Of Sex Pistols and ghost signs
HISTORY fans are in for a treat as the latest edition of a local history journal has just been published.
The journal is written by local historians and this latest edition for 2017/2018 sure is an eclectic mix ranging from Huddersfield’s connections with Camelot and South Asian food and song in Lockwood through to punk band the Sex Pistols who played their last ever gig in the UK at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield on Christmas Day 1977.
Other features include the history behind the name Scapegoat Hill; Farnley Tyas and the Dartmouth Estate in the 1800s and early 1900s; A St Valentine’s Day Catastrophe: The Colne Bridge Cotton Mill Fire; The War from the Home Front – One Man and His Experiences in the Great War, The Great War plus a profile on curiosities found across Kirklees.
It is published by Huddersfield Local History Society (HLHS).
Next week we will reveal far more about these curiosities that can be found dotted around our area – things you may have passed every day and wanted to know more about them.
One are so-called ghost signs, described as fading ‘hand painted advertising signs’ which give an insight into products available at the beginning of the 20th century.
They were hand-painted directly on to the brickwork of buildings and, being exposed to the elements, they have become faded over time.
There is one on Huddersfield Road at Honley from Berry Brow to Holmfirth. The sign is on the side of a row of houses. The end one was formerly a grocer’s shop and is advertising Kilkof cough mixture with the slogan ‘Tackle that Tickle.’
There are several more around Kirklees, advertising Gold Flake cigarettes, Thompson’s Mineral Water and India Tyres.
The best way to buy the latest print copy of the journal is to use the Pay Pal facility on the HLHS website. The price is £4 plus p&p.
Customers can also write to HLHS, 24 Sunnybank Road, Huddersfield, HD3 3DE, enclosing a cheque for £5.50 payable to Huddersfield Local History Society. An electronic PDF version can be bought from the website.
The recent back issues (2014/14, 2015/16, 2016/17) are selling for £1 until stocks last.
Editor Frank Grombir said: “We are currently digitising the back run of journal issues from 1983 to 2010 which will soon be available to download for free from our website.
“In the meantime, the public can access a searchable index which is available to browse.”
He urged people to send the society contributions of up to 3,000 words related to the history of the Huddersfield area.
For more information email Frank at editor@huddersfieldhistory.org.uk