Halifax Pubs Volume 2

Volume 2 of Halifax pubs is another set taken in May 2018 featuring 5 nightspots on this post.

The Barum Top

Opened in 2000, the Barum Top is a JD Wetherspoons pub, purpose built on the site of a former car garage and carpet store.

Ring O'Bells

Rebuilt in 1720, a pub has occupied the site since the 13th century. The pub is said to have a tunnel connecting the cellar with the nearby Halifax Parish Church.

Old Cock Inn

The Old Cock was built in 1580 as a town house by William Saville. It became an inn in 1668 and is thought to be amongst the oldest in Halifax. It is where the meeting to form the Halifax Permanent Building Society took place and the meeting place of the notorious Cragg Vale Coiners gang.

Inn-Cognito Restaurant

Closed in 2018 so the owner could retire, Inn-Cognito had been a fixture of the Halifax dining scene for over 35 years. The building was originally a Whitaker's pub called the Hope Inn which closed in 1971.

Acapulco Nightclub and Gourmet Restaurant

There's not much to add about the Gourmet Restaurant, it started life as the Broadway Supermarket and has had many users over the years until a few years ago when it became a Chinese restaurant, now been closed for several years.

The Acapulco Nightclub is said to be the UK's longest running club, opened in 1962 it is still a popular nightspot today.

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Vintage Railway Pictures. Sir Nigel Gresley, Sir Lamiel, a Mystery and the Ribblehead Viaduct

In addition to my own pictures I like to collect postcards, photo and slide collections from others. The following 4 pictures are part of a collection of slides I recently acquired and am currently digitising, the copyright was assigned to me during the purchase.

The 1st of my images from this collection is the LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley locomotive. Built in Doncaster in 1937, the 100th Gresley Pacific built remained in service until 1st February 1966. Since withdrawal the engine has been refurbished a couple of times and now runs along heritage lines and is used for rail excursion tours along the mainline. On the day the picture was taken it was running from Marylebone Station, London to Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire.

Image 2 I have entitled Ghost Train, due to it taking on a blue hue whist I was editing it on photoshop. Other than being pictured on the 5th August 1986 I have no other information regarding what the locomotive is or where it was stopped.

The 3rd image is of Southern Railway 777 Sir Lamiel, taken on the 1st December 1986. The loco is a N15 King Arthur class, built for Southern Railway by the North British Locomotive Company. Entering service in June 1965, Sir Lamiel ran until October 1961. Now part of the national collection it's home is the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire.

Slide 4 is of the Ribblehead Viaduct, taken in August 1976. Then was still then a double track across the viaduct and I believe it to have been taken from the near to where Ribblehead Station would have been sighted. This was during the period of the station being closed between 1970 and 1986. The viaduct was also subject of closure threats along with the line during this period, with British Rail proposing that the costly repairs to the Ribblehead Viaduct would make the line unviable.

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Halifax Pubs Volume 1

Set 1 of my Halifax pubs is 9 pictures that were taken in May 2018 around the centre of Halifax, West Yorkshire. Halifax is known for it's large amount of pubs within a short distance and is a popular night destination amongst the drinkers of West Yorkshire and beyond.

Renamed the Cat & Fiddle in 2014 the pub is more commonly known in Halifax as the Brass Cat, the pubs former nickname being formerly adopted in 1981, when it was changed from the Golden Lion. It can be found on Cheapside.

Bow Legged with Brass has been known as the following over the years, Pitchers Sports Bar, Griffs, The Griffin.

The Salvation, which is housed underneath a car park started life as a branch of Comet Electrical Stores, before being converted to a bar in 2002 known as Barracuda. It has also been known as Barcentro during it's life as a pub.

Housed in the former Arcade Royal, home of the Halifax Co-operative society until 2001 when the shopping arcade was divided up in to smaller units with the pub being the main part of the development. When opened the pub was known as the Goose at the Arcade and renamed as the Duke of Wellington in 2012.

Koko's to the near left of the picture has the honour of being Halifax's most renamed pub. Some of the pub's names have been The Crown & Anchor, Heaths, The Adega, Scratcherd's, and The Continental amongst many others. In the background of the picture is the Bull,

Rebuilt and opened in 1940 as the Bull's Head, this pub has also had it's share of names including The Manhattan, Xess, and Brasserie at the Bull.

Lewin's named after the family that ran it for over 60 years until sometime during the 2nd world war is one of the oldest remaining pubs in Halifax. Built in 1769 and known as the Hare & Hounds for much of it's history. Other names have included The Last Drop and O'Neil's. The pub was a men only drinking establishment until the late 1960's.

The Imperial Crown lies opposite the entrance to Halifax Railway Station. Opened as the Greece House and then the Crown Hotel.

One of Halifax's newer bars-pubs I must confess having never been in the Middle Bar.

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Vintage Postcards, Aspremont. Meggen, Jaffa and the Taj Mahal

Whilst sorting through my large postcard collection I have decided to digitise them all and share occasionally in addition to my own pictures.

The pictures in this post are unposted and undated but I am told they are from between the wars from the 1920's - 30's.

Aspremont is a small village in south-east France, 10km north of Nice with a population of approx. 2190. I have searched for the tower in the background beyond the apartment blocks and I believe it is the tower of the Church of Saint-Jacques le Mejeur.


Jaffa (Yafo Hebrew, Yafa Arabic) is a port city in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The picture on the postcard which is unposted so not dated shows the coastline from what is the modern day Tel-Aviv Promenade.

Meggen is a mining community of approx. 2900 residents in Lennestadt, Western Germany.

The Taj Mahal, the most famous picture of the postcards featured. The "Crown of Peace" is a mausoleum close to the Yamuna River, Agra, Indian. Built between 1632 -53 as a tomb by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

A late addition to the postcards I uploaded on the 23rd May 2020, is the following one, I missed when writing the post.

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Let's go Dutch - Vintage Postcards from Holland

The following post features 3 postcards from Holland that are part of my collection. 2 are posted and from the 1970's with a third from the 1930's, which is unposted and shows the former building of the Netherlands Supreme Court prior to it's refurbishment in 1938.

The rear of the card is addressed to A.G Leeves, Capstone, Burwash, England and as best I can make out the message is "Greetings from Anneke and Whim Hoenew" I can't make the date out on the card.

This card is also addressed to the same people and dated 1976, I can't make out the message on this occasion.

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Yadkin Hotel, North Carolina - Vintage Postcard

The Yadkin Hotel, Salisbury, North Carolina is a postcard I have owned for a couple of years now. I am currently sorting through a few with a mind to sell them on Ebay and this is one I am minded to let go. 

The hotel no longer operates, having opened in 1912, expanded in 1922 and closed after many years of decline in 1973. The building was left to decay, with a fire, substantial water damage and vandalism resulting in the hotel being gutted and stripped of anything valuable.

In 1980 the building was renovated overseen by architects Tenant & Tenant and received a new lease of life as an apartment building, now known as the Yadkin House Apartments, housing senior citizens and disabled adults. The picture is thought to have been taken in the 1930's.

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Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote

Timanfaya National Park was a trip I took in July 2013. The visit was part of a tour of the island of Lanzarote of which it has to be said I had little enthusiasm for. They visit to Lanzarote was something that my wife and daughter planned and in the lead up to it was something I looked forward to less and less, I will admit now I was wrong, the island being one the places I have enjoyed visiting the most and look forward to one day getting the opportunity to revisit. One of the many highlights of the trip was the day we took the tour of the island which included the visit to Timanfaya. I did not know what to expect upon the visit as I was aware that the area was still home to an active volcano, but despite the disappointment of finding whilst active there was no lava flowing or bubbles to view the trip was still worth it. There were demonstrations of how close the heat was to the service and a look inside the El Diablo Restuarant, where you could see the food being cooked over an open well of heat.

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Timanfaya National Park was established in 1974 and covers an area 19.72 square miles of the south western area of Lanzarote. The park is regulated with only selected areas open to the public and most viewable only via a coach trip. There is an area for visitors to take camel rides and a restaurant for refreshments when visiting. It was along with the rest of Lanzarote designated a UNESCO  Biosphere Reserve in 1993. This is to protect the unique flora and fauna that can be found on the park.

The Volcano whilst active is considered dormant, the last eruption being in 1824. The greatest eruptions to hit the island were through a 6 year period from 1730 until 1736 when much of the landscape around the park was created. During this period the island lost the villages of Tingfa, Mancha Blanca, Maretas, Santa Catalina, Jaretas, San Juan, Timanfaya, Rodeo and Mazo, and much of the land covered by volcanic ash was the most fertile upon the island so it was a time of great hardship. The land is considered to be of great interest to science as it's one of the newest places on earth and they are interested to see how it develops with no major human interaction.

Whilst the volcanic activity is still active, this activity happens just below ground where temperatures can reach between 100 to 600 centigrade at a depth of 13 metres. The park offers a geyser demonstration to show how hot the below surface temperature is. The following video shows the demonstration.


The pictures and video were taken using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. They can be seen below or alternatively on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The Fire Pit is used as a demonstration to show how hot the temperature is
just underneath the surface of the park.

The parks restaurant can be seen to the left of the crater.

El Diablo, created by Cesar Manrique is the symbol of
Timanfaya National Park.

The restaurant uses geothermal heat channelled through open pits like this
to cook the food served.

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Spen Valley Greenway. Low Moor to the M62.

The Spen Valley Greenway is a cycle-pedestrian corridor connecting Low Moor with Ravensthorpe, West Yorkshire, passing through the towns of Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Liversedge on route. The route runs for approx. 8 miles along the former routes of the Spen Valley Railway and Ravensthorpe Branch Lines. 

The Greenway was planned after Sustrans acquired the trackbed in 1998, and opened in 2000. In addition to the remaining bridges, occasional railway signposts and ornamental benches along the route, there are artworks including Sally Matthews flock of Swaledale sheep and Trudi Entwistle's Rotate. The route is traffic free and pretty flat along it's length, with a few small gentle slopes up and down. There are supermarkets along the route including a Tesco alongside the former site of Cleckheaton Station and a Morrison's a short walk from the site of what was Heckmondwike Station.

The following is a short video i put together of the pictures I took along the line, it includes images of the station sites whilst still operational.

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Before conversion from an overgrown and abandoned former railway to a pleasant tarmacked cycle and pedestrian route, the greenway had a life as a railway known as the Mirfield and Low Moor Railway. The original double track line opening was in 2 stages, from Low Moor to Mirfield on the 18th July 1848, and the Ravensthorpe Branch connecting Thornhill with Heckmondwike on the 1st June 1849. At it's height the line had 8 stations along it's route which included Low Moor, Cleckheaton Central, Liversedge Central, Heckmondwike Central after which the line split with stops at Northorpe North Road and Mirfield along the Mirfield route, and Ravensthorpe Lower and Thornhill along the Ravensthorpe Branch Line. The line remained in use until passenger services were withdrawn in July 1965 and goods traffic ended in the late 1980's.

There are currently small campaigns trying to get the line reopened, as much of the trackbed remains clear and unbuilt upon this seems an easy but perhaps expensive plan. There is currently a population of over 50000 along the Spen Valley Route with limited access to rail without commuting. There are competing plans featuring heavy rail and light rail proposals.

The following pictures are taken on the route from Low Moor to the M62 Motorway Bridge at Chain Bar. They were taken on the 30th December 2019 with a Nikon d3300.

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