Aberford Railway

Detail taken from an old postcard around early twentieth century, Aberford. On the left can be seen the railway wagons at the Aberford Coal Staithes, and to the right are Sammy Hicks Chapel and houses in Chapel Lane, all long since demolished.

Click on the picture for a full sized view.… Read the full article

The Ramps in Parlington Park

I recently received an enquiry from a reader [Bill of Aberford] who, whilst walking the dog around Parlington, wondered what the brick and concrete ramp structures were for.

This was my response:
In a few words, during WW2 the area was occupied by an Army Repair Depot and the ramps were for maintaining vehicles, I am told that towards the end of the war there were Half-tracked vehicles parked side by side the entire length of the fence line on the north side of the drive.… Read the full article

Natural Features

You can readily find things in the natural landscape which are worthy of photographing. Take the following example a tree trunk lying on the ground gradually decaying to nothing, but the softer inner wood has already gone, leaving only the outer harder wood, result a natural tunnel. Small rodents and other furry creatures, enjoy!… Read the full article

Stone Coffin

One of the eeriest things in Aberford is the stone coffin which is leaning against the perimeter wall of the graveyard. It is clearly very old, but think of all the work required to hew the stone into that complicated shape. It is as if it’s standing there waiting to be used…

Of course if it fell over on anyone, they would most certainly be confined forthwith!… Read the full article

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Categorized as Aberford

Aberford Bridge

A recent purchase, the postcard shows the bridge over the Cock Beck in Aberford, but from the opposite view point from that usually photographed on the east side. Therefore it is possible to see the waterway running parallel to the road which came from the mill.

aberford_bridge
Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!
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Categorized as Aberford

Untitled

I promised Ronald Addyman I would link my sites to his history site, so here it is, the link is on the Blogroll.

The site contains a number of articles under the following headings
The British War Memorial at Fontaine-lez-Croisilles
Burton Salmon 2000: The Millennium Exhibition of Local History and Memorabilia – An illustrated account
The Boer War 1899-1902): Colonel Gascoigne and the Leeds Volunteers.… Read the full article

The Lost Windmill, Aberford

Sadly the Windmill which used to dominate the skyline around Aberford was demolished in the early 1980’s. A good picture of the old structure can be found on Leodis

There is also an explanation of the removal of the stone work by Mark Jackson. Below is a photo of the very stone being loaded and carted away to Barwick in Elmet!… Read the full article
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Categorized as Aberford

Secret Writing

A friend in Aberford, Mark Jackson, has collected cards of local interest for some time and this one shown below has a coded message as set out below.

Code

(Ap)I (ap)am s(ap)end(ap)ing th(ap)is
c(ap)ard s(ap)o y(ap)ou c(ap)an s(ap)ee
a(ap) b(ap)eaut(ap)if(ap)ul b(ap)uild(ap)ing
f(ap)or th(ap)e p(ap)oor
c(ap)it (ap)is j(ap)ust (ap)on th(ap)e (ap)oth(ap)er s(ap)ide
fr(ap)om m(ap)e
(ap)it (ap)acc(ap)omm(ap)od(ap)at(ap)es tw(ap)o b(ap)egg(ap)ers.… Read the full article

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Categorized as Almshouses

Kennels

During its heyday, hunting was a major activity at Parlington and the hounds were kept in kennels at the rear of the Gamekeeper’s cottage. The picture below shows the old building, possibly around the 1920’s. The smoking chimneys (5) are those of the Gamekeeper’s cottage. When were the kennels demolished?

kennelsUploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Former Railway Carriage

Towards the end of the Fly Line at Hawke’s Nest are the remains of an old railway carriage, as shown below. This was for many years used as accommodation, by who I do not know, if anyone has information I would love to here about it.

The carriage was not one that graced the railway, that particular item ended its days in the garden of a house in Aberford, which house I am again unsure!… Read the full article

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Categorized as Fly Line