Museum marks the centenary of fairy photos that fooled the world

THE CENTENARY of the first photograph of the Cottlingley fairies will be marked at a Yorkshire museum tomorrow.

Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley will host an afternoon of fairy-themed activities from noon to 3pm in which children will be able to transform themselves into a fairy king or queen.

The world-famous photographs of the ‘fairies’ were taken by two young cousins called Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, who lived in Cottingley in West Yorkshire. The two girls had used cardboard cutouts of fairies copied from a children’s book, which fooled many people at the time including the Victorian writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

Tomorrow’s event coincides with International Fairy Day. Cliffe Castle Museum is already hosting an exhibition on fairy folklore which will run until October 8.

Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s executive member for culture, said: “For all lovers of this local fairy folklore tale, this will be a wonderful day and great fun for all the family.

“The story of the Cottingley fairies has an endless fascination for all generations and for people from all over the world.

“I’d urge people to go and have a look at the absorbing exhibition, which runs until October.”