anne Lister and the Landscape of Desire - Jill Liddington, £7.50
This new book on eccentric Halifax lesbian landowner Anne Lister follows her return to Shibden Hall in 1832 with her dreams of high society shattered after she is betrayed by another woman.

Presenting the Past: Anne Lister of Halifax, 1791-1840 Jill Liddington, £5.95
Tells the story of how Anne Lister's letters and diaries survived to the present day, and looks at the very different versions of the woman presented by different editors.

Calder Valley

Calder Valley Christmas - DVD by Nick Wilding, £12.99
From well-known local film-maker Nick Wilding, a classic mixture of archive film (including the snow of 1947), reminiscences, hilarious anecdotes and old traditions, on DVD. Culminates in Colden School children singing "Christmas in Hebden Bridge".

Halifax and Calder Valley Memories, £12.99
From True North in Halifax, photographs and descriptions of scenes in Halifax, Elland, Brighouse, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden from Edwardian times on, covering events, street scenes, the war years, royal visits, the shops, leisure and transport.

Discovering Calderdale, Part 1 - video/DVD - Glyn Lee & P J Thornton, £12.99
A journey through some of the most interesting towns and villages of Calderdale, including Norland, Midgley, Luddenden, Cragg Vale and Walsden

Discovering Calderdale Part 2, video & DVD - Peter Thornton and Glyn Lee, £12.99
This addition to the series starts in Todmorden, moves on to Cornholme, Lumbutts and Mankinholes climbs to Stoodley Pike, then continues through Mytholmroyd, Sowerby, Warley, Ripponden and Elland. The commentary is by Glyn Lee and photography - including aerial shots - by Peter Thornton.

Folk Tales from Calderdale, Vol. 1 - John Billingsley, £7.50
The eagerly-awaited collection of tales from the moorlands of the Upper Calder Valley - the first of a projected series on the folklore of Calderdale by the well-known local historian. The Witches of Eagle Crag, the Cliviger Boggart, the Bride Stones, the Eve Stone, Stoodley Pike, Great Rock, Tom Bell's Cave, the Miller's Grave and Churn Milk Joan are included.

Power in the Landscape: water-powered mills in the Upper Calder Valley, £5.00
Colour-illustrated pamphlet from Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre with the history of watermills in the area. 48pp, colour and b-&-w illustrations, nicely produced.

Cheers! A History of Hostelries in the Upper Calder Valley - Issy Shannon, £6.95
Lavishly illustrated book about all the pubs between Colden and Luddenden with photos past and present, fascinating facts and gory details.

Cornerstones of Calderdale - Glyn Lee, £3.50
Potted histories of all the major settlements of the Calder Valley, from Halifax to Walsden, with photographs.

Seeing It Through (Halifax and Calderdale during World War II) - Peter Thomas, £10.00
Brings together local memories and photographs from the War years, beginning with "That Fateful Broadcast". Look out for the picture of Savile Park under the plough to Dig for Victory!

The Mixenden Treasure - John Billingsley, £6.00
A true tale of magic in 16th-century Yorkshire from the well-known local historian and folklorist. Stand by for an exciting tale of treasure, demons, Oberon and a motley crew of priests, commoners, a "cunning-man" and gentlemen who set out on a nasty February night to claim the Mixenden Treasure from the demon guarding it.

Millstone Grit by Glyn Hughes, £3.95
We're delighted to have back in stock some copies of this local classic.

Aspects of Calderdale, ed. John Billingsley, £4.99
Subjects covered include Early Prehistory, External decoration on 17th-century houses, Ted Hughes, Alice Longstaffe, and the impact of modern technology.

"Walks around Calderdale"
From Pennine Country Productions, a series of four videos of historically-based local walks, 50 mins ea., £11.99 each -
1. Historic Villages and Hilltop Views (Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale, Boulderclough, Luddenden, Midgley)
2. Woodland Crags and Secluded Valleys (Hebden Bridge, Hardcastle Crags, Crimsworth Dean, Pecket Well, Old Town)
3. Ancient Townships and Waterside Mills (Heptonstall, Slack, Colden Valley, Blackshaw Head, Jumble Hole Clough)
4. Pennine Town and Packhorse Trails (Todmorden, Langfield, Lumbutts, Mankinholes, Lobb Mill, Cross Stone, Whirlaw Rocks)

180 Not Out - A pictorial history of cricket in Halifax, Huddersfield and District: Vol.1: Calderdale - Dr Peter Davies & Rob Light (£10)
A product of a two-year project designed to preserve and celebrate the rich cricketing heritage of Calderdale and Kirklees and provides a fascinating insight into the history of local cricket in West Yorkshire. The other two volumes are on North and South Kirklees.

What Brass Bands Did For Me - Chris Helme, £12.99
Chris Helme is a retired police officer living in Brighouse and has been associated with brass bands for 50 years; he edits The Conductor magazine and also writes for The British Bandsman. This new book celebrates the world of brass bands and remembers the unforgettable characters - performers, composers and arrangers - that live on through their music. It's a record of life in the mill towns as it once was and a triumphant celebration of the brass band community of today, with over 100 previously unpublished archive photographs from private collections.

Three Historical Novels for Children

Gold Pieces - Phyllis Bentley, £5.95
Hilltop handloom weaver's son Dick Wade is pleased to find a boy of his own age to play with, but is he a true friend? Whose is the injured dog found on the moors? And who is flooding the area with clipped and forged coins, bringing the London authorities in with their questions and house searches? A gripping story based on the real history of the Cragg Vale Coiners, giving a fascinating insight into life in the Calder Valley and the local weaving industry over 200 years ago.

Ned Carver in Danger - Phyllis Bentley, £5.95
The second of our reprints of the respected Halifax novelist's exciting historical novels for young people - a 13-year-old boy starts work at a Calder Valley cropping shop in 1812 just as his friend's mill-owning father introduces the cropping frames that will put his skilled companions out of work. Ned's sympathies are with the Luddites who plot violence.

The Adventures of Tom Leigh - Phyllis Bentley, £5.95
First young Tom, newly arrived in the Calder Valley from Suffolk in 1722, loses his father; then he himself is threatened when as a weaver's apprentice, he uncovers a crime. The third of the popular Halifax author's historical novels for young people that we are publishing and the furthest back in time. This one involves tenterfields.

Alice Longstaff historical postcards, 35p ea.
We're now stocking postcards of some of Alice Longstaff's extraordinary collection of historical photographs of the area.

Weird Calderdale - Paul Weatherhead, £7.99
Strange and incredible events from the Calderdale area, ranging from UFOs in Todmorden to a vampire infesting Robin Hood's grave near Brighouse.Currently unavailable but we're hoping for a new edition.

Milltown Memories: the Upper Calder Valley Captured on Camera, £2.50-£2.80.
We stock back issues of this well-illustrated quarterly journal featuring aspects of local history and old photographs.

West Yorkshire

Rebel Girls: their Fight for the Vote - Jill Liddington, £14.99
Rejecting the deadening conventions of their Victorian elders, the rebel girls demanded new freedoms and new rights. They took their suffrage message out to the remotest Yorkshire dales and fishing harbours, to win Edwardian hearts and minds. 16-year-old Huddersfield weaver Dora Thewlis on arrest was catapulted onto the tabloid front-pages as Baby Suffragette. Rebel Girls shows how this daring campaigning shifted from community suffragettes to militant mavericks. And includes Hebden Bridge's very own Lavena Saltonstall!

Fabrics, Filth & Fairy Tents: The Yorkshire Textile Districts in 1849 - Angus Bethune Reach, ed. Chris Aspin, £6.99
In 1849 Scottish investigative journalist Angus Bethune Reach toured the textile areas of the West Riding to report on the condition of the working class for the Morning Chronicle (which also published Mayhew's famous London reports). Reach visited Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Batley, Halifax, Bradford and Leeds; he praised some employers (Holdsworth's in Halifax, Marshall's in Leeds) but also found filth, squalor, extreme poverty, lethal working conditions and official apathy. His reports and the words of the people he spoke to bring to life how the glory days of the Yorkshire textile industry felt from the underside. Royd Press's first publication.

Brass Castles: West Yorkshire New Rich and Their Houses 1800-1914 - George Sheeran, £14.99
The West Yorkshire families who grew rich through commerce and industry during the Industrial Revolution used their newly acquired wealth to build houses and gardens that were markedly different from those of older landed and commercial families. "Brass Castles" is the first book to explore these nineteenth-century mansions as a group in their own right and examines the urban as well as the rural homes of ninety-two of the wealthiest "New Rich" families.

Lost Houses of the West Riding - Edward Waterson & Peter Meadows, £8.95
Many great houses were demolished from 1900 onwards, especially in the postwar period. This book gives brief details and illustrations.

West Yorkshire Folk Tales - John Billingsley, £9.99
Whether hailing from the open Pennine hills or the close-knit neighbourhoods of the industrial towns, the people of West Yorkshire have always been fond of a good story. Well-known local historian John Billingsley's latest book includes cautionary tales, amusing anecdotes, age-old legends and fantastical myths. Line drawings by Heptonstall illustrator, Stan McCarthy.

The Old Stones of Elmet - Paul Bennett, £13.95
"A total guide to the archaeology, folklore and geomancy of the ritual stone sites in an old Yorkshire kingdom", foreword by Aubrey Burl. Catalogues with photos and sketches many of the old stone sites of Elmet, including Todmorden, Mytholmroyd, Luddenden, Hebden Bridge, Blackshawhead and Halifax area.

The Romans Came This Way - by Norman Lunn, Bill Crosland, Bonwell Spence and Granville Clay, pub. Huddersfield and District Archaeological Society, £12.99
The story of the discovery and excavation of a Roman Military Way across the Yorkshire Pennines. The fascinating story of how a dedicated group of amateur archaeologists found themselves challenging all the accepted theories of where and how the Roman army built a major military way across the Pennines. A4, many colour photos and maps, CD with extra info.

A Stony Gaze: investigating Celtic & Stone Heads - John Billingsley, £10.95
Nationwide, but including the archaic carved heads on farmhouses of West Yorkshire.

Exploring West Yorkshire's History - Nigel A. Ibbotson, £16.99
A journey through West Yorkshire that examines its rich history through contemporary colour photographs. Well-known historical sites and lesser-known quirky places of interest.

Making of the West Yorkshire Landscape - Anthony Silson, £9.99
How West Yorkshire's landscape has changed since the area emerged from under a sea some seventy million years ago.

Yorkshire

Country of the Broad Acres: a History of Yorkshire - David Hey, £24.00
The history of Yorkshire is more varied than that of any other English county. Lavishly illustrated account from the Stone Age through the Bronze Age, Angles, Vikings, Normans, Reformation, Civil War and onwards, explaining the effects of the developments on each of of the Ridings - and the influence of upper Calder Valley farmsteads on family names (Ackroyd, Murgatroyd, Midgley ...) The author has ancestors from all three Ridings!

Yorkshire Geology - Paul Ensom, £22.50
A big colour illustrated hardback account of the 540 million years of Yorkshire's geological past.

Infamous Yorkshire Women - Issy Shannon, £12.99
From the well-known local journalist, a collection of remarkable women with Yorkshire connections - ranging from Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes to Mary Newall of the Cragg Vale Coiners. Nicely presented and well illustrated.

The Shepherd Lord - George Peter Algar, £9.99
Historical novel set in Yorkshire, about Henry Clifford, the young aristocrat brought up in Skipton Castle, who was raised as a simple shepherd during the Wars of the Roses. The same story is told in Phyllis Bentley's "Sheep May Safely Graze" for children, currently out of print.

Pace Egg Play

The Pace-Egg Plays of the Calder Valley - Eddie Cass, £6.99
The pace-egg play is similar to other forms of English traditional drama, but uniquely, it occurs at Easter, rather than Christmas. This book supplements Dr Cass's The Lancashire Pace-Egg Play in that it deals with the one area of west Yorkshire in which this Easter play was widely known. It covers the history of the play in the Calder Valley and outlines the story of the revival of the play. Schools were vital to the revival and continuance of the tradition, notably the Midgley School in the 1930s and in the 1950s, Calder High School. The Midgley pace-egg play, which has traceable, personal links into the nineteenth century, is discussed at length. The book also considers the revival of the play at Heptonstall where, on Good Friday, large crowds come to witness one of west Yorkshire's most popular calendar customs. Texts of both plays are included.

The Lancashire Pace-Egg Play - Eddie Cass, £13.95
A Social History. A detailed study of the origins of the different components of the Pace-Egg Play as we know it today and the different versions on record. Rochdale is the nearest place to the Calder Valley to be discussed. Published by the Folk-Lore Society.

Calder Valley Pace Egg Play video, £6.00
Documentary plus recordings of two versions of the Calder Valley Pace Egg Play in 2004, researched and produced by a group of young people at Calder High School. Includes interviews with one of the leading experts and some of the performers.

Rushbearing

Rushes and Ale - Garry Stringfellow, £5.00
A Brief History of Rushbearing with particular reference to rushbearing in the Calder Valley. Well-researched and well-illustrated history of the tradition through the centuries, including the furious opposition of the church!

TRANSPORT

Canals

Pennine Dreams: the story of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal Keith Gibson, £16.99
How and why the canal - which has the longest, deepest, highest canal tunnel in the British Isles - was built, and how it was restored. B&w illustrations.

The Calder and Hebble Navigation - Mike Taylor, £12.00
The River Calder rises in the Pennines north of Todmorden, receives the Hebble Brook at Salterhebble and reaches the Aire & Calder Navigation at Wakefield. It was made navigable in the 1770s and became part of the Mersey-Humber trade routes. By the 1940s it was in decline, but commercial traffic continued till 1981 when shipments to Thornhill Power Station ceased. The book contains numerous black and white illustrations of canal boats, furniture and activity along the navigation.

The Anatomy of Canals: the Mania Years - Anthony Burton and Derek Pratt, £16.99
Vol. 2 in the series, covering the 1790s to the 1820s when most of the UK's canal network was constructed. Chapter 7 is on "Manchester and the North", including the Ashton Canal, Rochdale Canal (with a special mention for Stubbing Wharf pub) and Huddersfield Canal, amongst others. B&w photos.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Yorkshire - Gary Firth, £11.99
Archive photographs.

Rail

A Pennine Pioneer: the history of the Summit Railway Tunnel - Alan Holt, £9.99
Takes us from the first mooting of the tunnel in the 1820s to the present day, including the fire of 1984. Photographs, maps and contemporary diagrams and pictures.

Halifax and the Calder Valley - Railway Memories 11 - Jack Wild and Stephen Chapman, £13.95
Celebrates the glorious time when Calderdale's railways carried top link expresses, Saturday excursions packed with holidaymakers bound for Blackpool, and a seemingly endless process of freight - when Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, Brighouse and Ripponden all had a place on the railway network, when trains left Halifax for Bradford and Keighley "over the Alps" and Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Mirfield were important railway centres. And takes us up to more recent years.

Manchester & Leeds Railway - The Calder Valley Line by Martin Bairstow, £10.95
Reissue of the popular book, first published in 1987, with 32 extra pages; tells the story of the local railway from first plans in the 1830s right up to today. Photographs, maps, diagrams and drawings.

West Riding Steam 1955-1969 - a pictorial diary by Robert Anderson, £12.95
208 previously unpublished photographs of 78 classes of steam locomotives around Halifax, Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, and further afield in West Yorkshire.

Yorkshire: the West Riding, Part 1
No 48 in Ian Allan's British Rail Past and Present series. From the industrial towns of the Calder and Aire valleys to the rural outposts of the Yorkshire Dales, the area covered in this book offers a huge variety of scenery and railway history. Includes Huddersfield, Halifax and the trans-Pennine routes, Skipton and the southern end of the SRC, Airedale and Wharfedale, Leeds and Bradford, the Dewbury area, lines around Harrogate, York.

Buses and Trams

Todmorden Buses: a Century of Service by Ralph Wilkinson, £8.95
To mark the centenary of the establishment of Todmorden's municipal bus service, this book covers the history of Todmorden's passenger transport over the last hundred years, with links over the Pennines to Bacup, Burnley, Keighley, Littleborough, Oxenhope and Rochdale, and with particular emphasis on the all-Leyland fleet with its dark green and cream livery. The author is a native of Todmorden.

Hebble - D. Bentley, K. Healey & N. Harris, £16.95
Illustrated guide to the stormy history of "one of the best loved of all the many Yorkshire operators". Services to Heptonstall & Blackshawhead began in the 1920s and by the 1950s the company was running to Scarborough and even Blackpool.

Family History

Yorkshire Surnames 3: Halifax & District by George Redmonds, £3.60
Fascinating account of the origins of Greenwood, Sutcliffe, Akroyd, Gaukroger, Murgatroyd, and many others. Also Vol. 1: Bradford & District and Vol. 2: Huddersfield & District

Baptisms at the Chapels of Heptonstall and Cross Stone in the Parish of Halifax, £12.50 per vol.
Heptonstall 1594-1812, Cross Stone 1678-1837. Four vols. A-F, G-J, K-Stancliffe, Stand-Y (Marriages and Burials also available)

A Rough Path near the Holly Tree - Rosemary Stevenson, £17.50
A story about the Hollinrakes and related familes around Todmorden, West Yorkshire, from 1558 to 2008. The related families are Astin, Haigh, Shackleton, Hartley, Travis, Hackett, Greenwood, Marshall, Taylor, Kershaw and Lord. Seventeen years' worth of research with lots of photos and original documentation.

The Law Family of Todmorden and the Upper Calder Valley, 16th-20th centuries by Frank T Haylett, £20
258-page A4 book tracing the Law family from the early 1500s on Langfield up to the present day, with the lives of about 2500 people associated with the Law family. There's an accompanying family tree in a separate A4 booklet (included in price).

Further Afield

The Backbone of England: Landscape and Life on the Pennine Watershed - Andrew Bibby, photos John Morrison, £20.00
Hebden Bridge-based journalist Andrew Bibby walks the route of the watershed in England that separates the water flowing westwards to the Irish Sea and the Atlantic from the water heading towards the North Sea and explores various aspects of the area's history, ecology, geology and culture, and meets many of the people whose lives are shaped by the landscape. Ex-Hebden Bridge John Morrison supplies atmospheric colour photos.

Yorkshire Dales Textile Mills - George Ingle, £9.99
It's mostly forgotten these days that there was a thriving textile industry in the Yorkshire Dales from the late 18th century onwards. George Ingle, the author of "Yorkshire Cotton", has located and describes over seventy textile mills in the Dales, with many illustrations.

Facsimile Mill Rules poster of 1851 from Waterfoot Mill, Haslingden, £1.00
21 rules laid down for the Hands, covering lateness, untidiness, damage, Talking, behaviour in the Necessaries, Oaths and insolent language, Smoking and especially personal cleanliness: "The Masters would recommend that all their workpeople Wash themselves every morning, but they shall Wash themselves at least twice every week, and any found not washed will be fined 3d for each offence."

A Cotton-Fibre Halo: Manchester and the Textile Districts in 1849 - Angus Bethune Reach, ed. Chris Aspin, £7.95
Companion to our "Fabrics, Filth and Fairy Tents" which covered the West Yorkshire textile districts, Angus Bethune Reach's graphic reports on Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, Egerton, Macclesfield, Middleton and Saddleworth with many interviews.


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