ALTHOUGH not the clearest of photographs, this gives a vivid impression of the start of an outing aboard a convoy of crowded waggonettes, sometime shortly after the opening of Keighley’s Carnegie Public Library in 1904.
The vehicles are about to start from the Town Hall Livery Stables, to the right of the view.
“These excellently-appointed stables,” proprietor Joseph Smith advertised, “are the largest and best equipped in the town and district.” Boasting a smart North Street address “opposite the Mechanics’ Institute” and telephone number 121, they hired out “cabs, laundaus, waggonettes and other conveyances” at the shortest notice, with “special provisions made for funerals” in the shape of hearses, mourning coaches and carriages.
The horses were stabled on the upper floor, entering the building by means of a ramp at the front entrance. A nearby bell-pull was guaranteed to summon attention by day or night, transport being available at all hours.
The photograph has been supplied by David Seeley, of Castle Road, Keighley.
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