New book spotlights eminent Silsden artists of the past

A book about seven eminent Silsden artists of the past is being sold to raise money for Silsden Town Hall. Published by Silsden Local History Group, the 32-page book has been written by Colin Neville, pictured above, who runs the Not Just Hockney website, which features artists past and present from the Bradford district. Colin,a retired university lecturer who is an arts-related bookseller, has focused on Silsden's leading artists for the book, which, costing £5, will be launched at the history group's Remembrance weekend coffee morning at the Town Hall on Saturday, November 9th. Colin will attend to sign copies. He is pictured here in front of a watercolour of Bolton Abbey painted by Joseph West, one of the Silsden artists in the book. The others are Doris Schrecker, Augustus Spencer, who from a humble Silsden background became principal of the Royal College of Art, Hildred Harpin, of Swartha, who taught at Keighley School of Art and at Keighley Boys Grammar School, Stan Boardman, Dorothy Wade and Jack Clarkson.

Signal for an unwanted catch in the canal

Silsden angler David Cooper netted this American signal crayfish while enjoying a tranquil afternoon in the early autumn sun on the canal at Low Holden on September 19th. American crayfish have become invasive and have decimated the native white-clawed crayfish population.   

How's that for an unexpected opening in Kirkgate?

A new retail boundary has been set in Kirkgate with the opening of the Viking Cricket shop at No. 26, where managing director Jeff Wilson is pictured above. Jeff, who lives in Silsden, is a cricket coach and former player with Saltaire in the Bradford League.

The bats, which all have Viking names, are made in Huddersfield, using willow grown in Suffolk. The company expects to manufacture 300 bats this year. Viking started three years ago and shot to prominence after winning two accolades in The Cricketer magazine's good gear guide: best bat from a boutique manufacturer and second overall in the class for all makers. Viking's brand ambassadors include three members of the England women's cricket team.

                 

Christine's Kitchen adds to Kirkgate's colourful café culture

Christine Davenport, who comes from generations of Cobbydalers, has returned to Silsden after more than 40 years to open Christine's Kitchen in Kirkgate. Her new venture started in June. She previously ran a café in Haslingden, Lancashire.

Christine, who is pictured above with her granddaughters Samantha Lawton (left) and Bethany Kerr, is planning to open on Christmas Day, serving a traditional three-course meal (£15) for people who are on their own or who are elderly.

Blue Plaque tells historic pub's remarkable story

The historic Red Lion pub, in Kirkgate, has been honoured with a blue heritage plaque, which tells the story of the inn's unique contribution to community life. Landlord and brewer Luke Reid (right) is pictured with David Mason, chair of the Silsden Local History Group, which has funded and installed the award. It is the third plaque the group has presented to the town. The Red Lion was originally a mediaeval farmstead. By the early 1700s the farming Horne family had introduced a brewhouse and inn with stabling. Later, in the19th century, the pub became the centre of social and cultural life under the musical Weatherhead family, who ran the Red Lion for more than 100 years.

Newly on display in the tap room is the old pub sign pictured above, which has been loaned by Richard Spencer, owner of P. J. Motors, whose grandparents John and Edith Spencer ran the pub for 17 years up to 1976. Since 2015, the pub has been owned by the Reid family, which has moved its microbrewery to the premises. Production will resume shortly after a refit and two of the most popular brews of the 10 offered so far, Cobbied Ale, a traditional bitter, and Luke's Brew, a strong IPA, will return. 

Tom and Caitlin take the plunge with their own business

One of Silsden's oldest shop premises has been given a makeover by a couple who aim to ride the crest of a new wave of drinking hang-outs. No .55 Kirkgate is now The Duck Pond, a bottle shop and coffee house, run by partners Tom Grummett and Caitlin Schofield, pictured above and below, who live in Steeton.

Tom's experience is in bar management and the hotel trade while Cailtin worked for an events company and in catering. They have pooled their knowledge and resources to add The Duck Pond to Silsden's retail and catering transformation. The downstairs area offers a "carefully curated selection of beers, wines and spirits." Upstairs is the coffee-house part of the business, which overlooks Stakes Beck where the ducks gather by the bridge. The premises have been a shop for well over 120 years, for much of the time a grocery, particularly being remembered as Holgates. More recently it was Bilaluci's café. Photographs over the years were featured in my posts of August 28th, 2013, and September 6th, 2016.

Friends of Silsden's Green Places go to town with

a blooming good summer show

The Friends of Silsden's Green Places have adorned the main streets with 76 hanging baskets. Pictured above are some of the committee members (left to right): Tess Jurin, Carol Smith, town councillor Darren Edwards, chair Joyce Kilvington and her golden retriever Connie, vice-chair Barry Thomas and Stephanie Calvert-Smith.

In return for having a bright floral display, shops and businesses undertake to keep the baskets watered.

The Friends have also newly provided and planted up four  hayracks on the bridge over Stakes Beck. The group was formed in 2016, since when it has made a colourful and greatly appreciated impact by tidying and maintaining public green places, providing planters and installing benches in tranquil settings.