Hoyle Court, Baildon

There are occasional 'Heritage Open Days' when buildings that are normally not open to the public throw open their doors to guests. On one recent day, I decided to visit Hoyle Court Masonic Hall in Baildon. I don't think I've ever been inside a Masonic Lodge before, but this one is an interesting building anyway.

It is a Queen Anne-style, Edwardian Baroque house built by the wealthy Bradford Mill owner, Mr. Sam Ambler between 1910 and 1912 for his wife, Emily Beatrice. Sam Ambler was a descendant of Jeremiah Ambler, who established the Bradford company Jeremiah Ambler and Sons Ltd in 1789, at a time when Bradford was one of the great powerhouses of the textile industry. They were spinners and weavers of all kinds of wool and hair, but the company specialised in producing quality mohair from the Angora goat.

It seemed a nice sized house, not too big or grand, but with a certain elegance. It used to have extensive grounds. There was once an aviary with tropical birds and a monkey house. It's said that Sam bought a foul-mouthed green parrot from a sailor. The bird lived in the kitchen, but one day, the cook was so disgusted with its language that she put it in the corridor. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately from the cook's perspective) it caught a cold and died!

Sam Ambler died in 1948. In 1949, his widow Emily decided to move to the United States to be near the rest of her family who had emigrated in 1937, and Hoyle Court was bought by the Freemasons in 1953.

Hoyle Court remains a thriving Masonic centre and is one of the three largest in the Province of Yorkshire, West Riding, currently home to 12 Masonic Craft Lodges, five Royal Arch Chapters, one Knights Templar Preceptory and a Rose Croix Chapter (don't ask me what all that means!) - as well as other functions like wedding receptions and corporate events. The upstairs landing has many boards listing past Worshipful Masters of the Lodges, with photographs and memorabilia.

I really know very little about the Freemasons but I was escorted around the building by one member who was able to tell me quite a lot about their history and rituals. Freemasonry consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. It is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century. Its principles include love and caring for each other: tolerance and respect for family, other people and all creatures; charity; striving for high personal standards. It is held not to be 'a religion' but members are expected to believe in a Supreme Deity and they have a Bible or other religious book open in the Temple during meetings. They wear a kind of uniform (below), rooted in the use of aprons by stonemasons, with varying decorations according to what level they have studied and achieved: Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or Master Mason. The meetings are highly ritualistic and may include lectures or philosophical study and discussion. Of course, the secretive nature of some of their business has inevitably led to rumour, conspiracy theories, misunderstandings and some distrust among wider society - and I guess despite their professed high standards, it must sometimes be difficult to enforce them. 

In 1957 the Freemasons sold a painting that had been left in the Hoyle Court house and, from the proceeds, built an extension that became their largest Temple (below). It is indeed a grand room that can hold 180 members. Apparently all of their temples are laid out in exactly the same way and contain many symbols. It does all seem arcane and not a little like some kind of early 'Dungeons and Dragons' type game (not that I understand that either!) but the social network and support between Masons, and the charitable donations they make, are very real and significant. 

Many of the symbols of Freemasonry, such as the well known 'square and compasses', are drawn from the tools used by stonemasons. 

Hoyle Court also has a smaller Temple called the Egyptian Room, which has furnishings and paintings brought from, or in some cases recreated to resemble, the original Baildon Masonic rooms.

It was all very fascinating and I'm grateful for the chance to see inside this lovely building and get a glimpse into Freemasonry. I have to say that the gentleman who showed me round was kindness itself and I was made to feel very welcome. 

Festival fun (not) #3

Maybe I'm just getting old (!) but, as the years go by, I've found I'm less and less enamoured with the second weekend of the Saltaire Festival. The first weekend has some local input and I can usually find something to interest me. The second weekend has always been about music and food, but it has grown bigger and louder and attracts people from well beyond the local area. I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing but the crowds, traffic chaos and noise are not at all appealing to me. I did have a walk down to the village but I didn't linger. 

Exhibition Road (above) was closed to allow the usual 'Continental Market'. These days it's mostly street food outlets and not much 'continental' about it as far as I can see. Caroline Street carpark becomes one large bar area, with a music stage. No-one really looked as if they were enjoying themselves... maybe that was just because I happened to pass in between acts on the stage. 

The church drive was hosting a few local organisations and charity stalls, with an art exhibition in the church itself.

Roberts Park holds more food and drink outlets, a market and two music stages (one in the lower park and one in the bandstand). You could hear the noise from miles away. I didn't even bother to fight my way over the footbridge to explore what was there. 

At least these days they close many of the roads through the village, which makes it a good deal safer for pedestrians - though a good deal more annoying and inconvenient for residents, particularly this year with Saltaire Road being closed for roadworks too.  On Victoria Road, they weren't taking any chances with ramming incidents. It had barriers at the top and a large lorry parked across the carriageway further down. I'm really glad to have moved out of the village itself. At least I knew my car was safely parked out of danger in our driveway. 

Well, that was a big grouse wasn't it? I'm turning into a bit of a curmudgeon in my old age, haha. 

Festival fun #2

 

At the entrance to Roberts Park, I came across these three young musicians busking. Their music stand says 'Francis McCann Music' and I think he's a local musician, possibly from Ilkley. They sounded good to me. 

There was a whole programme of musicians scheduled to perform in the park bandstand. This lady was Cheryl Holland, who describes herself as 'a sober dance music vocalist and DJ from Leeds, who writes uplifting, positive music'. Well, we can all do with lots of that. I only caught the last song of her set but I enjoyed it very much.

Good Rhythm Drumming Circles had taken over one of the park shelters and were inviting anyone to join them in playing the djembe drums. I even had a go myself. I couldn't hear the sound of my own drum against the others (though I could feel its vibration) which made it hard to find the rhythm but it was a few minutes of good fun. They work in the community, in care homes and schools, to celebrate the collective and bring enjoyment and laughter. Circles of Joy!

The two young ladies below were both doing a great job of picking up the beat. 

At the other end of the promenade, 400 Roses were dancing to music played by their band, t’Thorns. They are a unique group of tribal folk fusion dancers from Yorkshire and Lancashire, blending UK-style folk dance with tribal belly dance moves.  It's always fun to watch and they too had attracted quite a crowd. 

Festival fun #1

September sees the annual Saltaire Festival and there is always plenty going on in the village. It was drizzly and I had other engagements but I managed to fit in a brief visit on the first Saturday. 

I came across this amazing music collective playing in a corner of the church grounds. They were 'Mojojack Music', whose strapline is 'Disability Rocks'. Some if not most of the performers had some kind of learning disability but their music was excellent and quite a crowd had gathered to listen. They are apparently very inclusive. One young man playing the keyboard was simply playing a single repeated note but it all fitted together beautifully and everyone was enjoying it hugely. 

I've done a little research as I didn't know anything about them. It seems that what used to be Salts Sports Club Bar, which had been empty for a while, has been taken over as 'Salts Hub', a day-care centre for adults with learning disabilities, neurodivergence and autism. I hadn't heard about this but it's existed for about three years now. Mojojack Music is a dedicated day care service centred around enhancing the lives of individuals with learning disabilities through music. In the same premises, Skills Kitchen is 'a fun & practical home cooking day service, providing training & skills while promoting self reliance & independence'. What good stuff. 

Green gold

There is a definite transition to autumn going on. The trees are starting to get that attractive green-gold mixture in their foliage. I really like the effect when you just glimpse the gold through curtains of green, 

or when one bright coppery branch sweeps across a green background.

The River Wharfe was fringed by golden edges on its banks. 

It's a good time of year for fungi. I thought the bracket fungus above, on a rotting log, was rather beautiful, though I have no idea which specific type it is.

Plants are dying back too. I think these (below) are butterbur, which start with weird pink flower spikes and then develop these enormous leaves that shrivel into cup shapes in autumn. Fascinating plants. I think the name came about because the leaves were used at one time to wrap butter to keep it cool. 

The sun is getting lower in the sky too, shining its rays through the trees (and shining into my eyes on the drive home!)

Gently flows the river

Last Monday morning, my plan was to spend much of the day catching up on household chores, neglected because I've been out and about a lot. But... it was such a beautiful day that it seemed criminal to stay indoors. The joy of retirement is that, within reason, you can do exactly as you like. So Plan A was ditched and Plan B followed... a drive to Bolton Abbey and a walk through the early autumnal woods. 

We've had some rain but not really a great deal. The River Wharfe was flowing gently and its surface was mirror-like. 

The Strid Gorge was slightly fuller than last time I visited about a month ago, but by no means as full as it sometimes gets. It's astonishing that the wide and mighty river narrows here to just a couple of meters across as it churns through the rocks. 

It was a blissful walk - my soul was singing - and I made the most of every minute. It's such a privilege to be within easy striking distance of all these beautiful places. I saw this quote (below) on someone else's blog (Barbara?) and thought it was wonderful. I am so deeply grateful for my life and circumstances. 

Mayhem

Sometime on Wednesday/Thursday, Yorkshire Water started to investigate a burst water main at the top of Saltaire Road, at the junction with Bingley Road. It's a critical part of the local road network, nearly always busy, so closing the road has led to absolute mayhem on surrounding roads, with long traffic jams (near gridlock at times), diversions and a massive increase in people's journey times. Add in Saltaire Festival this weekend, with streets in the village closed too and it's a recipe for utter chaos. I was really surprised to find the site unmanned on Saturday (and all the barriers blown down by the strong wind!) I'm not sure either why the road has had to be closed in both directions, when the excavation only affects one carriageway. If no-one is working there over the weekend, you'd think it would be possible to open it partially. I think it should be mandatory for such works to be continued, with no breaks, until completed. Even if the water main is now repaired, the road has to be refilled and the surface relaid. It looks like this will continue well into next week. I sometimes wonder if we have made any progress at all in civilisation in the 21st century!! 

On the way up to Baildon Moor

I took the photo above from the top of Baildon Moor, looking down over Saltaire, which is the tight grid of streets in the middle of the shot. You might be able to see the top of Salts Mill chimney, just peeping over the trees on the far left (in front of the green patch). 

It is a good though quite challenging walk from my home on the opposite side of the valley, down into Saltaire and then up all the way to the trig point, which stands at 282m/925ft above sea level. I'm delighted that I can still do it! Google suggests the elevation gain/ascent is around 244m/800ft. My phone told me my total walk was 14400 steps or about 5.7 miles - and that was after getting a taxi home from Baildon village, as my friend's knee was hurting! Anyway, it was a good workout and a lovely day out, to see the soundscape I showed yesterday and to enjoy the views from the moor. 

Looking west over in the Bingley direction.   ^

Looking south-east towards Bradford.  v

Looking more or less north-west in the general direction of Ilkley Moor.  v

A 'Cup and Ring' marked stone dating back to the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age (c 2800-500 BC). Similar stones can be found all over the local moors. Their exact meaning remains a mystery, though theories range from religious and sacred symbols to ancient maps or astronomical charts. 

Harmonic Fields

There was an installation recently on Baildon Moor, where the plateau around the trig point became the setting for an orchestra of wind-powered instruments.

Devised by composer Pierre Sauvageot, 'Harmonic Fields' was part of Nature Season, a programme of nature-themed cultural activity across the district. An array of woodwind, string and percussive ensembles; vibrating drums, windmill xylophones, harmonic cellos, bamboo flutes, propeller sirens, gyrating musical boxes – were played by both the elements and ‘wind farmer’ characters.

It was quite an amazing experience to listen to the unique 'music' whilst enjoying the views from this elevated position on the moor. I'm not sure that I could hear all of it (with my hearing loss) but I could discern enough to enjoy it. Some of the sounds carried in the wind for a very long distance. 

The circle above simply had some kind of tape or wire that vibrated in the wind. The sounds seemed to vary according to the tautness and length of the tapes. It was a weird but beautiful and amazing effect. 

There were more conventional-seeming instruments: cellos and drums, that were played by wires vibrating in the wind. The wind-farmer below was adjusting or tuning the instrument. To sit in the middle and hear them all was an evocative orchestral experience, quite soothing in a way. 

My favourites were these metal balls, simple shapes, each with an aperture at the bottom almost like a bell. They sounded to me a bit like the singing bowls or steel tongue drums used in some meditative practices. I loved the sound and could happily have sat there all day (despite the chill of the wind!) They were hung through a series of archways and also from branched 'trees' dotted around the site, apparently called 'The Nantong Tunnel and Trees'. 

I also enjoyed the bamboo flutes, each pierced with slits through which the wind played, the sound varying according (I guess) to the diameter of the tube. I suppose it was a similar principle to organ pipes or a recorder. I didn't try it but I guess you could also have varied the sound by covering some of the holes. 

Some of the instruments were driven by little propellors that activated cogs and hammers to strike keys or drums - very cleverly conceived. 

It was really rather magical and worth the long, steep walk to get there! 

Happily, you can access a website to listen to the soundscape HERE (below the audio descriptions), so you can hear some of it too.