by Andrew Gill | Aug 16, 2021 | Gallery, Places, Transport
The Lockwood Viaduct was built in the 1840s and has thirty-two graceful arches. At least two men died during its construction and many others were injured. A couple of sport-related records are associated with it, lobbing a cricket ball and driving a golf ball. This... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 12, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
Pudsey is a real place, not just the name of a bear on the BBC. I like this photograph because although it’s one hundred years’ old, the play equipment is so familiar. Parks, of course, were the ‘lungs of the city’, public spaces where people... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 12, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
Wyke is an area to the east of Halifax in Yorkshire. This photograph from the 1890s shows the practice of ‘coal getting’ in Judy Wood nearby. ‘Getting’ involved sorting through the waste from coal mines for the tiniest scraps of coal that... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 8, 2021 | Gallery, I didn’t expect that!, Places, Transport
The original caption on this photograph is ‘Bleriot plane, Filey’. Bleriot was an early pioneering aviator, famous for his designs and flying expertise but we don’t think this is him. What was this pilot doing at Filey on Yorkshire’s east coast... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 8, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus, Transport
There has been a lifeboat based in Bridlington, on the Yorkshire coast, since 1805. The earliest lifeboats were simply rowing boats and must have required a huge effort to row to the scene of a disaster. This one is much later, probably the 1880s, and is sail-powered... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 5, 2021 | Gallery, Places, Sport, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus, Transport
Cycling was as popular in the late nineteenth century (when this photograph was taken) as it is now. This happy band of cyclists is the ‘I.O.G.T.’ in Doncaster. We’ve not been able to find out what the I.O.G.T. was …. or is. I assume its main... 
by Andrew Gill | Aug 3, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus, Transport
Early photographs of railway stations are always interesting. This one in Skipton, Yorkshire, shows a scene typical of thousands of stations across Britain in the early 1900s. There are at least twelve station staff wearing smart uniforms. Many of them are porters,... 
by Andrew Gill | Jul 31, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
This alley in Whitby has the unusual name of ‘Tin Ghaut’. Ghauts, of which the town had several, seems to be a term used only in Whitby and possibly derives from ‘gate’. Taken in the early 1900s, this is an interesting study of life in the... 
by Andrew Gill | Jul 30, 2021 | Gallery, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
This delightful photograph from the 1890s captures a touching moment between father and son. The boy, perhaps twelve years old, is already a seasoned fisherman and will grow up to follow in his father’s footsteps. In the background, we can see Scarborough Castle... 
by Andrew Gill | Jul 25, 2021 | Gallery, I didn’t expect that!, Places, Transport
Throughout railway history, accidents were a relatively common occurrence, usually caused by human error. This photograph shows a more unusual one, as a viaduct has collapsed and the engine can be seen on its side on the embankment. The date was 2nd February 1916,... 
by Andrew Gill | Jul 25, 2021 | Gallery, I didn’t expect that!, Places, The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
Denby Dale, a village in Yorkshire, has a history of making huge pies (claimed by some to be the World’s largest) to celebrate national and local events. The first was in 1788 and the latest in 1988, with just five other occasions in-between. In this unusual... 