Old Lane Mill, Ovenden, Halifax

Towering over Ovenden in Halifax, Old Lane Mill stands as a testament to the industrial past of Yorkshire. Built in 1825, it's not just any mill; it's the oldest surviving multi-storey, steam-powered, iron-framed textile mill in Halifax, possibly even the UK.

James Akroyd, the visionary behind Old Lane Mill, wasn't afraid to push boundaries. He incorporated innovative features like an iron frame and stone floors, allowing the mill to support the weight of the revolutionary Jacquard looms he installed in 1827. These looms, the first of their kind in Britain, marked a significant leap forward in textile production.

Despite claims of being fireproof, Old Lane Mill wasn't immune to disaster. A blaze ripped through the building in 1905, causing significant damage. However, the mill persevered, changing hands and purposes throughout the 20th century. It even served as part of the larger Dean Clough Mill complex for a time.

Today, Old Lane Mill stands derelict, a haunting reminder of a bygone era. The empty shell, though ravaged by time and vandalism, still whispers stories of innovation and industry. The stone floors, stripped-out machinery remnants, and the large engine house with its distinctive features offer a glimpse into the heart of a once-thriving mill.

The future of Old Lane Mill remains uncertain. Preservation efforts are ongoing due to the building's historical significance. Whether it's restored to its former glory or repurposed for a new life, Old Lane Mill undoubtedly deserves to be cherished as a vital piece of Halifax's textile heritage.

Please note: Due to the derelict state of the building, exploring Old Lane Mill is not recommended.I was in the area on the 15th April 2015 and visited the mill, I made no effort to enter the building as it looks unsafe and I am not good with heights, preferring to just photograph the outside safely on the ground level. There are many others that have photographed and video the inside available to view online, and Martin Zero did an excellent video on YouTube about the mill some 3 years ago that is worth a look. The pictures were taken using a polaroid is2132 bridge camera, they can be seen below or on my Clickasnap account were they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The water outlet stands just to the south of Old Lane Mill, it carries
the Ovenden Brook underneath the mill and probably provided some 
of the power source for the mill historically.

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Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the Clickasnap version.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green. Please don't take the approach of an estate agent who a few years ago was marketing the mill and decided to use my pictures without permission, suitable recompense and no credit. The not even bothering to credit me really was the most annoying bit.

Griffin Park, Brentford.

Not a set of football pics but a set of art works created by me of the former Griffin Park Football Stadium, Home of Brentford Football Club until 2020. 

Griffin Park opened on the 1st September 1904 with a 1-1 draw between Brentford and Plymouth Argyle, and closed after the final game between Brentford "B" and Erith Town in the London Senior Cup. The record attendance for a Brentford FC match at the ground was 38678 fora FA Cup 6th round tie against Leicester City in the February 1949, Brentford lost 2-0.

The ground has featured athletics, tennis, Gaelic Football and baseball in the early part of it's history, and was the home ground of the London Broncos Rugby League team from 2002 until 2006.

Other notes of interest about Griffin Park is the stadium being underneath the flight path of Heathrow Airport and the roof of the stands being used as giant advertising boards, and a pub being situated on each corner of the ground.

The pictures are based on aerial shots of the ground from each corner in 2019, the artwork was created by me in 2020 for someone that had requested art style prints of the ground for their Brentford supporting daughter.

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Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Crossley Heath School Building 01-01-2019

Taken whilst out for a New Years Day stroll these images of Crossley Heath School show a Victorian Architectural gem on the edge of Saville Park Moor.

Built at a cost of £65000, the Crossley Orphan School and Home was opened on the 29th June 1864, designed by Paull & Aycliffe - John Hogg and paid for by the Crossley family of John, Joseph and Francis. The orphanage was created for boys aged between 2 and 15, and girls up to an age of 17. The children were housed there for free receiving lodging, clothing and education, when opened there was room for between 400 - 500 children.

Thomas Porter a Manchester based merchant made a donation of £50000 to the school in 1879 on the condition the name was changed, so on the 31st January 1887 it became the Crossley & Porter Orphan Home and School. In 1919 day pupils were admitted and the orphanage became the Crossley & Porter School, which is how it remained known until 1985 when a merger with Heath Grammar School saw the school become Crossley Heath School.

The pictures below were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on January 1 2019, there are 2 in total plus an artwork created by me. The photo's can also be seen on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

Clicking the images above should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap, the image below should open a link to my Artworks album on Clickasnap.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Ruins of Staups Mill, Blackshawhead

 Built as a cotton mill in the mid to late 18th century, Staups Mill was originally known as Starling Mill and built alongside the then Blackshawhead Clough which was used to power it. Blackshawhead Clough was at the time of building of the mill the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire, it has become known more commonly as Jumble Hole Clough. The mill was largely damaged when a dam collapsed and caused water to rush down Jumble Hole Clough on the 24 September 1896 and there the story seems to end, other than the ruins that now remain.

I visited the area on the 4 May 2022, the path that passes the mill has had some trees put alongside it to prevent access to the mill area and signs have been erected warning of no access and private property. I can only assume this is because of what appears to be the unsafe nature of the remains of the building, I made no attempts to go anywhere near the building with that in mind as I was out to explore not upset the land owner. It was a shame as I would have liked to have pictured the mill from the other side where Jumble Hole Clough flows towards it.

A couple of things that struck me when I was heading back down the valley towards Hebden Bridge, why would you have ever built a mill there, I realise the water flow helps power the mill but it's a fair distance up or down the valley to nearby settlements for workers and access for transporting goods. The second thought i had was it must have been pretty bleak heading to and from work in the 18th and 19th centuries during the winter months.

There are a total of 9 pictures to see around the mill area, they were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR.

Jumble Hole Clough flowing past Staups Mill, this was as close as I got to the
ruins and due to careful camera cropping it looks a lot closer than it was.

I thought this picture had a similar look to the ones of the Amityville House,
with the 2 windows like eyes at the top.

One of the streams flowing off the surrounding moors and fields into
Jumble Hole Clough, at one time this would have been me stood in
Lancashire looking across to Yorkshire.

The path away from the mill towards Blackshawhead.

I have recently been made aware that the remains of Staups Mill have been demolished.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Eastwood Railway Station Remains

Eastwood Railway Station opened on the 1st January 1841 to serve the village of Eastwood between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, West Yorkshire. The station used to have a signal box, level crossing, coal drops and goods passing loop around its site but these have all been removed over time. The access ramp from Burnley Road is still used by pedestrians but the former vehicle level crossing is now just a pedestrian crossing providing access to Eastwood Lane.

The station remained in use until competition from trams and buses caused reduced passenger numbers and closure came in December 1951, although some goods traffic continued until the early 1960's. The station buildings remained into the early 1970's when the closure of the signal box led to all the buildings being demolished and cleared.

These pictures were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 4 May 2022, there are a total of 6 pictures which can be seen below, they can also be seen on Clickasnap where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The remains of the former station buildings, the site was always tight on
space and the hillside was dug away to provide space for the buildings.
Its hard to imagine now that there were station buildings, a signal box, a
passing loop, coal delivery drops and 2 platforms all within this 
small area for a station.

The station access roads, these used to lead up to a level crossing that
past between the 2 stations platforms, these were staggered due to the
small area available. The only crossing now is for pedestrians.

Looking down the former access ramp and at the pedestrian crossing
that was once used by cars. This picture shows how tight the site
was to fit a station here.

Eastwood Lane runs above the station site, the road towards the
bottom left of the picture accesses the area around what was the station.

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Clicking any image should opena link in another window to the higher resolution, un-watermarked version on Clickasnap.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Middlesborough Transporter Bridge

The Tees Transporter Bridge by it's given name is the longest remaining transporter bridge in the world, currently closed and in need of repairs the bridge seems to have a somewhat uncertain future.

Built at a cost of over £68000, the bridge replaced the ferry service that crossed the Tees nearby when opened in October 1911. A transporter bridge was chosen so as not to effect shipping navigating the River Tees upstream and when the bridge was constructed it was red, the bridge only adopting its blue colour in 1961.

The Transporter Bridge was granted Grade II listed status on the 21 June 1985, and the Heritage Plaque from the Institution of Mechanical Engineer's in December 1993. The bridge was closed for works in August 2019 and has remained closed since on safety grounds.

The pictures below are original artworks created by me and based on drone footage of the bridge.

Clicking on either picture will open a link in another window to the higher resolution, un-watermarked version on Clickasnap.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Original Artworks of England International Test Cricket Grounds

 This collection of Test Cricket Ground pictures was created by me recently and uploaded to YouTube and ClickASnap. All current test cricket venues that host the England international Team are featured.

More information and all the pictures can also be found below, they are also available to view on Clickasnap, where they can be seen full size, resolution and un-watermarked. The pictures are shown in the order of newest test ground to oldest. There are 2 pictures of each ground roughly from opposite side.

The Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl

Currently known as the Ageas Bowl for sponsorship reason's, the Rose Bowl was opened in 2001, as the new home of  Hampshire CCC. It has a current capacity of 25000 and hosted a first test match from 16 - 20 June 2011, when England drew with Sri Lanka.

Sophia Gardens

Sophia Gardens.

The Cardiff Wales Stadium opened in 1967, the home of Glamorgan CCC the stadium also host's England games as the cricket team represents England and Wales. The current capacity is 15643 and it hosted a first test match from 8-12 June 2009 when England and Australia played out a draw in the 2009 Ashes series. 

The Riverside Ground

The Riverside Ground

The Riverside Ground at Chester-le-Street is the home of Durham CCC. Opened in 1995 it can hold up to 17000 for international games. The first test match hosted at the Riverside was England v Zimbabwe on from the 5-7 June 2003, England won by an innings and 69 runs.

 

Edgbaston

Edgbaston

Edgbaston Ground opened in 1882 and is home to Warwickshire CCC, Birmingham Bears and Pheonix Cricket Teams. It has a capacity of 25000 and hosted its first test match from the 29 - 31 May 1902 when England met Australia in the first test, the match ended in a draw.

Headingley, both Cricket and Rugby Stadiums

Headingley

Headingley is the home of Yorkshire CCC and was opened in 1890. The current capacity 18350 and it hosted its first test match from 29 June - 1 July 1899 when England and Australia drew the third test of that's years ashes series. The cricket ground is joined on to the home ground of the Leeds Rhino's Rugby League team.

Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge opened in 1841 and is the home of Nottinghamshire CCC and has a current capacity of 17500. The first test match hosted was England V Australia from the 1-3 June 1899 in a drawn match.

Lord's

Lord's

Lord's is known as the Home of Cricket and is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club. It was opened at it's current location in 1814 and is also home to Middlesex CCC. The ground hosted England for the first time in a test match from 21-23 July 1884, England beating Australia by an innings and 5 runs.

Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Old Trafford is the home of Lancashire CCC and opened in 1857, the capacity for international cricket is 26000. The first test match hosted was England v Australia from 10-12 July 1884, a match that ended in a draw.

The Oval

The Oval

The Kia Oval named for sponsorship reasons is the oldest test cricket ground in England. Opened as the home of Sussex CCC in 1845 the ground is traditionally the home of the final test in each series. The current capacity is 27500 and it has also be home to FA Cup Finals and England Football matchers. The first test match hosted here was from 6-8 September 1880 England beating Australia by 5 wickets.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media, All the pictures can also be seen on Clickasnap.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Top of Eastwood and Staups Lanes, Blackshaw Head.

 A small set of picture taken earlier today around the Eastwood Lane, Staups Lane area of Blackshaw Head, Hebden Bridge. I was here on a walk towards Staups Mill near the top of Jumble Hole Clough, having walked up Eastwood lane from the site of the former railway station that served the area until closure in December 1951, when I reached the top of Eastwood Lane at the junction with Staups Lane and Eastwood Road I was greeted by a Rock Formation as seen below.

Great Rock

Great Rock is a natural rock made from Kinderscout Grit, a form of Millstone Grit on the edge of Staups Moor. Their are many a local legend regards the rock but the one I know best is the one that gives the rock the name Devil's Rock. The Devil bet with God that he could step across the valley from Stoodley Pike to Great Rock, despite his failure to make the it, legend says you can see his hoof print upon the rock.

The following pictures were taken along Staups Lane before i took the path down to Jumble Hole Clough.

The last picture was taken at the top of Jumble Hole Clough before heading down to find Staups Mill, the purpose of my visit. The stream would have powered the mill and eventually flows in to the River Calder at the valley bottom.

The pictures were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 4th May 2022, they can also be seen on my Clickasnap account, click any image to view the un-watermarked, higher resolution version in another window.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green