Saturday 13 August 2011

IN A WEEK OF RAIN AND UNSEASONAL GLOOM WE NEVERTHELESS CRAVED AN ADVENTURE - WHAT BETTER PLACE TO SEEK OUT THAN MOODY WEST YORKSHIRE WITH ITS MILLS, MISTS AND MIDDENS...  

   


A morning start at the surprising Salts Mill at Saltaire fits the bill (click on the link to learn more).




Part gallery,



part exciting retail outlet for the artistic and discerning customer (my favourite thing is the stationery on the ground floor),


all exciting and surprising colours and spaces !



And an early lunch in the very cool, retro restaurant makes the visit complete.

***

The day still young, we travel on through rugged towns and terrain to Haworth and the Parsonage (click link for more), home of the talented, troubled Bronte family.



Haworth Parsonage in about 1860.

The Parsonage today.

The Bronte's Kitchen where all is neat and in its place, no sign of Branwell's drunken chaos is allowed to disturb the scene.


Charlotte Bronte's sampler is sombre in both colour and sentiment,


as is her sister Emily's.


Crowded stones in the graveyard are an ever present reminder of mortality, if one was needed in the consumption-riddled 19th century.


Only a few miles down the road is East Riddlesden Hall a sturdy 17th century Manor house, reputed to be haunted. Please click on the link to learn more.


The lush garden and ruined wing.


Inside, the hall is richly panelled and home to many fabulous early embroideries.


A rare bloom - one of two Yorkshire Rose windows.



An embroidery from the 17th century.


Outside in the barn is a ghostly figure...



...probably imagining what a wonderful shed this would make in her garden.


***
Two lovely antiques shops in Haworth:

OH . LA . LA


where I bought a child's quilt, from the 1930s, so pretty, in pale blue and white with redwork embroidery.


And here is The Souk.



***

TODAY, AUGUST 13th, IS THE BIRTHDAY OF OUR OWN DEAR YOUNG SCION.





LET'S
PARTY !


***



     
                                                      

                                                        

2 comments:

  1. Salt's Mill is brilliant...a great place.
    Quarry Bank Mill, Styal Near Wilmslow (NT) is equally fascinating and informative. It gives a real, in depth understanding of the harsh life men, women and children experienced working in a cotton mill in Cheshire. We spent hours there yesterday, coming home via Haworth too!
    Julie x
    Lovely quilt!

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  2. Hello Nilly:
    What a perfect day out this looks to be. It seems like a lifetime ago that we last visited the Parsonage at Haworth but how wonderfully your photographs capture the sense of place there. Grey and with a slight drizzle is the perfect weather for such a place in our view!

    Saltaire is fascinating, we agree, and so imaginatively redeveloped. Happy Birthday to your son, he looks adorable.

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