A strip of medium format negatives dating from the 1980s is the next to go on my scanning machine. I took these photographs whilst on a walk down Shaw Lane in Halifax, at a time of transition for the town. The last of the mills that had been at the heart of the economic and social life of the town for the previous one hundred and fifty years were closing down and there was an almost desolate feel to parts of the town: streets were empty, building abandoned - almost as if life had moved out and moved on. The soot - that preserved footprint of the industrial revolution - still coated the stone walls and chimneys of the dark forgotten mills.
Thirty or forty years on, the buildings still stand but they have a new vibrancy about them. What were industrial graveyards are now art spaces, dance studios, and retail units. Life has returned and reclaimed the infrastructure.
A remarkable example of restoration and transformation. The stone cobbles and granite sets are a masterstroke.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking, looking at the first photo, how nice these stones would be if cleaned. And they are. I see the cobblestone inset into the brick road and agree, it is very good.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate a "then and now" series. This one is particularly enjoyable...the same 3 windows and arched doorway! So glad to see that progress can include sprucing up the old buildings!
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