Not in my backyard (NIMBY)

The church in whose backyard there are all those cooling towers is St Edward the Confessor's Church, Brotherton in Yorkshire.  In some accounts I've found, it's described as medieval, in others as 19th century.  According to the National Archives, it has records going back to 1562.  Whichever way you look at it, it's far older than the Ferrybridge B power station which was built in the 1950s and closed in the 1990s.

The photo, taken by Eric de Maré sometime between 1960 and 1980, reminds me of the postcard I bought at Richborough Castle in Kent.  It too shows cooling towers in the background, and they too have now been demolished, though there was a very strong campaign to preserve them.

The first picture comes from a postcard set "Postcards of our Past" issued by English Heritage, the second is also published by them and on sale at the Richborough Castle site.  Maybe someone in English Heritage has a special fondness for cooling towers.  Industrial Heritage in your backyard.

This is a post for Sepia Saturday.  A click on the button will take you to the site.

Maps on a Monday - North Yorkshire moors

It's interesting that, apart from the main features, the two maps choose to show very different details.  Flamingo Land doesn't sound too typical of the North Yorkshire moors, a national park with one of the largest expanses of purple and brown heather moorland in the UK.  It also has a wonderful coastline, ancient woodland and historic sites

But what I really need to know is, who was Fat Betty and why does she feature on the second map?

Ingleborough Cave

The "Mushroom Bed" in Eldon Hall.  A massive bank of stalagmite formation with a rippled effect on its surface due to miniature rimstone pools - ridges of lime holding back pools with minute crystals of lime in them.

The Ingleborough Cave was found in 1837 after a flood broke down some natural dams to reveal "a wonderland of natural passages".  On the reverse of the card, it says the cave is near Lancaster but the website talks about being in the Yorkshire Dales.  Can both be true? 

If I'm honest, this formation looks more like a giant jellyfish than a mushroom to me, but I'm no expert.  If you want an expert, visit English Wilderness where John, who gave me this card, is currently showing some pictures of formations in Gough's Cave, in Somerset.

Machines in Calderdale

The Calderdale Industrial Museum found a home for Enid, a horizontal Corliss steam engine.  I could copy out what Wikipedia has to say on the subject and pretend I know what I'm talking about, but instead I'll leave you the link and let those who want to, read all about it.

But there's more to the story because the Calderdale Industrial Museum is closed.  I can't seem to find out why or whether it's only temporary, but I suspect not.  It looks as though Enid will live on only in this card and an identical picture on a site called "From Weaver to Web: an online visual archive of Calderdale history". 

Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, was they say the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.  You must look after your industrial heritage, in that case Calderdale.

Muker in Swaledale

One of a series of art postcards mty father had in his collection.  They were all addressed to him but I'm not quite sure how they came to be in his collection because he didn't normally collect this type of card.

Muker is a village in the Yorkshire Dales.  It was once a Norse settlement and that's where the name came from, meaning narrow acre.  It's a very small village but popular in the summer with walkers on the Coast to Coast Walk and for climbing Kisdon and Shunner Fells.

The original painting was by E Charlton Taylor.

Last of the Summer Wine

Holmfirth is a small town in the Pennine hills of west Yorkshire and is probably best known as the setting for the BBC TV series "Last of the Summer Wine".  When I was looking up some facts about this card, I was surprised to find that I may not have to explain this to non-UK readers because it has been seen in 25 different countries.

The programme was the longest running comedy in the UK and the longest running sitcom in the world.  It started in 1973 and ran, with several changes of cast, until a month ago.  It received a great deal of praise over the years for its family-friendly humour and for its positive portrayal of older, if eccentric, people.  I'm rather hoping to grow (to 101 as you know) happily eccentric over the years.

York Minster

A not particularly remarkable postcard showing the wonderful York Minster.  Although it is a cathedral worhty of much more note, what I did find remarkable about this card was to be found on the reverse.

No address whatsoever, not even a name.  But it was meant for me and it arrived with barely any delay.  I do, quite frequently, also receive postcards addressed to sundry neighbours but this is a first!

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Leeds, England

Postmarked Leeds, and dated 11 August 2005.

Temple Newsam Gardens, Leeds.

Leeds, once part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, may not be the most exotic location, but this was one of the first Postcrossing cards I ever received, so it's precious to me! It's numbered GB-61. Since then there have been over 31,000 sent.

Redcar

Postmarked Middlesborough, Yorkshire, dated 5 July 1950.

Clock Tower and High Street, Redcar.

Redcar was at that time in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The word "riding" is of Viking origin meaning a third. The other two ridings were East Riding and West Riding.

The Clock Tower still stands today as can be seen in this photo.