Castleford: Images of England

Since the earliest photograph in this selection was taken in around 1900, the changes which Castleford has undergone have been numerous. Over the years, the local library has amassed a fascinating wealth of material which shows how the town looked before the changes of the twentieth century occurred, and which brings to life in a surprisingly vivid manner the times of our ancestors. As well as street scenes showing buildings which disappeared in the redevelopments of the 1960s and '70s, there are photographs of children at school and play, of their parents at work, and of the town's busy social life. The views recall an era which pre-dates both the modern multi-purpose supermarker and the scourge of the motor car, when diverse shops lined the streets and transportation was a lot more leisurely. In addition to the workaday aspects of life, disastrous events such as the Market hall fire of New Year's Eve 1927, the explosion at the Hickson Welch Chemical Works in July 1930, and the after effects of the air raid of 14 March 1941 are included, as well as the floods which occurred at regular intervals. Happier occasions, such as royal visits, pageants and the fund-raiding for aircraft and ships during the Second World War are also remembered. Shorter memories will be stirred by photographs of work on the housing schemes which have altered the area after the Second World War, on the cutting of the new road through the Park Hill, or the extraordinary pictures of the foam pollution of the '60s and '70s, when the town would disappear under mounds of soapsuds! Older residents of Castleford will find much in this intriguing collection that rekindles memories of a vanished way or life; those who have not known the area for so long will enjoy discovering for the first time their heritage.